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Permit Philly

Name: Permit Philly
Address: 100 S Juniper Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19107, US
Telephone: +12677444200

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We’re a full-service permit acquisition company in Philadelphia dedicated to getting you building and zoning permits as quickly and simply as possible.

10/26/2026

If your holiday plans involve using your Philadelphia home as an Airbnb, October is a good time to make sure the property's zoning and occupancy actually allow short-term rental.

If you'd like to rent your primary residence for periods of 30 days or less, you're in good shape: the City of Philadelphia lets you Vrbo your apartment, rowhome, or spare bedroom with minimal fuss. (Renters, just make sure you have written approval from your landlord before starting on the paperwork.)

If the property isn’t your primary residence, however, things get tricky. Short-term rentals outside of your own home are the exact same as hotel rooms, at least as far as the zoning code is concerned. As you might expect from the lack of Marriotts in Bella Vista, hotels aren't allowed everywhere in the city: only certain (commercial) zoning districts let hotels operate without special approval from the Zoning Board. Your boutique, DIY vision for that investment property certainly sounds great to us, but it might never make it past the public hearing.

Regardless of your property's zoning classification, short-term rental operators all have to keep up on taxes and acquire a Philly business license. However else you run your space, you shouldn't ever advertise it before it's attached to a business record in good standing, with zoning permits to back your operation.

If you're banking on holiday bookings but you’re not sure what your property needs, reach out to us. We can help you sort through the zoning and licensing requirements before you list it.

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10/23/2026

Philadelphia’s adoption of the 2021 I-Codes created three new mass timber construction types, and there are some significant differences between them.

Type IV-A allows the tallest mass timber construction, reaching up to 18 stories and 270 feet, with noncombustible protection required on mass timber elements.

Type IV-B allows buildings up to 12 stories and 180 feet and permits more exposed mass timber, subject to its fire-resistance and protection requirements.

Type IV-C allows buildings up to 9 stories, with mass timber elements designed to provide a 2-hour fire-resistance rating.

For a developer or design team considering mass timber, it's not just a calculation of wood versus steel: it's a spreadsheet dance of occupancy groups, material costs, zoning allowances, fire ratings, and minor distinctions between similar fabricated products. It doesn't mean that mass timber doesn't offer value: it will just take some ingenuity to extract it.

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10/21/2026

There are a few things that start to feel completely normal once you spend enough time around construction projects and Philadelphia permitting.

An approval notice can genuinely make your day. A short review comment can turn into several emails and a revised plan set. And “quick permit question” has a very flexible definition of quick.

If you work in construction, design, development, or permitting, you probably have a few of your own.

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10/20/2026

A restaurant project can involve several City departments before anyone serves the first customer.

Start with the property. Is the space already approved for restaurant use? If not, zoning may be part of the process before you get very far with the rest of the project.

Then there’s the buildout. A new kitchen, changes to plumbing or electrical systems, HVAC work, structural changes, or alterations to the space can bring their own permit requirements.

The Health Department has a separate review and inspection process, and the property needs the appropriate occupancy approval before the food business can be licensed to operate.

If you’re planning to open a restaurant in Philadelphia and aren’t sure which approvals you need or where to start, reach out to us. We can help you figure out the permitting process before you get too far into the project.

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10/07/2026

Finishing a basement and creating a separate rental unit are two different projects from a permitting standpoint.

If you’re adding another dwelling unit to a Philadelphia property, start by checking the property’s legal use and zoning. The fact that a basement is already finished, has a kitchen, or may have been rented before doesn’t necessarily mean another dwelling unit was legally established there.

If the additional unit is allowed, the next question is whether the proposed space and construction meet the applicable building requirements. Depending on the work, that can involve building, electrical, plumbing, mechanical, and other permits.

And if the property isn’t zoned to allow the additional unit by right, zoning approval may involve another process before the construction permits can move forward.

So before designing the new kitchen or deciding where the bedroom goes, confirm whether the property can legally accommodate the unit in the first place.

If you’re considering a basement conversion in Philadelphia, reach out to us. We can help you figure out what approvals you’ll need.

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10/01/2026

Philadelphia’s new construction permit fee schedule is now in effect as of today, October 1.

Most of the amounts listed in the previous construction fee schedule carry over unchanged. One change that stands out is permit reinstatement: the fee listed for other occupancies has increased from $50 to $300. Owner-occupied one-family dwellings remain listed with no reinstatement fee.

The schedule covers building permits as well as electrical, fire suppression, mechanical, plumbing, demolition, and other construction permits.

