Building Department

The Habersham County Building Department operates under and enforces International Building Codes as prescribed by the International Code Council, mandated and amended by the State of Georgia. Click here to access International Building Codes.

The primary mission of the Building Department is to protect the people's health, safety, and welfare by ensuring a safe building environment.

Habersham County requires all construction work, such as building, remodeling, and additions, to conform to state codes. Permits are required, and building inspections are performed at different stages of the job to ensure that the codes are followed. Therefore, work may be temporarily halted until an inspection has been done and approval granted. All work to any structure, be it new construction, addition, or alteration to an existing structure, must be approved and permitted by the Building Department before construction begins.

Building permits may be requested in person at the Building Department or by contacting David Turpin at dturpin@habershamga.com.

The Building Department requires all residential and commercial building permit applicants to have all of the following before being turned in for review:

Recorded plat of property with structure drawn on plat
Complete set of drawings/plans with doors and windows listed
Preliminary septic tank permit

The Building Department also enforces erosion and sediment controls in the county. Any grading, clearing, grubbing, or installation of driveways on any property shall be required to obtain a Land Disturbance Permit.

Codes protect the life, health, and property of residents and thus help provide a better living environment. Without code enforcement, a builder can come into a community and build a sub-standard home that he will sell below the market value, thus affecting the value of the house constructed by a builder who builds at or above the standard. Even though there is a need for lower-cost housing, all homes need to be constructed to the same standards to ensure the health, safety, and welfare of those purchasing the home and protect their investment. With everyone building on the same level of guidelines, it causes the building market to be strong and fair. It helps to protect the property values of every person in the community by requiring everyone to live up to the same standard as far as construction is concerned.
The permitting/inspections system provides a means of systematically updating property assessments. This is important so that each person within the county community contributes to the tax base when building on their property.
Building inspections often result in lower insurance rates. It is getting more challenging to purchase homeowner's insurance on a home that has not been inspected. Rates on homeowner's insurance are based on what is known as an ISO rating. Each locality is graded on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the worst rating, causing insurance premiums to be higher. Much of the locality is graded on permits, plan reviews, and a code inspection program. A higher rating (which is terrible) can be expected without these. The lower the rating is, the better it is.
Building codes and inspections assist in keeping growth at a moderate level. We all know change will happen, whether we like it or not. Building inspections provide a sensible way to keep that growth under control and consistent. Without building codes and reviews, everyone doing things "their own way" only leads to fast, uncontrolled growth for which a local entity is unprepared and results in unsafe building practices.