Tuscaloosa, AL Building Safety: Building Permits (2026)

Sec. 6-6 bars commencing excavation for or construction of any building, permanent sign or other structure, including accessory structures, storing building materials or erecting temporary field offices on-site, or moving or altering a structure, until the chief building official has issued a building permit for that work. The only carve-out is for necessary repairs that don't affect bearing or external walls, chimneys, stairways, or the building's height. The chief building official, per Sec. 6-3, is the one who receives applications, issues permits, inspects premises, and enforces the construction, alteration, repair, use and maintenance laws for buildings citywide; that official can also suspend inspection services, refuse a certificate of occupancy, or issue a stop-work order at a noncompliant site.

Sec. 6-6's second paragraph separately bans using or occupying a building or premises, or any part of it, in violation of the terms of its certificate of occupancy, and it is independently unlawful to keep performing work after a stop-work order has been issued. If the chief building official rejects a proposed construction method or claims the code doesn't apply, Sec. 6-15 gives the owner 30 days to file a written appeal to the board of adjustment and appeals, though the official can shorten that window for buildings deemed unsafe.

Sec. 6-16 layers on a separate consequence: a permittee whose structure encroaches on a right-of-way, easement or setback line can be denied any subsequent building permit until the encroachment is remedied, for up to a year on a third violation within five years.