Rules
Part of Old House Projects Planning: Scope Through Closeout
Old house projects rules: permits and approvals
Old house projects rules vary by location. Learn common building, trade, zoning and historic-district approvals, plus when federal Section 106 review applies.
What to take away
- A building permit and a historic district approval are separate things, issued by separate offices, on separate timetables.
- Requirements vary by jurisdiction. Confirm the permits, review bodies, applications and sequence with the local offices responsible for the work.
- Federal Section 106 review is triggered by federal money, permits or licenses, not by a private owner spending private money.
- Existing-building code provisions often give an old house options that new-construction rules do not.
Old house projects rules differ by location, but the approval categories to check are predictable. Permit questions cause more delay than any material shortage. The reason is usually that owners discover a second approval process after the first one has already started.
Two different approvals
A building permit asks whether the work meets adopted safety codes. A certificate of appropriateness, where a local historic district exists, asks whether the visible change suits the district. One office cannot answer for the other, and in many towns the design review has to be finished before the permit can be issued.
Start with the city or county building department for building and trade permits. For exterior changes in a locally designated district, look for a historic district commission or board of architectural review; its decision may be called a certificate of appropriateness. Check the local preservation ordinance, district design guidelines and the commission’s application instructions.
A zoning board or board of appeals may handle zoning relief, conditional-use approvals or variances. Names and responsibilities vary by jurisdiction. There is no single nationwide application form or fee schedule, so ask each office for its current permit or certificate-of-appropriateness application, fee schedule and review calendar.
Building Permit vs. Appropriateness
Building permit
- Question asked
- Meets safety codes
- Who reviews
- Code office
- Scope
- Safety compliance
- Order
- Issued after review
Certificate of appropriateness
- Question asked
- Suits district
- Who reviews
- Design review body
- Scope
- Visible change
- Order
- Finished first
Find out three things in writing before you sign a contract: whether your property lies inside a locally designated district, which body reviews exterior changes, and how often that body meets. Monthly meeting cycles are common, and missing one costs a month. Answering those three questions is one of the first-year jobs a new owner should not postpone.
Codes are local, and that is the whole point
Building codes are adopted jurisdiction by jurisdiction, often with local amendments and different edition years. The Park Service says so directly in its overview of codes and regulatory requirements for rehabilitating historic buildings. That overview points to federal guidance on accessibility, seismic work and building codes for existing buildings.
The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation are federal rehabilitation standards used in historic-preservation programs. A local ordinance may also adopt them, but do not assume they replace local building codes or district design guidelines.
Talk to Code Officials Early
- Ask which code chapter applies
- Confirm existing-building provisions
- Discuss repair and alteration rules
- Agree solutions in planning
- Avoid changes imposed at inspection
The practical advice there is worth repeating: talk to code officials early, because a solution agreed in planning is far cheaper than one imposed at inspection.
Existing-building provisions matter to old houses. Many code sets treat repair, alteration and change of use differently from new construction, which can preserve a stair, a ceiling height or a window size that new-build rules would not allow. Ask specifically which chapter your inspector will apply.
When federal review enters the picture
Most private homeowners never encounter Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, which requires federal agencies to assess how their own undertakings affect historic properties.
The federal buildings service explains the four-step Section 106 process, including consultation with the state or tribal preservation officer. The trigger is a federal action: funding, a permit, or a license. Private money on a private house is not one.
The federal agency responsible for the undertaking leads the review under 36 CFR Part 800. It consults with the State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) or Tribal Historic Preservation Officer (THPO), as applicable, and with the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) when required or involved. The four steps are:
- Initiate the Section 106 process.
- Identify historic properties.
- Assess adverse effects.
- Resolve adverse effects.
What usually needs a permit
| Work | Permit likely? |
|---|---|
| Reroofing | Often yes |
| Electrical service or new circuits | Yes, and licensed |
| Plumbing alterations | Yes, and licensed |
| Structural repair or removal of a wall | Yes |
| Window replacement | Sometimes, and district review may apply |
| Repainting existing siding | Usually no, district color rules may apply |
| Repointing masonry | Varies, district review common |
Ask the building department which separate approvals apply to your scope of work. Common permit or approval names to check include:
- Electrical permit:service changes, new circuits or other electrical work.
- Plumbing permit:plumbing alterations.
- Mechanical permit:HVAC equipment or system work.
- Demolition permit:removal of a building or part of one.
- Certificate of occupancy:where a change of use or the completed work requires one.
- Zoning approval:a zoning permit or clearance, conditional-use approval, or variance when the proposal needs relief from zoning rules.
The work that triggers each approval, the application name and the review sequence depend on the jurisdiction. Confirm them with the responsible office before work begins.
Treat this table as a prompt for questions, never as an answer. Your inspector's list is the one that counts. Windows generate more of this review than any other exterior element, and what a commission actually examines on a window is worth knowing before you price replacements.
Ask before you order materials
Deposits on windows, doors and roofing are hard to unwind. Confirm approvals first. The wider planning sequence is set out in our start-to-finish project guide, and the way approvals interact with treatment choice appears in the whole-house restoration guide.
