Selling a Philadelphia Home With Open Permits or L&I Violations
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By Max Karasick, Compass real estate agent licensed in PA and NJ
If you're selling a house in Philadelphia, look yourself up before a buyer does. Search your address on the City's Atlas map, open the Licenses and Inspections tab and you'll see every permit since 2006 and the code violations on record. An open permit usually means a final inspection never happened. A violation means L&I says something still needs fixing. Neither one automatically stops a sale. Both are public, though. Violations also show up on the paperwork every Philadelphia seller has to order. Clean them up early and they're a chore. Find them in week three of a deal and they're bargaining chips for the other side.
How Can a Seller Check for Open Permits in Philadelphia?
Start with Atlas. Type in your address, click the Licenses and Inspections tab and scroll. As of October 2026, the City says Atlas covers permit records from 2006 to the present, plus violation records with the case file number. Since November 2024, you can click a Violation ID and download the full Notice of Violation report from the Documents section, which tells you exactly what the inspector wrote up.
L&I's own Property History lookup searches the same categories: permits, licenses, violations and zoning history. Use whichever you like. Both are public. That's the point to sit with for a second. Anyone with your address can pull this, including your buyer, their agent and their title company.
Older Records
Atlas also holds certificates of occupancy from 1969 to 2006 in the zoning file. Don't panic if your rowhouse doesn't have one. The City notes that most buildings built before 1969, or used as single family homes, don't. Need a copy of a permit or certificate? L&I charges $15 each, and anything older than what's online takes a Right to Know request.
Open Permit or Violation: Not the Same Problem
These get lumped together, but they're different animals.
An open permit is work that was approved but never signed off. The kitchen got finished, the contractor got paid and nobody ever called for the final inspection. The fix is usually paperwork and one visit. Sometimes it's a little more, if the inspector wants to see something that's now behind drywall.
An open violation is L&I telling you, in writing, that something doesn't meet code: work done without a permit, a safety issue or a property maintenance item. The City says a violation stays open until it's complied with or an appeal is upheld, and the fees keep accruing until it's resolved. Ignore it long enough and L&I can take the case to Municipal Court or the Court of Common Pleas, or send it to collections. Nobody wants to explain that to a buyer.
How Is an Open Permit Closed?
With a final inspection. L&I's own wording is that the final is what officially closes out your permit. Here's how it works:
The contractor schedules it. L&I says the contractor must request inspections, online through eCLIPSE or by phone with the permit number and a three digit inspection code.
Clear any hold first. Some permits carry a permit completion hold. You resolve it in eCLIPSE by uploading the required documents, and L&I won't take an inspection request until it's cleared or while fees are outstanding.
Bring the certifications. For a residential building permit, the third-party electrical inspection agency has to upload its certification before the final. Plumbing and mechanical work has to be installed, tested and certified.
Pass the final. Then the permit closes on the record.
When the Contractor Is Gone
Contractors retire, move or stop answering. For most permits, L&I lets the owner switch contractors with a Change in Contractor Request Form sent through its online help form. The new contractor needs an active license, current insurance on file with that license and a current City tax account. Demolition and some electrical permits need a formal amendment instead. If the permit has expired, L&I has an extension process in eCLIPSE for many permits, so ask before you assume you're starting over.
Do L&I Violations Stop a Sale?
Not on their own, but they don't stay quiet either. Pennsylvania law requires a Property Sales Certification to sell in Philadelphia, and it lists any uncorrected housing, building, safety or fire code violations. So your buyer sees the violation whether you mention it or not. What the certification is, what it costs and the rest of the seller paperwork are covered in the Philadelphia seller disclosures guide.
To clear a violation, you have two roads: fix it and pay any fees, or appeal it.
Fixing It
Many violations need a building permit, a zoning permit or both, pulled by a licensed contractor through eCLIPSE. Some simpler work qualifies for an EZ Permit with no plans. One catch: L&I doubles the permit fees when the permit is resolving a violation. After the work is done, you request a compliance inspection through eCLIPSE or the district office named on your notice.
