Permit Requirements

One sentence powers the whole permit system: no building or structure may be erected, altered, or repaired without a permit. Everything else is exception. Painting, flooring, low fences, small sheds, and repairs under a dollar threshold are carved out, and the carve-outs differ enough between cities to be worth checking every time.

Unpermitted work is a debt that comes due later, at sale, at an insurance claim, at the next inspection. Cities can require walls opened, work redone, and penalty fees paid years after the fact.