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City Departments

Building Department

Certificate of Occupancy
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Certificates of Occupancy for Existing Spaces
 
The City of Southfield requires that all occupants of any building must first obtain a certificate of occupancy, before occupancy takes place. Furthermore, building permits are required for alteration work done on a building.

The procedure for obtaining a certificate of occupancy in an existing building is as follows:
  1. The first step is to get Planning Department zoning approval. In order to obtain this there must be an approved Site Plan on file, if there is not, you may have to provide one. Then the Planning Department will make an on-site inspection.
  2. When this has been granted, either a building permit or a Special Inspection must be obtained. A Special Inspection is performed to ensure that the building/suite is up to current building codes for egress and life safety. If the Special Inspection reveals there are violations for which corrections are required, they must be completed before a certificate of occupancy can be issued. If no violations exist and there is Planning Department approval, a certificate of occupancy will be issued. The cost for a special inspection is $60 per inspection and $150 for a certificate of occupancy.
  3. If a renovation is to take place, a building permit would have to be issued, and all work completed, as well as Planning Department approval, before a certificate of occupancy could be issued.

If you have any questions regarding these procedures, please contact the Building Department Specialist at (248) 796-4107.

 

Did You Know?

  • Temperature of water and time until skin damage
  • 120°                        4 minutes and 50 seconds
  • 125°                        50 seconds
  • 130°                        15 seconds
  • 135°                        5.5 seconds
  • 140°                        2.6 seconds
  • Greater than 140°     Less than 1 second

  • Residential plans are required to be kept by the Building Department for 10 years. As a courtesy, the plans are returned to the property owner after that time period.

  • The required width of an exit door in a residential home is 3 feet. This dimension was based on the ability to get a coffin through the door.

  • It's OK to be square.....sometimes.
    When the top and bottom are the same length and the sides are identical the job should be square (90 degree angles).

  • The weight of one cubic foot of concrete weighs 150 pounds.

  • The weight of the average house is 40 pounds per square foot.

  • The Building Code of Hammurabi, King of the Babylonian Empire, is the earliest known written Building Code of Law, written in 2200 B.C. It is noted that exact requirements for construction are not given; rather, the code assesses penalties if the building is not properly constructed. An example: In Hammurabi’s kingdom the ultimate penalty for unsafe construction was death.