Appealing It
You can appeal most violation notices to the Board of License and Inspection Review within 30 days. For conditions L&I calls unsafe or imminently dangerous, you get six days. Final violation notices can't be appealed at all. If you think the inspector got it wrong, move fast.
What Buyers and Lenders See
Everything you can see. A sharp buyer's agent pulls Atlas before writing an offer, and the open items come up again when the Property Sales Certification arrives. A lingering permit raises a simple question: was this work ever inspected? A violation raises a harder one: who's paying to fix it, and before or after closing?
You've got three ways to handle it. Fix and close it out before you list, which is cleanest. Negotiate a credit so the buyer handles it after closing, which only works if the buyer and their lender are comfortable with that. Or price the house as is and disclose clearly. Who's responsible for a violation once the deed changes hands is a legal question, so get a real estate attorney's read before you pick a road.
Worked Example: A Hypothetical Cleanup
Say Atlas shows a 2019 kitchen alteration permit that never got a final, plus one violation for a back deck built without a permit. Order the Property Sales Certification first: $139 and five business days, as of October 2026. Call the kitchen contractor to schedule the final. For the deck, a contractor pulls the permit the violation calls for. If the normal permit fee were a hypothetical $250, L&I's doubling makes it $500. Then the deck passes its inspection, and you request the compliance inspection to close the violation. Start this in January for a spring listing and it's a nuisance. Start it after an offer and you're negotiating with the clock running.
How Max Uses This With Clients
Max pulls Atlas on every Philadelphia listing before the first walkthrough, so the permit and violation history is on the table with the pricing conversation, not after an offer. If something's open, he has you order the Property Sales Certification early and lines up the contractor or the appeal while the house is being prepped. The cost goes straight onto the net sheet, next to the line items in what it costs to sell a home in Philadelphia.
If an item can't be closed before launch, he writes up what it is and what's been done about it, so buyers hear it from the listing side first. Planning a sale? Get a value range at home valuation or see how Max sells homes.
This is general information, not legal advice. Confirm what applies to your property with L&I and a real estate attorney.
Maximize Your Price.
Official Sources
City of Philadelphia, L&I: Search for Property History and Business License Information
City of Philadelphia: Full Notice of Violation Reports Are Now on Atlas (November 2024)
City of Philadelphia, L&I: Get a Copy of a License, Permit or Violation
City of Philadelphia, L&I: Resolve a Code Violation at Your Property
City of Philadelphia, L&I: Get a Property Sales Certification
FAQ
How can a seller check for open permits in Philadelphia?
A Philadelphia seller can check for open permits by searching the address on the City's Atlas map and opening the Licenses and Inspections tab. Atlas shows permits from 2006 on, plus code violations. L&I's Property History lookup shows the same categories. Both are public, so buyers can look too.
Do L&I violations stop a sale?
An L&I violation doesn't automatically stop a Philadelphia sale, but the buyer will see it. Uncorrected violations appear on the Property Sales Certification the City issues for every sale, and on Atlas. A violation stays open until it's fixed or an appeal is upheld, and fees keep accruing, so most sellers resolve it before listing.
How is an open permit closed?
An open Philadelphia permit is closed by passing a final inspection. The contractor schedules it through eCLIPSE or L&I's phone system with the permit number and a three digit inspection code. Some permits first need certifications uploaded to clear a permit completion hold, such as the electrical inspection agency's sign-off.
What if the original contractor is gone?
If the original contractor is gone, a Philadelphia property owner can switch contractors on the permit. For most permits, L&I asks for a Change in Contractor Request Form sent through its online help form. The new contractor needs an active license, current insurance on file with that license and a current City tax account.
Can you appeal an L&I violation?
Yes. Philadelphia owners can appeal most L&I violation notices to the Board of License and Inspection Review within 30 days of issuance. For conditions L&I calls unsafe or imminently dangerous, the deadline drops to six days. Final violation notices can't be appealed, so the clock matters more than the argument.
