Town of Malta, New York Building Permit Guide

In the Town of Malta, building permits come from the Department of Building and Planning’s Code Enforcement bureau at Town Hall, 2540 Route 9 (518-899-2685, weekdays 8 am to 4:30 pm, 4 pm in July and August). Processing takes at least two weeks, and the 2026 fee for a house is $0.45 per square foot with a $148 minimum, paid by check or exact cash when the permit is issued. The Village of Round Lake handles its own permits.

What requires a building permit in Malta?

The department asks to be contacted before any project involving structural, electrical, plumbing, energy, swimming pool or outbuilding construction. Chapter 89 of the Town Code requires a permit for building work and then lists the work that is exempt.

A floodplain development permit, a soil disturbance permit (filed together with the building permit) and, for designated landmarks and historic districts, a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Historic Preservation Review Commission can apply on top of the building permit. Painting a historic structure can need the certificate even when no other approval is required.

What Malta decides and what the state sets

The state Uniform Code and Energy Code govern construction. Malta adopted a rewritten Zoning Code (Chapter 167) on July 6, 2026 as Local Law 4 of 2026, with new residential and commercial zoning charts, a sign code addendum, the downtown Form Based Code, solar law appendices and corridor design standards for Route 9 and Route 67. Fees are set by the Town Board and, under Chapter 88, rise 2.5% each January unless the board acts otherwise.

Malta building department: who handles permitting

The Department of Building and Planning has three parts: the Bureau of Building and Zoning Enforcement (Code Enforcement), which issues building permits, inspects construction, manages floodplain development and assigns 911 addresses; the Fire Marshals, who inspect every commercial property each year and handle change-of-tenancy and occupant-load checks; and the Bureau of Planning, which staffs the Planning Board, Zoning Board of Appeals and Town Board. Code Enforcement also investigates building and code complaints, and the department posts a code violation complaint form. Callers to 518-899-2685 pick the menu option for a Code Enforcement Officer, a Fire Marshal or a planner; anyone thinking of developing or subdividing land is asked to book a pre-application appointment with a planner first.

Malta has 17,516 residents (Census 2025), of whom 849 live in the Village of Round Lake. The village administers the Uniform Code itself through a code enforcement officer appointed by its Village Board under Chapter 91 of the village code, so Round Lake parcels do not go to Town Hall. Round Lake also takes part in the National Flood Insurance Program in its own right, with the same August 16, 1995 flood map date as the town.

Malta permit types and filing rules

Residential permits

One 2026 Building Permit Application covers residential and commercial work. A code enforcement officer first checks the proposal against the zoning code; a disapproval can be appealed to the Zoning Board of Appeals. Every application needs:

• an original signature (photocopies are refused);
• liability, disability and workers’ compensation certificates, or proof of exemption, every time, even if the town has them on file; owners doing their own work may file form BP-1 instead, taking responsibility for checking their subcontractors’ insurance;
• a plot plan showing the work and every setback, and two copies of construction drawings;
• for any new structure, two drawings stamped by a New York registered architect or licensed engineer, and for all new construction a copy of a legal survey (recommended for additions).

Drawings may not be larger than 30 by 42 inches. Separate forms cover swimming pools, septic installation, signs and banners, soil disturbance and floodplain development, and a basement fit-up specification sheet goes with finished-basement work. The application warns that several parcels contain federal wetlands and suggests calling the Army Corps of Engineers (518-270-0588) before excavating.

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

Commercial permits

Commercial applications add the state Uniform Code checklist, digital files on a USB drive for new buildings and large fit-ups, and proof of outside permits before filing: a town, county or state highway work permit, a Department of Health permit, and water and sewer service approvals. Commercial and industrial buildings pay $0.59 per square foot (minimum $292, maximum $268,000), and renovations $360 plus $0.34 per square foot.

Malta also issues two specialized permits. Under Section 89-4.1, installing, altering, relocating or activating a semiconductor manufacturing tool that must meet the Uniform Code or NFPA 318 needs a semiconductor tool permit ($704 plus an inspection escrow), and commercial building systems have their own permit ($352 plus an escrow for engineering and consultant review). For building system work the code officers may rely on outside system inspectors they have approved as qualified, and they review those inspectors’ reports.

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

What comes before the building permit

• Planning Board: site plans, subdivisions, Form Based Code project plans, special use permits, PDDs and changes of tenancy, filed in person with 16 collated copies and an electronic copy; a pre-application meeting with a planner is free. A new site plan costs $256 plus $768 for each disturbed acre up to 10 acres, a change of tenancy or use on an approved site plan $226, and special use permits $500 residential or $1,000 commercial, with engineering review escrowed at prevailing rates.
• Zoning Board of Appeals: $768 per appeal and $512 per interpretation, filed in person with 12 copies.
• Historic Preservation Review Commission: a Certificate of Appropriateness application at least 10 days before the meeting.
• Soil disturbance: $564 for the first three acres and $77 for each additional acre.
• Flood zones: Malta participates in the National Flood Insurance Program with a flood map dated August 16, 1995; the floodplain permit is charged at cost through an escrow of up to $500.

