Why Building Permits Will Make You Question Everything?

So you've been issued a building permit for your soon-to-be constructed dream home. Its been months, so you'll ask, is my building permit still valid?

A building permit remains valid despite changes in the building code as long as work is commenced within 12 months after issuance.

 A provision of the California Building Standards Law specifies that a local ordinance adding or modifying building standards for residential occupancies, published in the California Building Standards Code, applies only to an application for a building permit submitted after the effective date of the ordinance and to plans and specifications for, and the construction performed under, that permit, unless, among other reasons, the permit is subsequently deemed expired because the building or work authorized by the permit is not commenced within 180 days from the date of the permit, or the permittee has suspended or abandoned the work authorized by the permit at any time after the work is commenced.

This new law instead provides that a permit would remain valid for purposes of the California Building Standards Law if the work on the site authorized by that permit is commenced within 12 months after its issuance, unless the permittee has abandoned the work authorized by the permit. The law also authorizes a permittee to request and the building official to grant, in writing, one or more extensions of time for periods of not more than 180 days per extension. It requires that the permittee request the extension in writing and demonstrate justifiable cause for the extension. Read More Here

An act to amend Section 18938.5 of, and to add Section 18938.6 to, the Health and Safety Code, relating to building permits.