New Permit Fees for New Buildings and Alterations Take Effect on March 5, 2018

By Penny Laughlin

A few weeks after New York City updated the permit fee structure for new buildings and alterations through Local Law 56 of 2016, the Department of Buildings (DOB) explained the new fees in a Service Bulletin. That same bulletin indicated that the old rates would remain in effect “until system updates are completed.”

That day of reckoning—and recalculation—arrives on Monday, March 5, 2018.

Here’s how the new permit fees will affect construction projects:

Amendments and Corrections. For all amendments and corrections that affect fees, the entire job will have to be re-calculated according to the new fee structure.
Filings (Old Filing Fee Structure). Jobs that were pre-filed or uploaded in eFiling prior to June 9, 2016 (the effective date of Local Law 56 of 2016), will fall under the previous fee structure.
Filings (New Filing Fee Structure). All jobs created or uploaded in eFiling on or after June 9, 2016, will be subject to the new fees. Subsequent filings made on or after this date will be calculated under the new permit fee structure, regardless of their original filing date.

Permit Fees – New Buildings

The fee structure now includes three building classifications: 1,2,3-family dwellings; buildings fewer than seven (7) stories and 100,000 s.f. or less; and all other buildings seven (7) stories or greater or more than 100,000 s.f.

For New Buildings, the permit fees are calculated as follows:

For 1,2,3-family dwellings, new applications decrease from $0.12/s.f. to $0.06/s.f. The $100 minimum remains unchanged.
New applications for buildings fewer than seven (7) stories and 100,000 s.f. or less will be calculated at the same rate of $0.26/s.f., but the minimum fee increases from $100 to $280.
For buildings seven (7) stories or higher or more than 100,000 s.f., new applications increase from $0.26/s.f. to $0.45/s.f. In addition, the minimum fee increases from $100 to $290.

Permit Fees – Alterations

The new fee calculation rates for alterations are as follows:

For 1,2,3-family homes, the fee calculation rate drops from $5.15 for each $1,000 in excess of $5,000 to $2.60 for each $1,000. Minimum fees remain the same.
Buildings fewer than seven (7) stories and less than 100,000 s.f. will no longer have a secondary fee calculation rate (e., $20 for each $1,000 of the next $2,000).
For Alteration Type 1 applications on buildings of seven (7) stories or higher or more than 100,000 s.f., the fee calculation rate increases from $10.30 to $17.75, with a minimum fee of $290.
Alteration Type 2 and 3 applications for these larger buildings (7+ stories or more than 100,00 s.f.) have the same calculation rates and minimum fees.

If you have questions about the impact of the new fee structures on your existing projects, please call Metropolis Group at 212.233.6344.