Malta building permit fees

The 2026 Summary of Fees applies the Town Administrative Fees Matrix (Schedule A, dated November 2025) with the 2.5% yearly increase that Chapter 88 builds in. Building fees are due when the approved permit is issued:

For example, a 2,400 sq ft new house is 2,400 × $0.45, or $1,080. The schedule also lists a residential recreation mitigation fee of $1,203 per dwelling unit; in planned development districts half is due when the building permit issues and the rest at the certificate of occupancy. The commercial equivalents of the administrative fees are generally double, such as $152 for a commercial permit renewal. A sewer connection is $1,519 per lateral, and annual commercial fire inspections run from $62 for spaces under 5,000 square feet to $282 for spaces over 10,000 square feet, with $205 for a third or later visit. Development reviewed under the town’s Generic Environmental Impact Statement pays mitigation fees for projects from 2017 on: $186 per new trip, $1,398 per acre for open space, a traffic fee set in consultation with CRTC, and the $1,203 recreation fee per dwelling. A mass gathering permit is $720, and a portable storage unit left on a property into a second month costs $83.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Electrical, plumbing and heating. Malta’s required inspection list includes rough plumbing, wiring and heating with the framing, electrical rough and final, the furnace, water heater or other heat-producing equipment, and fireplaces. Generators and wood stoves fall under the $94 special-inspection fee.

Septic. Saratoga County sends residential systems outside realty subdivisions to the local building department, so Malta issues the septic installation permit. The form asks for the licensed design professional’s New York license number, the number of bedrooms and whether there is a garbage disposal or hot tub, and for copies of any DEC, state health, floodplain or soil disturbance permits; the septic inspection is billed at the $94 special-inspection rate.

Fire protection. Under Chapter 89 the town approves inspection companies for fire protection systems and receives their reports electronically for the Fire Marshals.

Licensing. The Town Code has no contractor or trade licensing chapter; the town requires the insurance certificates with each application.

How to apply for a Malta building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

Processing takes a minimum of two weeks. Applications without insurance certificates are not accepted, a job that needs a soil disturbance permit must file that application together with the building permit rather than after it, and other common holdups are photocopied signatures, plot plans that leave out setbacks, oversized plan sheets and missing outside-agency permits on commercial jobs. A permit becomes invalid if work has not started within six months and expires 12 months after issue; renewal is $76 for a residential permit.

Malta inspections and certificates

Under Section 89-4G the permit must be displayed where it can be seen at the work site until the job is finished. The Bureau of Building inspects every day from 9 am to 3 pm, with a break from noon to 1 pm. Call 518-899-2685 during office hours at least 24 hours ahead and choose the Code Enforcement Officer option. The town requires inspections of footings before the pour, the foundation after waterproofing and before backfill, sidewalks before the pour, sewer or septic and water lines before backfill, the rough frame with plumbing, wiring and heating but no insulation, insulation before drywall, fireplaces, heat-producing equipment, electrical rough and final, and a final inspection, and it may add others. A third inspection of the same item costs $76, and after-hours inspections are $90 an hour with a two-hour minimum. A temporary certificate of occupancy is $33. For commercial buildings the Fire Marshals carry out annual fire inspections after occupancy.

New York building code

New York builds on one statewide code, the Uniform Code, outside New York City; the 2025 edition and 2025 Energy Code took effect on 31 December 2025 (the all-electric provisions remain suspended by court order). Cities, towns and villages administer it, and local standards stricter than the code need Code Council approval. The Uniform Code in New York

Malta permit FAQ

How much is a building permit for a new house in Malta?

$0.45 per square foot with a $148 minimum in 2026, so $1,080 for 2,400 square feet; unfinished basement and porch space is $0.18 per square foot.

Do I need a permit for a shed?

Not for a shed or playhouse of 144 square feet or less; larger ones need a permit and a site plan.

How long does Malta take to issue a permit?

At least two weeks of processing.

Do I need a permit for a fence?

Not if it does not enclose a pool, meets the setbacks and stands at least 2 feet inside the property line.

Can I pay by credit card?

No. Building permits are paid by check or exact cash.

Do I need a survey?

Yes for all new construction; the town recommends one for additions.

I live in Round Lake. Who issues my permit?

The Village of Round Lake’s code enforcement officer, not the town.

Does a reroof or a generator need a permit?

Yes. Both are on the town’s $94 special-inspection list, along with pools, decks, fireplaces and wood stoves.

Permit search and official resources

To check what has been permitted on a Malta property, start with the department, which answers municipal research requests such as zoning compliance letters for $76 (residential) or $152 (commercial), and permit files can be requested from the Town Clerk under the Freedom of Information Law.

• Malta Department of Building and Planning
• Applications and permits
• 2026 building permit application
• Septic system installation permit
• 2026 summary of fees
• Zoning Code, adopted July 6, 2026
• Certificate of Appropriateness application
• Town Code Chapter 89, Fire Prevention and Building Construction
• Town Code Chapter 88, Fees and Costs
• Village of Round Lake code, Chapter 91
• Saratoga County onsite wastewater program
• NYS code adoption notice

Simplify Town of Malta permitting with Alliance Permitting

Alliance Permitting is a permit documentation and submission company in New York. 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 Town of Malta permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.