 Do I really need a Building Permit?Short answer... Yes!
Long answer... Yes, and here's why! $1000/day in penalties for building a non-permitted structure in Maui County! Yes, you read that correctly, $1000/day in penalties! How do I know? Because last week I went down to the building department and had a conversation. The woman I spoke with was very helpful and friendly; sharing a great wealth of knowledge about permits, penalties and other related topics, she told me penalties for non-compliance can be up to $1000/day. SIDENOTE: Nobody at the building department enjoys handing these penalties out, it's a tough job, so be nice when you call or go down there! $1000/day, that's a lot of money to spend on fines! The next logical thought is, how much does it cost to get a building permit? And the answer is, it depends! If you're building a 25,000 sqft office building, the permit will cost a lot more than if you're adding a covered lānai (patio) to your back yard; but you can be certain the penalty for not acquiring a permit will be a lot more expensive than getting one in the first place! Why do so many people cringe at the thought of getting a building permit? I'm sure it varies by individual, but my best-guess one-word-answer is FEAR! Fear of the unknown, fear of complexity, fear of expense; or maybe it's some other fear variation, but what I'm saying to you is... Don't do that, getting a building permit isn't as scary as you think; but the penalties for non-compliance are! There's no other way to look at it, building without a permit is a high-risk / low-reward gamble (at best)! So what can you do? The simple answer is, have a conversation! If you're building anything on Maui, a remodel, deck, stairs, trellis, or 25,000 sqft office building, simply call or go down to the building department and ask questions, have a conversation. It's not that scary, I promise! Now that you're comfortable with the idea of getting a building permit, and you're ready to have a conversation, feel free to give HONU Engineering a call (213) 349-5877 with any questions you have. Or, if you've already built that covered lānai (patio), and you'd like to acquire an "after-the-fact" permit, we can help with that too. Let's have a conversation, call, send an honuengineering@gmail.com or check us out online: HONUengineering.com HONU Engineering "Quality Solutions"
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