Occupancy permit: what it takes to move in legally
A house with a building permit is not yet a house you may live in. The National Building Code says nobody may use or occupy a building until the Building Official issues a Certificate of Occupancy, usually called the occupancy permit. This is what the law asks for before it is issued, and where each rule comes from.
What the law says about the occupancy permit
“No building or structure shall be used or occupied and no change in the existing use or occupancy classification of a building or structure or portion thereof shall be made until the Building Official has issued a Certificate of Occupancy therefor as provided in this Code.”
Two things follow from that sentence. A new house needs the certificate before anyone moves in. And an existing building needs a new one before its use changes, for example when part of a house becomes a shop.
From building permit to occupancy, step by step
The certificate is the last link in a chain that starts before construction. Each step below is set by the decree, the Fire Code or the 2018 Ease of Doing Business Act, with its figure and its source beside it.
- Building permit 15 days after the fees are paid, or the shorter Citizen's Charter time
- Construction 1 year to start lapses if work stops for 120 days
- Completion signed and sealed certificate of completion and site logbook, from the supervising architect or engineer (Section 308)
- Fire certificate 7 working days at most from the Bureau of Fire Protection
- Certificate of Occupancy 30 days after final inspection, or the shorter Citizen's Charter time
| Step | Figure | Source and condition |
|---|---|---|
| Building permit before any work | before work starts | PD 1096 Section 301: no one may erect, construct, alter, repair, move, convert or demolish a building without first obtaining one from the Building Official |
| Permit issued once the plans conform | 15 days | PD 1096 Section 304: from payment of the required fees. The processing caps of RA 11032, below, can be shorter |
| Changes to the approved plans | approval first | PD 1096 Section 304: approved plans may not be changed without the Building Official's approval, and the work must follow them strictly |
| Permit lapses if work has not started | 1 year | PD 1096 Section 305: counted from the date of the permit |
| Permit lapses if work stops | 120 days | PD 1096 Section 305: suspended or abandoned after it has begun |
| Full-time inspection and supervision | licensed architect or civil engineer | PD 1096 Section 308: engaged by the owner; may or may not be the designer |
| Logbook at the site | at all times | PD 1096 Section 308: progress, tests, weather and other data, submitted signed and sealed at completion |
| Certificate of Completion | at completion | PD 1096 Section 308: by the supervising architect or engineer, stating the building conforms to the Code and the approved plans |
| Fire Safety Inspection Certificate | before occupancy | RA 9514 Section 5(g): no occupancy permit may be issued without one from the Bureau of Fire Protection |
| Fire certificates issued | 7 working days at most | RA 9485 Section 12 as amended by RA 11032: the Fire Safety Inspection Certificate, and the Fire Safety Evaluation Clearance the same law names |
| Certificate of Occupancy issued | 30 days | PD 1096 Section 309: after final inspection and the Certificate of Completion, if the building complies. The processing caps of RA 11032, below, can be shorter |
| Processing caps for any government application | 3, 7 or 20 working days | RA 9485 Section 9 as amended by RA 11032: simple, complex or highly technical, counted from a complete application, as the office's Citizen's Charter states; extendable once, in writing |
| Where it goes | on display | PD 1096 Section 309: posted in a conspicuous place, removed only on the Building Official's order |
| Appeal against a refusal | 15 days | PD 1096 Sections 201, 307 and 309: to the Secretary of Public Works, from receipt of the written refusal; the Secretary decides within 15 days |
The decree's 15 and 30 days date from 1977. RA 11032, the Ease of Doing Business Act of 2018, caps how long any office may take once an application is complete, and the cap your office applies to each permit is written in its Citizen's Charter. It also requires cities and municipalities to bring the offices that deal with construction permits together, the fire bureau included, so ask whether your city takes the fire certificate at the same counter.
What has to be in place at the end
The decree and the Fire Code name these. The implementing rules and each office's checklist can add more, so ask for the list early.
- The construction logbook, signed and sealed and submitted to the Building Official by the architect or civil engineer who supervised the work (Section 308). It has to be kept at the site for the whole build, so it is filled in as the work goes.
- The Certificate of Completion, prepared and submitted by the same architect or engineer, stating that the building conforms to the Code and to the approved plans (Section 308).
- A Fire Safety Inspection Certificate from the Bureau of Fire Protection (RA 9514, Section 5(g)).
- A final inspection by the Building Official. The decree then allows 30 days to issue the certificate if the building complies (Section 309), or less where the office's Citizen's Charter says so.
The supervising professional does not have to be the one who designed the house, and the designer may still inspect the work (Section 308). Arranging that supervision is the owner's duty under the permit.
Where occupancy permits get stuck
- The house is not the house on the plans. Approved plans may not be changed without the Building Official's approval (Section 304), and the Certificate of Completion has to say the building conforms to them. A room added or a wall moved during construction has to be put through the office. An as-built plan records what was actually built.
- No logbook, or a logbook written after the fact. Section 308 requires it at the site at all times.
- The permit lapsed. A building permit becomes null and void if work did not start within a year or stopped for 120 days (Section 305). The building permit guide covers filing again.
- The fire inspection. The occupancy permit waits for the Fire Safety Inspection Certificate. The Fire Code guide for house owners covers the certificates and what the Act asks of a house.
If it is refused, or never applied for
A refusal has to be in writing and give its reasons, and you have 15 days from receiving it to appeal to the Secretary, who decides within 15 days. The decree names the Secretary of Public Works, Transportation and Communications (Section 201); that office is now the Department of Public Works and Highways. The Secretary's decision is final, subject only to review by the Office of the President (Sections 306, 307 and 309).
Living in a building without the certificate is itself a violation. The Building Official may order the use of a building occupied contrary to the Code to stop (Section 207), and the decree makes it unlawful to use or occupy a building in violation of its provisions, punishable on conviction by a fine, imprisonment of up to two years, or both (Section 213).
If you already live in a house that never got one, the way to put it right is still an application to the Building Official. What was built may differ from the approved plans, or the plans may be lost, and an as-built plan records the house as it stands.
What this page does not cover
- Fees. The office assesses them when you file. This site publishes no figures.
- Each office's own checklist. The documents above are the ones the laws name. Your city or municipal Office of the Building Official will have its own forms and may ask for more.
- Preparing the documents. Arktektura's permit and documentation assistance prepares the permit set and coordinates the signed documents a house needs.
- Business permits. The Fire Code's certificate rule applies to business permits too, but the business permit itself is a separate application.
Sources: Presidential Decree No. 1096, the National Building Code of the Philippines, Sections 201, 207, 213 and 301 to 309, and Republic Act No. 9514, the Fire Code of the Philippines, Section 5(g), as published by the Official Gazette: PD 1096 and the Fire Code. Republic Act No. 11032, the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018, as published by the Lawphil Project.