According to the City of Tucson Development Services website:
It is the homeowner/propertyowner’s responsibility to provide plans and obtain a permit
* All new residential buildings
* Electrical reconnections, service increases, panel replacement or repair
* Gas lines pressure tests (new or replacement lines)
* Water heater install or replacement
* Furnaces, Heat Pumps, Air Conditioners, Evaporative Coolers (new or replacement)
* All residential walls or fences over 30 inches high must have a site plan review at DSD. Additionally, walls and fences over 6 feet tall require a building permit with an engineering design.
* One Story detached accessory structure over 120 square feet (ie: Storage Sheds).
* Porches, additions or garages
* Remodeling of existing structure
Now obviously many homeowners do not bother with obtaining permits for the smaller home improvement projects listed above because they either are unaware that a permit is required or do not want to pay the extra cost and go through the extra bother.
Here are some guidelines on deciding whether to obtain a permit or not:
- When adding square footage to your house, always obtain a permit. This includes garage conversions and covered porch conversions. The reason is simple, when selling a house only the additions that have been permitted count as part of the house square footage. Obviously, this will have a big impact on the sale price and the saleability of the house.
- Obtain a permit when you need an independent expert to verify the quality of the work. Once a permit has been issued, a city inspector will come to the construction site several times to verify that the construction is according to code. Many city inspectors are former construction workers and foremen with good expertise on the proper construction methods.
- If a contractor is trying to talk you out of a permit, be suspicious and get a second opinion or estimate.
Having said this, there are also disadvantages to obtaining a permit. These include extra permit costs, extra time cost to draw up plans, and usually the contractor will quote a higher price if you decide to go ahead with the permit.