15 Tips to Follow When Your Project Has Been Red-Tagged and Shut Down

By Helen Callier, President of Permit Us Now, LLC

Have you ever been red-tagged on a project? It happens, and seeing a red tag posted on your construction project can be disheartening. And it becomes worse when your project is shut down because of failure in pulling a building permit.

Failing to pull a building permit for whatever reason is costly to you as the contractor and your customer.  It is also unprofessional, unethical, and in direct violation to jurisdiction codes and ordinances. 

Our team has received a lot of phone calls through our toll free line from contractors and project owners in dire straights requesting assistance after having their job sites red-tagged and shut down by a city inspector for not having a permit.  We hear all kinds of comments about being red-tagged such as the following:

• Do we need a permit for this type of work, and is there anything you can do to get around meeting these codes?
• Our plans are wrong, and the architect did not make changes as requested.
• We are cash-strapped and cannot afford the building permit fees now.
• The contractor we used did not pull a permit and our roof is messed up and the building is half-finished.  What do we need to do to resolve?

The bottom line is that most construction projects within a city’s jurisdiction will require a building permit of some magnitude. And while you may be able to submit plans to the city as is, if they are not designed to code, your plans will be rejected.  Also, not having the money to pay permit fees is your problem, as the jurisdiction is focused on safety and not your money woes. If work provided was poor quality and does not meet code, then you will need to bring work up to code to obtain necessary approval during inspection. But before that can happen, you need to pull a permit.

Below are 15 tips that we have shared over a period to assist contractors in getting a permit after being red-tagged and shut down:

1. Do not toss or ignore a red tag.
2. Review violations and comments on a red tag.
3. Alert the project owner.
4. Contact the inspector or code enforcement to acknowledge receipt.
5. Ask questions for clarification, steps to follow, and timeline.
6. Contact your architect if needed to request assistance with plans.
7. Contact a plan reviewer to cover any areas on the project where there are concerns.
8. Prepare plans with pre-requisite documents.
9. Submit to jurisdictions following their permitting checklist.
10. Track the status online, and check for any rejections or RFI’s.
11. Respond quickly to jurisdiction comments, and resubmit.
12. Pay for the permit.
13. Post on the job site.
14. Alert the project owner of the permit obtained and posted.
15. Resume work.

In conclusion, the city code enforcement or inspector will continue to drop by your site until your project has been submitted to city permitting. So, the sooner you submit your plans for permitting, the quicker you can be on the path to righting the ship of your project with a permit.  If you have any tips to share from your experience of being shut down, I would love to hear from you.  Connect with me at 1.844.PERMIT.4 or on LinkedIn.  #BuildSafe