Permits for a Houston remodel

When you need a permit

In Houston, most structural, electrical, plumbing, mechanical and expansion work requires a building permit. Purely cosmetic updates — paint, trim, fixture swaps — often do not.

A kitchen or bath remodel that touches wiring, plumbing or layout needs a permit; an addition always does (City of Houston Permitting Center).

What the City of Houston process involves

A residential remodel permit requires plan review and inspection, is valid for six months, and lists an administrative fee of $33.56 plus the plan-review and trade fees (City of Houston, Residential Remodel Permit HPWCODE1135).

Simple applications are often processed in roughly 1–15 business days; larger remodels, new construction and additions that need full plan review commonly take several weeks to 2–6 months on the first review cycle.

Rough permit costs

Permit fees scale with the project. A kitchen or bath permit commonly runs about $75–$500, while larger residential projects are often priced at roughly 1% of the total project value (Houston permitting guides). These are the City's fees, separate from the construction investment.

Houston has no zoning — but that is not a free pass

Houston famously has no zoning, which only means the city doesn't pre-assign land uses — it does not exempt your project from permits. Deed restrictions, HOA rules, lot setbacks and floodplain elevation requirements still shape what you can build, and the floodplain rules in particular trip up Houston projects.

We check permits, deed restrictions and floodplain status in the design phase, before anything is drawn to build.

Who pulls the permit with Bager

Bager pulls and manages the permits and inspections as part of the project, so the paperwork never lands on you. As a design + build studio, one team carries it from drawings through permits, construction and warranty.