Tag: L&I philadelphia

Posted on

Permit Expirations

Stylized picture of Philadelphia's skyline above a written guide to Philly permit expirations

We’ve heard a lot from our clients about permit expirations recently: Contractors, property owners, and even homeowners working on small renovation projects have found their construction and zoning permits out of date: marked “expired” and closed in the City of Philadelphia’s online portal. Everyone wants to know why their permits are expiring, and how to keep them alive.

Under this hail of cancellations, it might be surprising to learn that Philly’s permit expiration rules aren’t new: the City didn’t pass a new law, and Licenses and Inspections didn’t create a new regulation. What’s new is enforcement: L&I is tracking expiration dates closely, and actually closing overdue permits. In recent years, they were far more lenient because of the pandemic; and before that, they simply didn’t police expirations strictly: a permit could hang out in the system for years past its expiration date before anyone thought about closing the permit record.

That has all changed within the last year: Licenses and Inspections will close out expired permits almost immediately, which has introduced Philadelphia developers, contractors, and property owners to the rules that were technically always there, printed at the bottom of every issued permit.

You have questions about Philly permit expirations (I assume – you’re reading this, right?). We have the answers! Let’s dive in:

Continue reading “Permit Expirations”
Posted on

Update on Philly Airbnb rules

Image of Philadelphia buildings at the top of an article about the Philly Airbnb rules in 2023

It’s been two years since Philly decided to create a license for Airbnb rentals, over a year since we first looked at Philly’s Airbnb rules in this space. The regulations for the Airbnb license are tricky, but with determination and focus we worked them out, then shared our findings with you in an easy-to-use guide – problem solved! Let’s look at the result of our work… Oh. Oh no.

Image of stormtroopers from Star Wars in formation used as a joke to represent Airbnb's enforcement of the City of Philadelphia's licensing rules

Live look at Airbnb’s enforcement action in Philadelphia

Okay, in the last month the City of Philadelphia has directed Airbnb and Vrbo to stop listing any stays (called short-term rentals) without a Philadelphia license. This is a problem, because in the last two years, I guess only 10-15% of Airbnb/Vrbo operators got a license? People! Come on! 

Alright, alright: I understand it’s not that easy to get a short-term rental license in Philly. I also understand that not every property is zoned for short-term rental under City laws. So here’s a quick reminder of the steps to a Philadelphia Airbnb license: 

Continue reading “Update on Philly Airbnb rules”
Posted on

Philadelphia Outdoor Dining Rules

A picture of streeteries in Philadelphia on 2nd Street, as part of this article on new Philly outdoor dining rules in 2023

If you operate a restaurant in Philadelphia, you probably know what today is: Streetery Judgment Day in Philly. Starting January 9th, 2023, all the outdoor dining patios, tents, huts, and yurts that flowered in the pandemic must be licensed or weeded from the fabled streets of Philadelphia. While Licenses and Inspections had given restaurants a pretty long leash starting in 2020, they’ve teamed with the Streets Department to yank that chain tight, ruling certain zones illegal for street dining and instituting a fee and permit structure for continued outdoor restaurant extensions. Naturally, restaurateurs (and diners!) are confused about the new Philadelphia outdoor dining rules. But never fear! Permit Philly is here to break down these new curbside seating regulations.

Continue reading “Philadelphia Outdoor Dining Rules”
Posted on

Top Five Things to Know About Philly Permits in 2019

Top Five Things to Know About Philly Permits in 2019

Happy New Year!  Permit Philly hopes everyone has recovered from the Mummer apocalypse and a month of eggnog.  Since we have a brand-new year on our hands, I thought it would be a good idea to review what’s changed in Philadelphia permits over the last year, and explain how the changes affect you.  So here are the top five things to know about Philly permits in 2019.

