From what I understand, the electrical inspectors are different staff members than the plumbing inspectors. I could be wrong, but I don't think the plumbing inspector pays any attention to your wiring (or vice versa).

I sincerely doubt that JC's permitting system is sophisticated enough to recognize that a home might have had unpermitted pot lights or outlets installed in the past. It seems to be largely paper based and inefficient.

Now, if the work doesn't meet code standards and you are having that system (electrical vs, plumbing) inspected, you might have a problem.

Hi All- A couple of years ago I had a licensed electrician install a bunch of recessed lights and a couple of outlets in my condo. We never dealt with getting a permit and now we are about to do more work in the house that requires a permit (plumbing). Are we going to run into trouble when the inspector comes- will he ask about other work we may have done? What % of people actually get these permits? Any advice or experiences appreciated. Thanks, Dot

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Advice + humor. I will be adding "petit napoleons" to my insult repetoire.

Thanks!

In my condo experience, state licensed plumbers and electricians are required if major plumbing and electrical work (moving pluming fixtures or doing big wiring) are in the scope of the project. No DIY on those jobs, unless you are a licensed plumber or electrician. I think you can be your own General contractor, though. Of course, everything gets inspected for code violations. Your condo board might also have their own rules, too.

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If that's the case, no new electrical or major replumbing, you need no permits.

If you're in a single family you can pull your own permits for everything, I have no idea what the condo regs are, probably a no-go like regular multifamily.

edit; +1 to everything Lolo said.

Getting building permits in JC is difficult for the average homeowner for many reasons, including--

--the buildings department is run as if the year was 1935 and most of the public-facing employees are petit napoleons who have no customer service skills.
--If you hire someone who doesn't work in JC often (and isn't in "our system") they seem to need loads of extra time to complete your paperwork. No one could explain this to me.
--forms are accessible only in person, necessitating at least two trips to the office on Montgomery Street for a homeowner
--the forms make no sense to the average person, and could really use a re-design
--the procedure for procuring permits isn't outlined anywhere. It is a learn-by-doing (and learn by your mistakes) sort of bureaucracy
--there is ZERO transparency in the permits-gettin' process

I always hear horror stories about getting construction permits in Jersey City. Could someone explain why this is the case? Any tips on how to make it go more smoothly?

How exactly do you get a permit?

Also, do you always need new permits? What if you are essentially doing a cosmetic upgrade? i.e. putting in new everything - cabinets, appliances and tiles - but the layout is identical to before?