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Announcements

Fire Insurance Escrow Payment


Upon a homeowner making an insurance claim for fire damage to their property, the insurance company will transfer a certain amount of money to the City, and the funds will be secured in an escrow account. The homeowner will be responsible for all work needed to repair, secure or remove the fire damaged structure. Once the work is complete, the owner must notify the Department of Licenses and Inspections. If the work is approved by L&I, the remaining funds will be released. If the owner does not repair, secure or demolish the fire damaged structure, L&I will use the funds in the escrow account to do so.  For more information about the fire insurance escrow payment process, please visit our website. 

Violation Reports Now on Atlas


The full Notice of Violation Report is now available to download directly from the Property History Lookup tool on the L&I website and through Atlas.phila.gov. To review the report and violation information through Atlas, after you have searched for a property, click on the Violation ID under the “Licenses and Inspections” tab.  You can click on the ‘Notice of Violation Report’ link to download the full report.  

Webinars

Electrical Permits and Deficiencies Webinar


L&I will be conducting a two-hour public training session of the electrical permit requirements including an overview of the most common electrical plan deficiencies, the Department’s service level agreements, JotForm submissions, and Appeal procedures. This webinar is designed for electrical contractors and design professionals.  


This session will be held on Wednesday, September 11, 2024, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. via Zoom. Please register if you are interested in attending this webinar. 

 

**Attendees can receive 2.0 hours of continuing education credits for this course.** 

Register Here!

Zoning Webinar Series


In the last few months, the Department presented five webinars in a six-part series focused on the Zoning Code. The slides used during these webinars are posted on the website.


The sixth and final webinar of the series will cover zoning development bonuses. In this webinar, L&I will explain the different height, area and dwelling unit bonuses offered within the zoning code and what an applicant needs to know if they are proposing to use these bonuses. This session will be held on Wednesday, September 18, 2024, from 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. via Zoom. Please register if you are interested in attending this webinar.


**Attendees can receive 1.5 hours of continuing education credits for this course.**

Register Here!

Pre-Construction Site Requirements Webinar


L&I will be conducting a 2.5 hour training course of the administrative code requirements for construction sites. The course will also cover the regulations on obstructions and closures of streets and sidewalks, the minimum site safety requirements, the requirements for posting of permits, demolition and excavation, protection of adjacent property, overhead protection and an overview of the basic OSHA requirements. 

 

This course will be held on Thursday, September 26, 2024, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. via Zoom. Please register if you are interested in attending this training course. 

 

**Attendees can receive 2.5 hours of continuing education credits for this course.** 

Register Here!

Future Sessions


Do you have any recommendations for additional webinar topics, general process clarification, or general code interpretation? Complete and submit thisonline form to provide your feedback. 

 

Note: This form is for general process clarification and/or general code interpretations and no direct response will be provided by the Department. Any project-specific questions requiring a direct response must be submitted through the online help form. 

Guide to Floodplain Development Webinar Slides


The Department presented a webinar on the latest overview of floodplain development in Philadelphia, including a review of our “Guide to Development in a Floodplain” Code bulletin for development in the SFHA and flood protection forms. The slides used during this webinar are posted on the website. 

Register for our 7th Annual L&I Focus Group Sessions


It’s that time of year and we want to hear from you! If you would like to be part of improving how L&I does business, you’re invited to participate in an upcoming focus group session. These sessions are a way for you to give feedback on how we’re doing and what you would like to see done better. Sessions are open to anyone who has previously applied for a license or permit, including but not limited to homeowners, business owners, property owners, property managers, contractors, architects, engineers, attorneys or expediters.  


Thanks to your support and feedback, we were better informed and able to make some important improvements:  

  • Instigated efforts to improve website user interface and business license functionality  
  • Continued efforts to improve standardized feedback from chat functionality to better direct your inquiries  
  • More webinar offerings 
  • Continued development of eCLIPSE enhancements to improve user experience 

 

All focus group sessions will be held via zoom.  



Register for one of the six offered Focus Group Sessions: 

Monday, September 9th 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
Tuesday, September 10th 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
Tuesday, September 10th 12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Wednesday, September 11th 12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Thursday, September 12th 12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Friday, September 13th 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.

Permitting

The Following Permit Resource Was Recently Updated/Added to the Website:

 

Construction Inspections

Scheduling Final Inspections


Prior to requesting a final inspection, permit holders must ensure that all required certifications have been submitted to the Department. This includes all certifications for trade and site permits associated with a building permit. 

