Do I need a permit in Sebastian? A plain list of common home projects and what the city charges

You want a new fence. Or a shed for the mower. Or the A/C finally quit and you need a new one. The first question most Sebastian homeowners type into Google is the same: do I need a permit for this?

For a house inside Sebastian city limits, the answer comes from the City of Sebastian Building Department, not the county. And the city's own fee list gives a pretty clear picture of which everyday jobs it permits.

The projects on Sebastian's permit list

The city publishes a list of what it calls building code specialty permits, with a flat fee for each one. These are the items most homeowners run into. The fees below are the ones posted on the city's website today.

• Fences: $75
• Shed or accessory structure: $75
• Residential roof, all types: $125
• Window and door replacement: $75
• Storm shutters: $75
• A/C change-out: $75
• Driveway: $100
• Concrete or slab: $105
• Siding and re-stucco: $105
• Aluminum structures: $125
• Irrigation system: $75
• Solar system: $75
• Pools and spas: $255; above-ground pools: $75
• Electrical service change: $75
• Demolition of a building or structure: $105

Electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits are figured differently. The city lists them at 4.5% of the permit fee, with a $75 minimum. Gas appliances are $75 plus $2 per appliance.

There is also a catch-all line that surprises people: "miscellaneous with a value under $3,000 and only one inspection required" is $75. In other words, a small job is not automatically a no-permit job. If you are not sure, ask before you start.

Doing the work yourself: the owner-builder rules

Florida lets a homeowner pull a permit and act as their own contractor. This is called the owner-builder exemption, and it is in Florida Statutes section 489.103. It comes with strings attached.

• The home has to be for your own use. It cannot be built or improved to sell or rent.
• If you sell or lease it, or offer it for sale or lease, within one year after the work is done, the law presumes you did the work to sell or rent it.
• You must directly supervise the work yourself, on site.
• You must personally appear and sign the permit application, and sign a disclosure statement before the permit is issued.
• Anyone you hire who is not licensed must be your employee, which means payroll taxes and workers' compensation are on you.

That last point trips people up. Paying an unlicensed handyman to do permitted work under your owner-builder permit is not what the exemption allows. If you hire a contractor, the contractor should be licensed and should pull the permit.

The notice of commencement

On bigger jobs you will hear about a notice of commencement. It is a form recorded in the county's official records that tells the world who is doing the work on your property. Florida's construction lien law, section 713.13, prints this warning right on the form: a notice of commencement must be recorded and posted on the job site before the first inspection.

Some smaller improvements are exempt under a separate part of that law. Your permit clerk can tell you whether your job needs one.

What to do before you start a project

1. Make sure you are inside Sebastian city limits. If your address is unincorporated Indian River County, the county issues your permits, not the city.
2. Check the city's permit fee list for your type of job. If it is there, plan on a permit.
3. Call or email the City of Sebastian Building Department with a one-line description of the job and ask what they need with the application.
4. If you hire someone, check their license at myfloridalicense.com and have them pull the permit in their name.
5. If you are doing it yourself, read the owner-builder disclosure before you sign it, so you know what you are promising.
6. Keep the permit card posted at the house and do not cover up work before it is inspected.
7. Save the final inspection record with your house papers. It helps when you sell or when someone asks how old your roof or A/C is.

One more thing. Your HOA, if you have one, is a separate approval. A city permit does not replace HOA approval, and HOA approval does not replace a city permit.