WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR PROPERTY OWNERS?
If you are a homeowner who has open permits issued on or before March 27, 2012, those permits will be expired as of June 1, 2022. Work that has been inspected and approved will be honored under the code it was permitted. BUT work that has not been inspected and approved will require a new permit application (expired permit number will need to be referenced in the description section of the new permit application).
Permits issued on or before March 7, 2017 will be expired as of September 7, 2022. Additional extensions for these permits will be considered based upon written requests. Transfer of ownership, contractor, and/or sub-contractor for an existing permit will not constitute an extension of the permit. Work that has been inspected and approved will be honored under the code it was permitted. BUT again, work that has not been inspected and approved will require a new permit application (expired permit number will need to be referenced in the description section of the new permit application).
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Does your property have one of the over 38,000 current open permits in Hawai‘i County? Questions can be addressed to:
The Department of Public Works
(808) 961-8321
public_works@hawaiicounty.gov
DPW Information & Education Specialist
Sherise Kana’e-Kāne
(808) 961-8499
sherise.kanae-kane@hawaiicounty.gov
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
How many permits are going to expire on June 1? (The ones issued on or before March 27, 2012)
6840 Building Permits (earliest 1971) and the accompanying electrical and plumbing permits.
How many will expire Sept. 7? (The ones issued on or before March 7,2017)
2874 Building and the accompanying electrical and plumbing permits.
Why is this happening? How will it affect people trying to get work done?
Per County Code, Section 5-5-4. Expiration.
(a) Permits shall expire and become null and void:
(1) Permits issued to contractors – three years after the date of issuance of the permit;
(2) Permits issued to owner-builders – five years after the date of issuance of the permit;
(3) 180 consecutive days after the date of issuance, if the work authorized by the permit is not commenced by such date; or
(4) If the work authorized by a permit is suspended or abandoned for a period of 180 consecutive days or more at any time after the date of issuance.
(b) Upon expiration of a permit, all work shall cease and shall not be recommenced until a new permit is obtained.
Historically, DPW was unable to effectively enforce the expiration on the Legacy permits. The EPIC system can now track the issued and expiration dates without additional resources. When the EPIC system went live, many permits were marked expired per the system requirements and was disabled to allow the community to address their existing permits. Extensions have been granted for justifiable reasons. Work inspected and approved will be honored under the code it was permitted, while remaining work will need to be included in a new permit application as outlined in our press release. Expiring the permits under the 1991 code (or earlier) allows for consistent inspections for building inspectors under the newer codes.
Why are extensions still being considered for the Sept. 7 expirations, but not the June 1 ones?
Permit holders have had over 10 years to complete what was required to be built in 3 to 5 years.
Permits issued on or before 3/27/2012 were under the UBC 1991 Code or earlier.
Significant code changes occurred from the 1991 code to the 2006 code.
Permits issued on or before 3/7/2017 were under the 2006 IBC where the changes were comparable to our current codes. Interruption to inspection services is maintained without requiring to inspect different building codes.
Can people resubmit permits now before the expiration date? If a new permit is not issued until after the current permit expires, what happens during the interim?
Yes; please notify inspector that a new permit has been submitted and provide the application number.