For some reason, we continue to run into situations where construction of all kinds begins without a required building or development permit.

We cannot stress this enough: before you build, renovate, prepare a site, or locate a building, you should call us first, because you probably need a permit.

We continue to hear stories from people who honestly thought:

Myth #1: Permits were only for folks in the villages and Towns. Permits have been required everywhere in rural New Brunswick – ie: Charlotte County and York County since 2002. That’s 18 years ago – nothing new, nothing just brought into effect.

Myth #2: Permits are only required if you’re adding to the footprint, so I can rebuild my porch or deck without a permit.  Any structural alteration requires a permit.

Myth #3: I The builder wants to get going now. I can get a permit later and be OK.

Starting without a permit can lead to a ton of problems, such as these (and yes, these have happened in the last year):

a) construction went across a property line and had to be removed – at some expense

b) buildings didn’t meet Code and required extensive changes after the fact – something that would have been corrected at no cost whatsoever during the plans review required for a permit

c) buildings placed too close to a property line that required an expensive after-the-fact variance – which could have been avoided had the client applied for the permit first.