On February 23, 2022, amid a multitude of changes and communications pertaining to the Hawaii County Building Code and permitting process, the Department of Public Works Building Division has again issued a time extension to complete technically “expired” permits. The time extension provides for the following:
Permits issued on or before March 27, 2012 will be expired as of June 1, 2022.
- Work that has been inspected and approved will be honored under the code it was permitted.
- Work that has not been inspected and approved will need to be included in a new permit application. The expired permit number will be required 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 that shall describe in detail the causes of the delay, the effect on the performance of work, the time during which work was actually suspended, and the portion or portions of the project affected.
- 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.
- Work that has not been inspected and approved will need to be included in a new permit application. The expired permit number will be required to be referenced in the description section of the new permit application.
This change came after receiving a slew of time extension requests after the public learned of the Building Division’s intention to expire over 40,000 building permits on March 7, 2022. The County of Hawaii presently has in its Building permit system more than 40,000 issued Building permits that have technically expired. There are many reasons for these seemingly abandoned permits. Landowners could change their minds, funding could dry up, construction work could fail final inspections, etc. Furthermore, open permits can be passed down from one landowner to the next, so without proper due diligence some property owners may be unaware that there are open permits on their property. A permit is not officially complete until all final inspections are passed and logged with the Building Division so even with the best intentions in mind, final inspections could be overlooked, or paperwork could be misplaced resulting in an unknown incomplete permit.
What many Hawaii County residents have been unaware of is that incomplete permits are subject to expiration. According to the Hawaii County Code, all permits shall expire and become null and void under the following circumstances:
- For permits issued to contractors – three years after date of issuance;
- For permits issued to owner-builders – five years after date of issuance;
- 180 consecutive days after the date of issuance, if the work authorized by the permit is not commenced by such date; or,
- 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.
Historically however, the Building Division has not enforced permit expiration dates. This all changed on September 2, 2021, just after the launch of the County’s new Electronic Processing and Information Center (EPIC) when the Building Division announced that they would begin enforcement of expiration dates and issued a preliminary time extension until March 7, 2022, to complete any expired building permits before they would automatically expire.
This action was slated to have some major implications for any effected Hawaii County landowner. Once a permit expires it becomes null and void. That means that the work done under the permit is no longer in legal standing with the County. This can drastically affect real estate values, lead to notices of violation and make obtaining final inspections impossible. Once a permit is expired, there is no getting it back. Should a landowner still wish to proceed with the work covered under an expired permit, a new permit application would need to be filed in accordance with the current building codes. Work already completed under an expired permit would become subject to “As-Built” permitting which can be a time consuming and expensive undertaking, often resulting in partial demo and reconstruction of improvements to meet current-day building codes.
Fortunately, the Building Division’s announcement to provide an additional grace period to resolve expired permits gives landowners more time to get their permits completed before having to start over. Additionally, the February announcement allows for work that has been inspected and approved to be honored under the code it was permitted.
Landowners are reminded to always obtain a copy of the final inspection report from your contractor or the Building Division upon the completion of any construction project and to keep those reports on file. If you are unsure whether you have any open permits on your property which may be subject to expiration, you can check the permitting history of your parcel by visiting the County’s Electronic Processing and Information Center at https://hawaiicountyhienergovpub.tylerhost.net/apps/selfservice/HawaiiCountyHIProd#/home or by calling the Hawaii County Building Division.
Should you discover that you have open building permits, Land Planning Hawaii may be able to assist you with obtaining a time extension to complete them. Call our office for more information.
