Renovating Your Home

There's a good chance you will need a permit for your project. It's worth investigating before you begin any work. If you fail to get a permit, it can come back to haunt you later on, for example when you try to sell your house. Don't rely on the word of your contractor either. Check with your local building department. I'm telling you this from personal experience. Several years ago, I had a deck built. The contractor who did the work told me I didn't need a permit because the deck was not above a certain height. I believed him. When I began my most recent project, I found out he was wrong (or had lied). I was able to legalize the deck after the fact, but not without going through a lot of expense and trouble. On several ocassions, the contractor I worked with assured me that based on some of the work he has seen, a building permit really does protect the consumer.

In addition to getting a permit from your town building department (listed below), if you live in an incorporated village, you may need one from that municipality. Some villages have architectural review boards which must approve your plans.

Town/City Building Departments

Suffolk County

Babylon: (631) 957-3000
Brookhaven
East Hampton: (631) 324-4145
Huntington (Part of the Engineering Department)
Islip: (631) 224-5460
Riverhead
Shelter Island: (631) 749-0291
Smithtown
Southampton
Southold

Nassau County

Hempstead
North Hempstead
Oyster Bay (Part of the Planning and Development Department)
City of Glen Cove: (516) 676-4448
City of Long Beach