If you have an application coming up, make sure you’re working from the current L&I fee schedule when calculating permit costs.

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09/30/2026

“Do I need a permit for this?” depends on what exactly is being changed.

Some cosmetic work and minor repairs can be done without a building permit. Structural work, additions, and many plumbing, electrical, or mechanical changes cannot.

The details matter because one part of a project may be exempt while another part still requires a permit. Historic properties can also have additional requirements.

If you’re not sure where your project falls, reach out to us before the work starts.

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09/28/2026

If you have a zoning or building permit application coming up after October 1, add the property’s tax status to the pre-submission checklist.

Starting October 1, L&I will check for outstanding real estate taxes, municipal fees, and liens before issuing certain permits. The rule applies to zoning permits for development, zoning approvals granted through a ZBA variance, and building permits for new construction and additions.
If Revenue confirms an outstanding balance, the permit won’t be issued until the debt is resolved.

That matters even if the balance is being disputed. Sorting out an assessment or other issue with Revenue can take time, and that time becomes part of the project schedule once permit issuance is waiting on it.

Before submitting one of the affected applications, check the property’s status through the Philadelphia Tax Center and deal with any outstanding issues early.

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09/25/2026

We’re starting to see Philly permits for ground-up construction and full demolition held up over new requirements for certificates of insurance (COIs).

These requirements aren't supposed to be new: The Department of Licenses & Inspections technically mandated an additional COI for new construction and demo starting April 1. But a "technical error" (L&I's term) delayed implementation until about August 1. So the rule that was never enforced abruptly became the reason some permits — technically approved permits — weren't issued.

This additional COI doesn't take the place of the COI every contractor is required to keep on file with the City of Philadelphia. The new COI is supposed to demonstrate coverage of adjoining property owners during construction.

Specifically, the COI must show general liability coverage of at least $1 million for new construction and $2 million for complete demolition, in the name of an entity affiliated with the project — like the permit applicant, property owner, or contractor. The COI must also name the neighboring properties and their owners as additionally insured, and the description must include the exact phrase, "Covers operations of the named insured."

This is where insurance brokers might balk.

They might find that an existing policy — even one with the correct amount of liability coverage — isn't designed to cover construction impacts across properties. They might be fine with the concept, but draw the line at listing other parties as additionally insured. No matter the broker or policy, this is most likely not a COI that you can generate online in a few minutes.

If you have a new construction or demolition permit coming up, get your broker involved early. Finding out there’s a problem with the COI when the permit is otherwise ready to issue can add an unnecessary delay.

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09/23/2026

If you're planning to knock down a building in Philly (or start digging foundations for a new one) there's a good chance you need the Health Department to sign off — and if you're starting after October 1st, you need them to sign off ASAP.

Philly's Department of Public Health houses the Air Management Services (AMS) division, and AMS regulates air pollution — which includes the dust kicked up by demolition and excavation.

For a decade, Philadelphia has required an AMS dust control permit for complete demolition of a building over three stories or 40 feet tall, or more than 10,000 square feet in floor area. It also requires this permit for any demolition by implosion, and — since 2019 — for any earth disturbance of 5,000 square feet or more.

AMS isn't terribly well-integrated with L&I's systems. L&I permits are often issued without supposedly required AMS permits, leaving AMS to enforce their regulations on their own. Sometimes projects that were supposed to get AMS approval close up without ever notifying the division.

Starting October 1st, however, L&I is providing an assist. In addition to simply requiring a dust control permit for certain demolition, as they had done, L&I will enforce the dust control rules for building and site permits as well, ensuring that the AMS permit is obtained for all digging, grubbing, or grading work of at least 5,000 SF. This means that no building, site, or demolition permit under AMS purview will be released until the approved dust control permit is provided to L&I.

This can back up paperwork considerably, since AMS doesn't offer an accelerated review option like L&I: if the dust control application goes in after the building application, that building permit will sit around, technically approved, until AMS approves the dust management plan.

The good news: it's easy to get a head start. AMS allows dust control applications a full year before the anticipated start of work, and you don't need a permit-ready set of construction documents to apply: just information about the methods of dust control to be employed on the project.

So if your demo or digging triggers the dust control requirement, make sure to build some time for AMS review into your pre-construction schedule.

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Address

100 S Juniper Street
Philadelphia, PA
19107

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 5:30pm
Tuesday	9am - 5:30pm
Wednesday	9am - 5:30pm
Thursday	9am - 5:30pm
Friday	9am - 5:30am

Telephone

+12677444200

Website

http://permitphilly.com/

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