For some reason, we continue to run into situations where construction of all kinds begins without a required building or development permit.
We cannot stress this enough: before you build, renovate, prepare a site, or locate a building, you should call us first, because you probably need a permit.
We continue to hear stories from people who honestly thought:
Myth #1: Permits were only for folks in the villages and Towns. Permits have been required everywhere in rural New Brunswick - ie: Charlotte County and York County since 2002. That's 18 years ago - nothing new, nothing just brought into effect.
Myth #2: Permits are only required if you're adding to the footprint, so I can rebuild my porch or deck without a permit. Any structural alteration requires a permit.
Myth #3: I The builder wants to get going now. I can get a permit later and be OK.
Starting without a permit can lead to a ton of problems, such as these (and yes, these have happened in the last year):
a) construction went across a property line and had to be removed - at some expense
b) buildings didn't meet Code and required extensive changes after the fact - something that would have been corrected at no cost whatsoever during the plans review required for a permit
c) buildings placed too close to a property line that required an expensive after-the-fact variance - which could have been avoided had the client applied for the permit first.