Albemarle County, VA Building Safety: Building Inspections (2026)

County Code § 5-102 establishes the Building Inspection Office inside the Department of Community Development and charges it with administering and enforcing the Building Code (the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code, adopted by § 5-100 and § 5-101) and Chapter 5 itself: reviewing and acting on plans, inspecting buildings and structures, and issuing related permits and certificates. Section 5-103 creates the office of Building Official, appointed by the County Executive, who directs the Building Inspection Office and supervises its employees. Anyone aggrieved by the Building Inspection Office's application of the Building Code, or by its refusal to grant a modification of the Building Code's provisions, can appeal under § 5-105 to the Board of Appeals established by § 5-104.

That board has five members and two alternates appointed by the Board of Supervisors, each serving a five-year term that continues until a successor is appointed; members are compensated as provided in County Code § 2-1105 and may be reappointed. The parties, scope, procedure, and conduct of an appeal follow the Building Code itself. Permit and inspection fees are set countywide in Chapter 1, Article 5, and § 5-200 explains that fees reimburse the County's cost to review plans, issue permits, and conduct up to one reinspection of permitted work.