Delhi Charter Township, Michigan Building Permit Guide

Delhi Charter Township enforces the construction codes itself: its Community Development Department at 2074 Aurelius Road, Holt (517-694-8281; Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.) issues building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits, enforces zoning and runs the township’s own soil erosion program. A building permit costs $7 for each $1,000 of valuation, worked out from the township’s set square-foot rates, with a $60 minimum, and trade permits start with a $70 base fee that includes one inspection.

What requires a building permit in Delhi Township?

Delhi’s rule is broad: no excavation for a structure, and no building, addition or alteration, may start until a permit is issued, and building or trade permits are needed for all additions and alterations except a short list of exempt jobs. The township says most home-improvement projects need a building permit, a trade permit or both, and that local ordinances add their own rules on top of the state code.

Owner-occupants get a narrow soil erosion exemption for their own minor work that is stabilized within 24 hours and sends no sediment off site: gardening without raising the grade, post holes for fences, decks or mailboxes, stump removal up to 100 square feet, and similar small jobs.

Construction plans are required, and every application needs a site plan showing property lines and all building dimensions, measured from the real lot lines rather than the sidewalk or curb.

What Delhi decides and what the state holds

The building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing codes are state codes, and Delhi enforces them as its own program rather than leaving any trade to Ingham County or the state. The township decides its fees, its zoning ordinance (updated most recently on January 20, 2026), its fence rules, its soil erosion program under Ordinance No. 116.1, utility connection charges and a rental registration program.

Delhi Township building department: who handles permitting

The state’s Statewide Jurisdiction List (rev. Nov. 6, 2026) marks Delhi Township as the enforcing agency for all four codes, and Ingham County runs no building program. The Community Development Department, which the township also calls its Building Department, handles construction permits and inspections, zoning enforcement, code compliance through the Ordinance Compliance Bureau, and staff support to the Planning Commission.

The township has about 28,430 residents (Census Bureau 2025 estimate). Because Delhi runs its own soil erosion program, the Ingham County Drain Commissioner’s soil erosion office does not issue those permits here; Ingham County’s soil erosion map lists the township’s Community Development Department as the local agency.

Delhi Township permit types

Delhi posts each application as a PDF on its Community Development Forms page: building, demolition, electrical, mechanical, plumbing, underground plumbing and building sewer, fence, sign, grand-opening sign, residential and commercial water service, and wireless facilities. Handouts set out the building requirements for decks, garages and accessory structures, and pole buildings.

Residential permits

• New homes and additions use the building permit application, which asks for square footage of the basement (finished or not), crawl space, each floor, garage, porch and deck, plus building dimensions and estimated cost. The township prices the permit from those areas.
• Pole barns and detached garages are a $150 flat permit; decks $100; pools $60; demolition $60; manufactured homes $180.
• Roofing: a tear-off and re-roof is a $60 permit, while a single overlay needs none.
• Fences: every fence needs a permit with a site plan; the $60 fee applies to perimeter fences. Fences may be 3 feet in a front yard (4 feet if open, such as chain link) and 6 feet in side and rear yards; on a secondary front yard a solid 6-foot fence is allowed 10 feet back from the right-of-way with the required evergreens and shrubs. No solid fence or hedge between 3 and 10 feet tall may stand within 20 feet of where a driveway meets a street or sidewalk, and the structural side must face the owner’s lot.

Building or remodeling a home here? Alliance handles residential permit filing, so the crew isn't waiting on the counter.

Commercial permits

Commercial and other non-residential buildings are valued from the Building Standards table of construction costs, and plan review adds 10% of the building permit fee. Commercial jobs also need the Fire Department’s commercial plan review and inspection application, and restaurants use its kitchen hood pre-inspection checklist. Electrical plans for commercial work must be sealed by a Michigan architect or engineer.

For tenant improvements and new commercial builds, Alliance handles commercial permit expediting through issuance. More on this: commercial building permits explained.

What comes before the building permit

• Zoning and site plans. Site plans, special use permits, rezonings and planned developments go through the Community Development Department to the Planning Commission, which meets at 6:30 p.m. on the second and fourth Monday when there is business. Plans for these applications must be filed on paper and electronically (TIF preferred, PDF accepted) before a permit issues.
• Variances. The Zoning Board of Appeals meets as needed; the application is on the forms page.
• Soil erosion. A township permit is needed for earth disturbance over 1 acre or within 500 feet of a lake, stream, wetland or other waters; smaller disturbances under 225 square feet can use a no-fee waiver signed by the owner.
• Water and sewer. New connections need the township’s water service application and pay the sewer capacity charge.

Delhi Township permit costs and fees

Building fees come from the Community Development Department’s fee schedule effective August 1, 2015, the schedule the township still posts. Trade fees are itemized on the electrical, mechanical and plumbing applications (revised January 2023), and soil erosion fees on a separate schedule effective April 1, 2008.

Worked example. A new house with 1,800 square feet of finished living area and a 600-square-foot attached garage is valued at $180,000 plus $15,000, or $195,000. At $7 per $1,000 the building permit is $1,365. The electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits are added on their own forms, and a new sewer connection carries the $4,200 capacity charge and $400 inspection.

