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Adding certain features to your home can be appealing to the eye. Home life is very important to most people because it is basically their headquarters. But I am learning that you need to ask your town for permission to do certain things.
Why do I have to inform and ask my town for permission if I want to pave my driveway, add a patio to my backyard, or add a additional room to my current house? Does rules about renovating your property differ from each town or is it governed on a county level.
I am in my 30s and looking to buy a house but I am trying to educate myself with as much information about this subject so when I go to my town I know what to say.
It's mostly to prevent the kind of historical conflicts between neighbors that have popped up over many years. Some of it, however, is also there to protect your home/home value from being damaged by your neighbors.
Footprint. People started building large houses on small lots. This changed the way neighborhoods looked in ways that others didn't like, so now many towns have limits on how much of the lot you can occupy with your house.
Drainage. People started saying they were tired of water problems with their basement, so they created drainage to force as much water as possible as fast as possible away from their houses. This made their neighbors' properties water problems worse, so now there are requirements for permeable service, yard drainage and dry wells.
Quality. People cut corners and built subpar additions to their homes, creating hazards and devaluing properties. So cities started requiring minimum standards and pre-clearance on work to allow inspections.
Home Owners Associations are the most extreme version of this, getting down to simple things like forbidding parking cars on the street (or even your driveway), painting your house a different color, not mowing your yard, etc.
Adding certain features to your home can be appealing to the eye. Home life is very important to most people because it is basically their headquarters. But I am learning that you need to ask your town for permission to do certain things.
Why do I have to inform and ask my town for permission if I want to pave my driveway, add a patio to my backyard, or add a additional room to my current house? Does rules about renovating your property differ from each town or is it governed on a county level.
I am in my 30s and looking to buy a house but I am trying to educate myself with as much information about this subject so when I go to my town I know what to say.
Any advice on this subject is appreciated.
You don't need a permit for a patio (ground level). You need a permit for a deck (higher than ground level). First, it's for safety. Second, a deck is included in your living space, while a patio isn't. My modest deck raised my property taxes by $100 per year.
You don't need a permit to repave an existing driveway. I don't know if you need permit for a new driveway. It would make sense as your car would be coming into traffic.
I had a french drain installed by my driveway and didn't need a permit.
A new room needs to be inspected for safety issues.
It's also done town by town, not on the county level. When I was helping a former friend out with his contracting business, he had to apply for permits on the homeowners' behalf to the individual towns.
Adding certain features to your home can be appealing to the eye. Home life is very important to most people because it is basically their headquarters. But I am learning that you need to ask your town for permission to do certain things.
Why do I have to inform and ask my town for permission if I want to pave my driveway, add a patio to my backyard, or add a additional room to my current house? Does rules about renovating your property differ from each town or is it governed on a county level.
I am in my 30s and looking to buy a house but I am trying to educate myself with as much information about this subject so when I go to my town I know what to say.
Any advice on this subject is appreciated.
Rule #1 - never tell the town or let them get involved.
Rule #2 - do renovation properly and make sure nothing is done without a lot of thought
Take this advice with a grain of salt. Things are done differently than Punkster's main forum Long Island where everything seems to be done illegaly.
If you don't get permits, it will be an issue when you try to sell down the road.
Agreed. I will also add that many of the towns are highly resourced, so they have a relatively healthy code enforcement apparatus. Plus, Westchester seems to have a fairly large number of whistleblowers who will call the city/village/town whenever they see activity, even if it appears relatively innocuous. Just try to even use a leaf blower in the middle of the summer, especially in the morning, in towns that prohibit it. Police will appear.
Rule #1 - never tell the town or let them get involved.
Rule #2 - do renovation properly and make sure nothing is done without a lot of thought
With all respect, Part 1 in my town (Cortlandt) is a terrible mistake. First, my town is very good about what needs a permit and what does not. When I replaced the original deck with a far more advanced porch, as long as it stayed in the footprint of the original, I needed no permit. They even put it in writing for me. When I added 40% more square footage with an addition, obviously I needed permits. I have bought a couple of investment properties, and at closing, when there is no CofO for a bathroom, a deck, even a shed over 100 sq feet, the town, the title insurer, all will not let the sale go through unless corrected. I have had to wait for sellers to get a CofO on interior bathrooms, finished garages, and so on. Do it right when you do it initially. ALWAYS tell the town and get the correct permits. Just my opinion. All the best.
Check your town. I needed a permit to replace a fence. Permits serve several purposes. One is to ensure compliance with town rules. Second is to provide income to the town.
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