Continue reading “Top Five Things to Know About Philly Permits in 2019”

Posted on

Philadelphia EZ Permits

Philadelphia EZ Permits can be used to renovate single-family homes like these

The City of Philadelphia offers a type of building, electrical, and plumbing permit called an EZ Permit.  This is because it’s easier to get than a normal permit (don’t look at me like that – I’m not in charge of naming this stuff).  Philadelphia EZ Permits are the source of a lot of hope and a lot of confusion for homeowners and developers.  In this post, we’re going to try to clear some of the mud off the Philadelphia EZ Permit.

Continue reading “Philadelphia EZ Permits”

Posted on

Philadelphia Building Permit Checklist

This development could have used a Philadelphia building permit checklist

The most common question I get here at Permit Philly is, “What permits do I need to build this?”  As documented in our blog, Philadelphia has a dense administrative system that might require you to get a lot of permits.  “It depends on the project,” is the answer I usually give.  But people don’t just want to know the specific permit they need: they want a conceptual picture of the permitting system.  A Philadelphia building permit checklist.

And wouldn’t you know it: there is a Philadelphia building permit checklist, made by the City itself.  You can find it right here.

But before you dive into it, let’s give you a companion piece: an overhead view of the permitting maze in Philly.

Continue reading “Philadelphia Building Permit Checklist”

Posted on

How to Open a Restaurant in Philadelphia

how to open a restaurant in philadelphia — like these ones on South Street

You’re ready to open a restaurant in Philadelphia.  You have everything you need: a great building, all the right equipment on order, a dedicated team, and some amazing recipes.  Now you just need to get a food license from the City of Philadelphia.  Is that just one form?  Maybe a little inspection?

Not quite.  While you do need an inspection from the Health Department to operate a restaurant, and there is a simple form that says “Food License,” actually getting complete approval to open a restaurant in Philadelphia can be a long and complicated journey.  As Philly Health Commissioner Thomas Farley once said, “The night is dark and full of terrors.”

Okay, maybe he didn’t actually say that.  But getting officially certified to open a restaurant in Philadelphia can be a nightmare if you don’t know what you’re in for.  Fear not!  Permit Philly is here to break down the process for you.

Continue reading “How to Open a Restaurant in Philadelphia”

Posted on

Philadelphia Overlay Districts

Philadelphia Overlay Districts: A Row of Homes in Fishtown, Philadelphia

In this space, we’ve explained what zoning districts are, and summarized the three main categories of zoning district: commercial, residential (single-family and multi-family), and industrial.  We’ve even reviewed the basics of sign permitting.  So you might think that our Philadelphia zoning guide is complete!

… you would be wrong.

Having a zoning code with detailed regulations for each parcel of land in the city might seem like the definition of a zoning code.  But Philly’s zoning code doesn’t merely define types of parcel.  It also sorts those parcels into geographic units.  In certain areas of the city, it’s not enough to know that your property is considered RSA-5 (that is, residential single-family, attached).  Your property might also fall under regulations for the Center City district – CTR – or the Central Delaware district – CDO.  There are twenty of these in all, and they are called Overlay Districts.

Continue reading “Philadelphia Overlay Districts”

Posted on

Parking! Parking! Parking!

A parking meter in Queen Village, demonstrating parking rules in Philadelphia | Permit Philly

Let’s talk about parking rules in Philadelphia.  You have to abide by them, even though you may not know what they are, and every living human in the city has a very angry opinion about them.  Many RCOs rage against developments without parking.  Residents want their curbside parking secured – keep the new people away from my spot! is the cry from people who moved to Northern Liberties only six years ago.  As more people move to Philly, the tide of grumbling increases.  Everyone is angry about parking.

And this anger reaches City Council pretty quickly.  Right now, the Council is debating a new bill to require stricter parking rules in Philadelphia.  [update: this was written in 2018, but Council is pretty much always debating parking bills.] Specifically, the bill would require more parking spaces to be constructed with each new development in the City.  You might have seen some of Plan Philly’s outstanding reporting on this – take a look at this interview and this article for a good introduction.

Since the future of parking rules in Philadelphia are in some uncertainty, I want to quickly review the overall zoning rules for parking spots in the city, and talk about the ways in which the new bill might change them.

Continue reading “Parking! Parking! Parking!”

©, Permit Philly LLC.