Do you have open building permits? Here’s how to find out

Wareham homeowners are being affected by the town’s strict enforcement of state regulations on expired building permits – preventing some from selling their homes. Could you be next? 

According to some real estate agents selling in Wareham, buyers can see expired permits as a liability that indicate unresolved problems with a property. And right now, there are hundreds of expired open permits on Wareham properties that the town will not inspect.

To see if a property has an expired building permit, input the address into the public records search box on warehamma.portal.opengov.com/search.

Public records on a property will appear in list form under “Record Type.” If a permit’s status is marked as “active”, then the permit is still open. If the status is marked as “completed,” the permit has been closed.

Click on the permit’s name to learn more about it.

Building permits are taken out by property owners and contractors for any construction, demolition, or alteration work on structures in town. When construction starts, permits are marked as “open” until work is completed and inspected by the Department of Inspectional Services, who sign off on the permit, marking it as “closed.”

If an expired building permit is found, there’s not much that can be done. 

According to a spokesperson from the Massachusetts Board of Building Regulations and Standards, permits expire 180 days after work ends, but the 180 day “clock” starts every time a pause in work occurs. 

For example, if work occurs intermittently over the span of years, the permit will not expire if any work was done during each 180 day cycle.

Open building permits expire 180 days after construction ends. Under current policy, if a permit is never marked as “closed” and has since expired, it is attached to a property forever.