The City of Chino Hills will resume normal policies of expiring building permits effective March 1, 2023. The Chino Hills City Council had previously authorized a hold on expiring building permits that had not received a successful inspection within 180 days to support homeowners and businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Permits issued prior to September 1, 2022, which have not passed a successful inspection between September 1, 2022, and March 1, 2023, are at risk of expiring. 

Under California Building Code (CBC), building permits are valid for 180 days from permit issuance and expire automatically unless construction has commenced, and the project has had a successful inspection within that time frame. CBC does not require notification of a pending expiration to the permit applicant; however, the City will mail a courtesy notice of the expiring permit to both the applicant and the property owner advising them they have ten days to either pass a required inspection or request an extension. 

The City would like to remind residents that sometimes contractors may pull the required permit for the job but then require the homeowner to call Building & Safety for a final inspection. This is especially common with water heater change-outs, photovoltaic system (solar) installations, and reroofing permits.

Building permit applicants may request a one-time extension by emailing a written request to [email protected]. If the permit expires without requesting an extension, the builder or the homeowner must obtain a new permit, which will be subject to any building code changes since the issuance of the original permit and may require payment of additional permit fees. Expired permits are then referred to Code Enforcement for resolution.

For questions regarding your active building permit or on requesting an extension, contact Building & Safety at (909) 364-2780.