Summit County, OH Building Safety: Building Inspections (2026)

Sec. 04 gives the Building Official authority to inspect at specific points in construction and requires every inspection report to be written and signed, and lets the office call in outside experts on unusual technical questions. Sec. 01 lets the Building Official examine a building, structure or site before a permit is even issued. Once work is underway, Sec. 03 makes it a violation to cover work before the required inspection; the owner must keep the work accessible and exposed and uncover it on demand, and the county will not pay to uncover or re-cover it.

Sec. 04 bars occupying or using any building before the Building Official issues a Certificate of Occupancy certifying substantial compliance with the approved plans; occupying early, or filing false information to obtain one, is a separate violation. Sec. 07 requires a new Certificate of Occupancy, with fresh approvals and inspections, whenever a building's use changes occupancy class. If a first inspection fails because work is incomplete, incompetent or negligent, Sec. 02 charges a re-inspection fee, scaled under Sec. 10 from $30 for the first re-inspection up to $80 by the fourth, and an inspection outside regular business hours adds a further $250 fee under Sec. 14.