 

On September 3, 2024, the Department will begin assessing a $100 fee when an inspection must be rescheduled because the work is not ready for final inspection.  This fee must be paid prior to the rescheduling a final inspection.  

 

We urge all permit holders to verify the following prior to final inspection: 

 

  • All certifications on the permit requiring inspection have been submitted through the appropriate Permit Hold and have NOT been rejected by the Department. Please visit our website for complete information on required certifications.  
  • All associated trade permits have been issued. As a reminder, work cannot be concealed under a rough-in permit and completing work without full permits is a violation of the Philadelphia Code.  
  • All certifications on an associated trade or site permit have been submitted through the appropriate Permit Hold and have NOT been rejected by the Department. 
  • Associated electrical permits are in 'completed' status. If the third-party electrical inspection agency issued final approval of the electrical work and it is not reflected in eCLIPSE, please contact the agency directly for status update.  
  • All other Holds requiring compliance prior to final inspection have been resolved. This excludes the Development Impact Tax Hold, which can only be resolved after final inspection.  

 

The $100 rescheduling fee will not be assessed if the permit holder cancels the inspection request at least two business days prior to the scheduled date. If you have a scheduled inspection and have not satisfied the above conditions, please be sure to cancel the inspection request to avoid additional fees.  

Permit Hold for Fire Safety Evacuation Plan


Beginning September 3, 2024, the Fire Safety and Evacuation Plan approved by the Philadelphia Fire Department must be submitted to L&I through the Permit Hold prior to scheduling final inspection of a new high-rise building.   

 

Refer to our website for more information on evacuation plan requirements.  

Building Certifications

The Following Resource Was Recently Added to the Website:


Audits & Investigations

Enforcement Priorities

  

The Audits and Investigations Unit (AIU) wants to call your attention to the following enforcement priorities:


  • Contractors and Subcontractors Information - In accordance with the Philadelphia Code Title 9-1004, contractors who hire a subcontractor to perform work authorized by their permit must list the subcontractor on the permit in eCLIPSE within three (3) days of the commencement of any work authorized by that permit, unless that permit is for a residential building of two dwelling units or less. If the Department establishes that a contractor has failed to do this, the contractor will be cited with a violation of 9-1004(8). That citation is accompanied by a $2,000 fine.


  • Subcontracting—Subcontractors must always be licensed and carry a valid contractor or trade license (for trade work) whenever they work. A subcontractor is any person or business hired to perform work authorized by a permit who is not identified on that permit’s application as the prime (or responsible) contractor. 



  • Worker Certification—Every worker at a Philadelphia construction site must have OSHA 10 training and carry their card with them when they’re on the job. If a building more than three stories or 40 feet tall is being constructed or demolished, an OSHA 30-trained site safety supervisor must be on site whenever the site is active.

Violation Data Report


AIU issued $118,500 in license violation fines for July 2024. The following violations and citations were issued:


  • Failure to upload sub-contractors $50,000 
  • Working without a valid license $21,000 
  • Failure to cooperate with the audit investigation $8,000 
  • Failure to maintain insurance $5,000 
  • Failure to comply with the Phila code $1,000 
  • Required conduct $1,500 
  • Working without the required permit $5,000 
  • Hired an unlicensed sub-contractor $4,000 
  • Working without OSHA certification $21,000 
  • Deviating from or disregarding approved plans $2000 


AIU will continue to follow up and monitor contractors' activities.

New L&I Regulations

The Department has promulgated regulations, which have been advertised and posted to the City website and shall become law after 30 days should no public hearing be requested. 

  • Permit and License Fee Schedule – This regulation increases permit and license fees by the rate of inflation and will apply to all new applications filed on or after January 1, 2025. The 2023 fees will continue to apply to applications filed before January 1, 2025. 

PHDC Housing Fair

The fair is FREE but RSVPs are strongly encouraged.  

RSVP
More info about PHDC!

Reminders

Free OSHA Safety Consultation

 

Employers can receive no-cost safety, health and industrial hygiene evaluations by signing up for a program run by Indiana University of Pennsylvania's (IUP) Safety Sciences Department.



Through the PA OSHA Consultation Program, IUP consultants conduct occupational safety and health evaluations and work with business owners to address issues. The on-site visits are confidential since the program operates independently from OSHA's regulation enforcement.

Back issues of the L&I Newsletters are available on the L&I website under Resources.

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