Permits and regulations4 min read
5 ways to stop losing time over missing documents in a permit file
Going to the municipality and coming back with "a document is missing" is the most common delay in the permit process. A few habits in the office can prevent it.
Most of the time lost in the permit process goes on trips to the municipality that end with finding out a document is missing. Usually the problem isn’t preparing the document; it’s noticing too late that it is missing. The five habits below cut down this delay.
1. Keep a single document checklist for each file
When some documents are in a folder, some in email and some in the expediter’s bag, nobody really knows what is missing. Open a single checklist for each permit file; each line should show the document’s name, who it is coming from and, once it arrives, the date.
2. Confirm the municipality’s list at the start of the file
The documents required can differ from one municipality to another. When you open a file, get the current list from the municipality concerned and add it to your own checklist. If you have handled files at the same municipality before, their lists are a good starting point.
3. Write down who is responsible and by when
“Waiting for the soil survey report” isn’t enough. Who is it coming from, and when is it due? A missing item with an owner and a date is a task that gets followed up; one without is forgotten.
4. Track fees and payments separately
Even when the documents are complete, an unpaid fee can hold a file up. Keep fees in the file with their amount and payment date, and put the receipt in the same place.
5. Share the file’s status with the property owner
Every time the property owner calls to ask “how is the file going?”, someone in the office has to stop what they are doing to check. Keeping the file’s stage somewhere the property owner can see it themselves lightens the office’s load and builds trust.
In YapiEx’s Building Permits module, each file is recorded with its block and parcel numbers (ada/parsel) and its municipality; the document checklist, fees and collections are on the same screen. The property owner can follow the stage of their own file in the Client Portal.
