Open Permits on a House: How to Check Before You Buy
What an open or expired building permit on a house means, how to look up permits by address in Chicago, Philadelphia and Cincinnati, and what to do before closing.
Quick answer
An open permit is a building permit that was issued but never closed with a final inspection; an expired permit lapsed before that happened. Either one can mean unfinished or uninspected work. Check the city's permit records by address before closing, compare them with the work you can see, and make closing the permit a condition of the sale.
What is an open permit on a house?
Permits exist so that work is inspected. Philadelphia's Department of Licenses and Inspections puts the rule in one sentence: "Building permits are required before the start of a specific construction activity to enlarge, repair, change, add to or demolish a structure, and to install equipment or systems in a structure." A permit that stays open means the city never confirmed the work was done to code.
Three statuses matter to a buyer. An active or issued permit may be legitimate work in progress. An expired permit lapsed without being finished or inspected. A permit that was never pulled at all (unpermitted work) does not show up in any permit search, which is why a search is a starting point, not a clean bill of health.
Definition
Open permit — A building, electrical, plumbing or mechanical permit that the local building department issued for work on a property but has not closed, usually because the final inspection never happened or was never passed.
Why open permits matter when you buy
- The city never confirmed the work was done to code, so finding and fixing any defect in it becomes the new owner's job.
- An expired permit with no final inspection can mean the work stopped partway, before walls were closed or systems were tested.
- Florida passed a statute, 553.79(17), barring building departments from denying permits to, citing or fining an arm's-length buyer solely over a prior owner's open permit. Outside Florida, ask the building department what it will require from a new owner.
How to check for open permits on a house
Confirm which building department has jurisdiction
A mailing address can name a city the property is not in. Many Hamilton County, Ohio addresses say Cincinnati but lie in a township, and suburban Cook County towns run their own departments. The permit records belong to the city, village, township or county where the parcel actually sits.
Search the permit records by address or parcel
Check the city's permit records for the address. For the three cities below, the lookup tools on this site check each city's permit records by address.
Read every status, not just the newest permit
Look for permits marked issued, active, suspended or expired with no completion or final inspection date. Note the work type and the contractor.
Compare the permits with the house
A finished basement, a new deck or a moved wall with no permit at all is a question for the seller, and for your home inspector.
Make closing the permit a contract term
Ask the seller to get the final inspection, or to have the original or a new contractor close the permit, before closing. If that is not possible, negotiate a credit or an escrow holdback large enough to finish the work.
Search violations at the same time
The same city departments keep code enforcement cases, so check both at once. See code violations on a property.
How to check permits in Chicago, Philadelphia and Cincinnati
Each of these cities keeps public permit records. Counts by status as of 2026-10-19 are below.
| City | Where the records are | Permits by status on 2026-10-19 | HeritageDeed lookup |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago | Department of Buildings permit records, 2006 to present, excluding permits that have been voided or revoked after issuance | 30,764 active, 16,549 expired and 12,757 suspended, of 850,686 rows; 302,815 rows carry no status, because status is not available for all permit types | Chicago building violations and permits |
| Philadelphia | Department of Licenses and Inspections building and zoning permit records, 2007 to present | 60,526 issued and 80,630 expired (the status is spelled two ways), against 788,798 completed | Philadelphia L&I violations and permits |
| Cincinnati | City of Cincinnati building permit records, by Hamilton County Auditor parcel | 22,521 issued, 1,581 expired and 142,285 finaled, for permits in the City of Cincinnati jurisdiction | Cincinnati building permits and code enforcement |
Reading the permit records in each city
Chicago. The city notes that most permits are issued subject to payment of the permit fee and that "Work under a permit may not begin until the applicable permit fee is paid". The lookup lists active, expired and complete permits for the address and any permit fees the city shows as unpaid. It covers the City of Chicago only, not suburbs such as Evanston or Oak Park. For scale, Cook County recorded 62,543 sales countywide between 2025-08-13 and 2026-08-12.
Philadelphia. L&I permits are tied to the property's OPA account number. The lookup finds that account from the address, then shows issued, expired and completed permits with the approved scope of work.
Cincinnati. The lookup checks the address against the city boundary first, because many addresses with a Cincinnati mailing address are outside the city. Inside the city it lists permits filed under the Auditor parcel since 2010 with type, status and estimated cost.
Florida protects buyers from a prior owner's open permit, up to a point
What a title search shows, and what it does not
Permits are not recorded in the county land records, so a traditional title search does not show them. A HeritageDeed report for an address in Chicago, Philadelphia or Cincinnati now adds the city's building violations and permits to the owner of record, deeds, mortgages and releases, liens and court records, for $49. See the coverage pages for Cook County, Philadelphia and Hamilton County.
Neither a permit search nor a title search is a home inspection, a survey or title insurance. Work done without a permit leaves no permit record, so it has to be spotted at the house itself. For the full picture of a property's past, see property history lookup.
Key takeaways
Key takeaways
- An open permit was issued but never closed with a final inspection; an expired permit lapsed first.
- Search the building department that actually has jurisdiction, by address or parcel, and read every status.
- On 2026-10-19 Chicago's records showed 16,549 expired permits, Philadelphia's 80,630 and Cincinnati's 1,581.
- Make closing open permits a contract condition, or negotiate a credit or escrow holdback.
- Unpermitted work never appears in a permit search; look for it during the inspection.
Frequently asked questions
- How do I find out if a house has open permits?
- Search the building department's permit records for the address or parcel number and look for permits that are issued, active, suspended or expired without a final inspection. In Chicago, Philadelphia and Cincinnati, the lookup tools on this site check the city's permit records by address.
- Can you buy a house with an open permit?
- Yes, but the unfinished work comes with the house. A buyer can ask the seller to close the permit before closing, or negotiate a credit or an escrow holdback to cover finishing and inspecting the work.
- Who is responsible for an open permit after a sale?
- It depends on local law. In Florida, a city may not fine or cite an arm's-length buyer solely because a prior owner's permit was not closed, and keeps its remedies against the prior owner and contractor. Elsewhere, ask the building department before closing.
- What is the difference between an open and an expired permit?
- An open or issued permit is still valid and the work may be in progress. An expired permit ran out before the work was finished or inspected. How to close it depends on local rules: in Florida, an expired permit whose work is substantially complete may be closed without a new permit under Fla. Stat. 553.79(16)(b).
- Do home inspectors check for permits?
- Do not assume so. A home inspection reports on the condition of the house, while the permit file sits with the building department. Pull the permit history yourself and give it to the inspector so they can look closely at work that was permitted but never finaled.
- Does a title search show open permits?
- Not usually, because permits are not recorded in the land records. HeritageDeed reports for Chicago, Philadelphia and Cincinnati addresses add the city's permits and violations from each city's records.
Legal references
Statutes and rules cited in this article.
- 1Florida Statutes 553.79
Cite this guide
APA
HeritageDeed. (2026, October 19). Open Permits on a House: How to Check Before You Buy. https://heritagedeed.com/blog/open-permits-on-a-house
MLA
“Open Permits on a House: How to Check Before You Buy.” HeritageDeed, October 19, 2026, heritagedeed.com/blog/open-permits-on-a-house.
Link (HTML)
<a href="https://heritagedeed.com/blog/open-permits-on-a-house">Open Permits on a House: How to Check Before You Buy</a> (HeritageDeed)HeritageDeed provides public-record search reports only. Reports do not constitute title insurance, an attorney opinion of title, or a title insurance commitment.
