Redford Charter Township, Michigan Building Permit Guide

In the Charter Township of Redford, the Department of Building and Safety Engineering at 12200 Beech Daly Road (313-387-2680) issues building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits; Jeff Corbin is Building Superintendent. A building permit is a $15 application fee plus a permit fee and a plan review fee read from a $1,000-step value table, so a $20,000 remodel costs $451 in all. Commercial occupancies go through the weekly Site Committee first.

What requires a building permit in Redford Township?

Redford’s permit forms cover building and zoning work on one application, separate electrical, mechanical, plumbing, fire suppression and sign permits, and registrations for rentals and vacant buildings.

Starting work before a permit adds a $56 charge. When a new privacy fence will replace a neighbor’s existing fence, the township’s authorization form records the neighbor’s agreement to the removal.

What Redford decides and what the state holds

Under the Bureau of Construction Codes’ Statewide Jurisdiction List (revised November 6, 2026), Redford Township enforces the building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing codes itself; Wayne County has no construction-code program. The state sets the code. The township sets its fees, registers builders, writes Zoning Ordinance 152, reviews commercial occupancies through its Site Committee, inspects rentals every three years, registers vacant buildings, and enforces its own ordinances, blight rules and sidewalk replacement program.

Redford Township building department: who handles permitting

The Department of Building and Safety Engineering issues every construction permit and carries out the inspections. Its staff, as the township lists it, is a superintendent who also reviews plans, three building and ordinance inspectors, two ordinance officers, one inspector each for electrical, plumbing and mechanical work, and four clerks.

The building office is at 12200 Beech Daly Road, while Township Hall, where the Zoning Board of Appeals meets and the Clerk’s Office handles records requests, is at 15145 Beech Daly Road.

Redford Township permit types

The department posts a building and zoning permit application, the building fee schedule, electrical, mechanical, plumbing, fire suppression and sign permit applications, a furnace and boiler certification form, the privacy fence authorization form, rental and vacant building registrations, the zoning map, and the Planning Commission, Site Committee and Zoning Board of Appeals applications with their instructions.

Residential permits

• Building and zoning application: property address, owner, contractor and license number, a description of the work and its value, and the applicant’s driver’s license number and date of birth. A homeowner who signs is affirming that they own or occupy the structure.
• Fences: a residential fence permit is $55 all-in ($15 application, $25 permit, $15 plan review). Bring the neighbor’s signed authorization form when a shared fence is being replaced.
• Rentals: single-family rentals and home businesses such as group homes and day cares register every year for $50 and are inspected every three years for $200; a new rental pays $250 at registration. A copy of the owner’s driver’s license goes with the form.
• Vacant buildings: registration is $100 plus a $200 inspection, $300 due at registration.

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

Commercial permits

The Site Committee reviews new occupancy, re-occupancy or accessory use of existing commercial and industrial buildings, and its application also covers new building construction, additions, alterations and special events. The packet is an original and two copies, color photos of the inside and outside of the property, the proposed business owner’s driver’s license, and three sets of a plot plan and floor plan showing buildings, landscaping, walls, light poles, parking and driveways. The committee meets every Wednesday from 4 p.m. at the Department of Public Services building, 12200 Beech Daly Road; applications are due by noon the Friday before, no more than five cases are heard per meeting, and incomplete packets do not get an appointment. After approval of a new occupancy, building, electrical, plumbing and heating inspections follow, and no new occupant may move in until a certificate of occupancy is issued.

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 Board of Appeals. Variances from Zoning Ordinance 152 are heard on the second and fourth Wednesdays at 7 p.m. in the Township Hall board room when appeals are pending. File at least three weeks ahead; the township mails notice to owners and occupants within 300 feet, the board cannot grant use variances, and a permit must be taken out within six months of approval or the variance lapses.
• Planning Commission. A regular-meeting request costs $400, and a matter that goes on to the Township Board costs another $400.
• Soil erosion. Wayne County is the soil erosion agency for Redford Township: earth changes over one acre or within 500 feet of a lake, stream or open drain need its permit (734-326-3936).
• County roads and drains. Work in a Wayne County road right-of-way or drain easement needs a county construction permit (DPS Permit Office, 734-858-2774); a township drain maintenance agreement costs $750 or the actual cost, whichever is greater.

Redford Township permit costs and fees

The township’s Building Permit Fees schedule (the posted version is marked as modified in August 2021) adds three parts: a $15 application fee, a permit fee and a plan review fee, both read from a table that steps every $1,000 of construction value. Roof-only permits pay no plan review fee.

Worked examples from the table: a $20,000 kitchen remodel is $391 + $45 plan review + $15 application = $451. An $8,000 roof replacement is $158 + $15 application = $173, since roofs carry no plan review fee.

Site plan review, engineering, performance and demolition bonds may also be required; the township sets the amount and deducts consultant costs before returning a bond, without interest.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Each trade has its own Redford application, and the electrical form asks for the related building, Site Committee and mechanical permit numbers. The township staffs its own electrical, plumbing and mechanical inspectors.