Trade forms list items such as a 0–200 amp electrical service ($15), each circuit ($7), each furnace or unit heater ($40) and each gas piping opening ($7), all on top of the $70 base fee. Starting soil-disturbing work before the soil erosion permit doubles that fee. Commercial soil erosion permits cost $420 for the first acre plus $42 per extra acre, with a separate inspection fee due before issue that ranges from $250 for a Class 1 site under half an acre to $5,000 for a Class 2 or 3 site of 5 to 10 acres, plus $1,250 or $2,500 for each further 10 acres.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits are township permits in Delhi, filed on separate applications with the Community Development Department and inspected by township inspectors. Each form asks whether the applicant is the contractor, owner or occupant and asks contractors for their state license and expiry date.

• Homeowners may get permits for work they do on the home where they live; the electrical form carries a homeowner affidavit that the owner will install the work in the home they live in or are about to occupy and will arrange the inspections.
• Rental and other property: the township notes that state law requires a licensed contractor to pull permits for work on dwellings where the owner does not live.
• Electrical plans are not needed for one- and two-family homes with service up to 400 amps and 3,500 square feet; other buildings need sealed plans before a permit can be issued.
• Sewer laterals use the separate underground plumbing and building sewer permit.

How to apply for a Delhi Township building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

The township does not post review times. Applications are held for missing construction plans, a site plan measured from the wrong line, or a missing soil erosion permit or waiver, since excavation cannot begin without one. Planning and zoning cases wait for the next Planning Commission meeting or a Zoning Board of Appeals date, and the township needs the electronic plan set before it issues the permit.

Inspections and permit life in Delhi Township

The township’s forms say to schedule inspections by phone at 517-694-8281. The trade base fee covers one inspection, and each additional or repeat trade inspection costs $70; building re-inspections and special services are $60 on the 2015 schedule.

• Keep the permit active: the township’s forms say a permit expires if work does not start within six months, or if no inspection is called for and completed within six months of the previous one.
• No reinstatement: an expired permit cannot be refunded or reinstated, so a new permit is needed.
• Cover-up rule: trade work must not be concealed until it has been inspected and approved.
• Soil erosion: a residential Class 1 permit lasts 12 months and cannot be renewed; a Class 2 permit can be renewed once for 6 months ($90).

Rental homes are also subject to the township’s rental registration and inspection program, with its own registration form and inspection guidelines.

Michigan building code

Michigan enforces one statewide construction code under the Stille-DeRossett-Hale Single State Construction Code Act (1972 PA 230); local units cannot amend it, and enforcement sits with the city, village or township, a county program or the state Bureau of Construction Codes, sometimes split by trade. Michigan rules

Delhi Township permit search and official resources

Delhi does not post an online permit search. For an open permit, call Community Development at 517-694-8281. Older permits, plans and inspection records are requested through the Clerk, who coordinates all Freedom of Information Act requests for every department; the request form and the township’s FOIA procedures are posted on the Clerk’s page.

• Delhi Township building permit information and exemptions
• Community Development Department
• Community Development forms
• Permit fee schedule (effective Aug. 1, 2015)
• Building permit application
• Electrical permit application
• Mechanical permit application
• Soil erosion and sedimentation control permits
• Soil erosion fee schedule
• Soil erosion permit, exemption and waiver details
• Residential fencing rules
• Zoning ordinance (updated Jan. 20, 2026)
• Planning Commission
• Freedom of Information Act requests
• Michigan Statewide Jurisdiction List (Bureau of Construction Codes)

Delhi Township building permit FAQs

Who issues building permits in Holt?

Delhi Charter Township’s Community Development Department at 2074 Aurelius Road, Holt, which issues building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits for the township.

How much is a building permit in Delhi Township?

$7 for each $1,000 of valuation, with a $60 minimum. The township sets the valuation from square-foot rates, for example $100 per square foot of finished living space and $25 for an attached garage.

Do I need a permit for a shed in Delhi Township?

Not for an accessory structure under 200 square feet. Larger sheds, garages and pole buildings need a building permit; a pole barn or freestanding garage is $150.

Do I need a permit to replace my roof?

A tear-off and re-roof needs a $60 permit. A second layer over a single existing layer is exempt, but a roof with two or more layers must be stripped.

Do I need a permit for a fence in Delhi Township?

Yes. Every new or altered fence needs a permit with a site plan, and perimeter fences cost $60.

Can a homeowner pull permits in Delhi Township?

Yes, for work the owner does on the home where they live. Work on a home the owner does not live in needs a licensed contractor to pull the permits.

When do I need a soil erosion permit?

For earth disturbance over 1 acre or within 500 feet of lakes, streams, wetlands or other waters of the state. Delhi issues these itself; small jobs under 225 square feet can use a free waiver.

Simplify Delhi Charter Township permitting with Alliance Permitting

Alliance Permitting is a permit documentation and submission company in Michigan. We prepare your paperwork, file it correctly and coordinate with the permitting authority through issuance. We are not a contractor and we do not perform licensed plan review or inspections; that work stays with your licensed team and the jurisdiction.

This guide is provided by Alliance Permitting for general information about Delhi Charter Township permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.