• Electrical fees: a $15 application fee, a $25 contractor registration fee and a $56 minimum permit. A new single-family house can be priced by floor area ($169 up to 1,200 square feet, $219 up to 1,500, $344 up to 2,500) or itemized. A service of 151 to 200 amps is $44, a new furnace $38, an above-ground pool $56 and a spa $44; a re-inspection or extra rough inspection is $56.
• Homeowners: the electrical application’s homeowner affidavit says the owner will install the work personally in the home they live in or are about to occupy, keep it uncovered until the electrical inspector approves it, and arrange the inspections. It cites the state electrical rule for a homeowner who occupies, or will occupy, a single-family dwelling.
• Plumbing: a $45 minimum total, made up of a $15 application fee plus items: $10 per fixture, $30 for a water heater, $25 for a backflow preventer, $50 for a sewer repair and $40 for basement waterproofing, or $300 for a new house. Registration is $15, plan review $45 an hour and a re-inspection $56.
• Mechanical: the same $45 minimum, $15 application and $15 registration fees. A furnace replacement package (furnace, liner or vent and ductwork) is $85, or $105 with air conditioning; air conditioning alone is $40 at a house, with the condenser in the rear yard only; a new house is $300. Furnace and boiler work also uses the township’s certification form, and a homeowner signing the mechanical form affirms they occupy the structure.
• Builders: register with the department for $27, and the building and electrical applications ask for the contractor’s license number.

How to apply for a Redford Township building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

Incomplete Site Committee packets are not given an appointment, and no more than five cases are heard each Wednesday. On projects over $50,000, plan review sent to an outside agency, such as planning, engineering or legal consultants, is billed at actual cost. A Zoning Board of Appeals hearing needs three weeks’ lead time, and a no-show without notice means the appeal is denied, while giving notice less than 24 hours before the hearing means re-applying with a $150 postponement fee. Renewing a building permit, with the township’s approval, costs half the original fee. Some trade items, such as sewer and storm piping, manholes, fireplaces and wood stoves, make-up air units and spray booths, are marked on the forms as needing the department’s approval.

Inspections and certificates in Redford Township

Appointments with the inspectors are made by calling the department at 313-387-2680. Inspectors are in the office from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. and from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. A re-inspection costs $56.

• New commercial occupants: building, electrical, plumbing and heating inspections, arranged when the new occupancy inspection permits are filed, with the proposed occupant meeting the inspectors on site; every violation must be repaired and a certificate of occupancy issued before the business moves in.
• Rentals: a township inspection every three years, paid with the registration.
• Vacant buildings: a $200 inspection at registration.

After-hours emergencies go to the Police Department at 313-387-2551. The department also handles ordinance violations and blight complaints, which residents can file through the township’s SeeClickFix tool.

Michigan building code in Redford Township

FEMA’s Community Status Book lists the Charter Township of Redford (community 260238) as participating in the National Flood Insurance Program, with flood maps effective February 2, 2012.

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

Redford Township permit search and official resources

Building fees can be paid through BS&A Online. For copies of permits, plans or inspection records, file a Freedom of Information Act request through the township’s online FOIA link or with the Clerk’s Office, first floor of Township Hall, 15145 Beech Daly Road (313-387-2754; Monday and Wednesday to Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Tuesday until 6 p.m.).

• Redford Building and Safety Engineering
• Building permit fee schedule
• Building and zoning permit application
• Electrical permit application and fees
• Mechanical permit application
• Plumbing permit application
• Privacy fence authorization form
• Site Committee application and instructions
• Planning Commission application
• Zoning Board of Appeals application and rules
• Rental property registration
• Vacant building registration
• BS&A Online (Redford Township)
• Freedom of Information Act requests
• Wayne County soil erosion permits
• Wayne County road right-of-way permits
• Bureau of Construction Codes Statewide Jurisdiction List
• FEMA Community Status Book, Michigan

Redford Township building permit FAQs

How much is a building permit in Redford Township?

A $15 application fee plus a permit fee and plan review fee from the value table; a $20,000 project totals $451.

Does a roof replacement need plan review?

No. Roof-only permits are exempt from the plan review fee; an $8,000 roof costs $173 with the application fee.

How much is a fence permit?

A residential fence permit is $55 in all.

Do I need approval to open a business in an existing building?

Yes. New occupancy or re-occupancy of a commercial or industrial building goes to the Site Committee, which meets on Wednesdays, and ends with a certificate of occupancy.

Can a homeowner do their own electrical work?

Yes, by signing the homeowner affidavit on the electrical application for a home they live in or are about to occupy.

Do I have to register a rental house?

Yes. Rentals register every year for $50 and are inspected every three years for $200; a new rental pays $250.

How do I schedule an inspection?

Call the Department of Building and Safety Engineering at 313-387-2680.

How long does a variance stay valid?

Six months: if no building or zoning permit is taken out within six months of approval, the variance becomes void.

Simplify Redford 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 Redford Charter Township permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.