Do You Need a Permit to Demolish a House or Garage in Pittsburgh?

Yes. Inside Pittsburgh city limits a permit comes before the structure comes down. The City of Pittsburgh’s Department of Permits, Licenses and Inspections (PLI) says a demolition permit is required to “Demolish an entire building or structure” and for “Partial demolition of a building or structure.”

Two jobs take a different route. A job limited to a structure accessory to a house, like a detached garage or shed, can go under a building permit. Non-structural interior demolition needs a Building and Development Application instead.

How do you apply for a demolition permit in Pittsburgh?

Applications go through OneStopPGH, the city’s online permitting system. PLI calls it the place to “apply for, pay for, and obtain” permits and licenses.

PLI splits a demolition permit into work types: Primary Structure Demolition, Utility Disconnect, Site Work and Adjacent Structure Repair. Every demolition permit also needs a demolition narrative. That narrative states the method of demolition, the equipment and its staging spot, the fall zone of the structure, and how adjacent buildings and the public right of way get protected. For commercial structures a PA licensed engineer or architect has to prepare it. This is the paperwork behind a teardown by a demolition contractor in Pittsburgh.

Some sites need an engineer’s or architect’s report too. That covers a structure attached to one that stays, a shared party wall or basement wall, and parcels in the city’s landslide prone, steep slope or undermined overlay districts. An undermined parcel also needs a PA DEP “Coal Status Report.”

Who can pull the permit, and what does the city require of the contractor?

PLI’s licensing page answers this. A City of Pittsburgh General Contractor license is required for “Demolition Permits for commercial structures or residential primary structures.” There is no separate city demolition license.

PLI’s list for that license includes general liability at “$1,000,000 each occurrence, $2,000,000 general aggregate,” workers compensation coverage, a Tax Compliance Letter from the City Department of Finance, and “RRP certification showing EPA certification in lead-safe construction practices.”

Before PLI issues a demolition permit, the permit holder also turns in a Certificate of Insurance with minimums of $500,000 general liability coverage and $250,000 property damage coverage, naming the address being demolished.

For accessory structures, PLI’s bulletin allows the work under a building permit, “Self-performed by the property owner if the property is their primary residence” or done by a general contractor.

What has to happen with the utilities first?

Utility Disconnect is one of the work types on the permit. PLI says it “applies to complete demolitions that include disconnection of utility services to the property.” Electric and gas service is cut by the utility company that owns the line.

Water and sewer get checked at inspection. Before PLI authorizes backfill, the permit holder has to produce “Documentation of ACHD and water utility agency approval of termination of water and sewer service lines.” That covers the sewer lateral running out to the main.

Does Pittsburgh require an asbestos survey before demolition?

The Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) sets this rule, not the city. ACHD says all demolitions require a thorough asbestos survey performed by a licensed building inspector, plus “Notification to the ACHD and EPA 10 days before the demolition, even if no asbestos is present.”

Private owners of residential structures with four or fewer units are exempt from that county survey and notification rule. The exemption is narrow. It does not reach commercial, institutional, public or industrial buildings, or municipally funded demolition of houses. Dust control rules still apply.

If a survey turns up 160 square feet or more of asbestos containing material, an ACHD abatement permit is needed at least 10 days before abatement starts. ACHD says “All asbestos must be removed prior to demolition by an ACHD-licensed contractor.” Fines run to $25,000 per violation per day.

How much notice does PA One Call need?

The PA One Call rules cover demolition work along with digging. The system defines an excavator as “Any person who or which performs excavation or demolition work for himself or for another person.”

Notice is due “not less than 3 business days nor more than 10 business days prior to commencing excavation work starting the day the notification is received.” A business day is any day except a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday.

Do you need a street or dumpster permit too?

If a dumpster sits in the street or on the sidewalk, yes. The Department of Mobility and Infrastructure (DOMI) issues a Construction Staging Permit under a Demolition Dumpster work type, good for up to 42 days. The approved permit gets attached to the dumpster facing the sidewalk, and a No Parking sign issued with it goes up at least 48 hours before the permit period starts.

What if the house is in a historic district?

A Certificate of Appropriateness is required for exterior work in a City-designated Historic District, and demolition counts. Applications go through OneStopPGH. Historic Preservation staff approve some projects over the counter; the rest go to the Historic Review Commission.

What does the lot have to look like when the job is done?

PLI requires three inspections on a demolition permit: pre-construction, void and final. The bulletin says “no exceptions will be granted.”

At the void inspection the hole stays open. The inspector confirms that basement slabs and building materials are broken into pieces 24 inches or less. For the final, the permit holder turns in disposal receipts naming the job site and the disposal location.

Voids get backfilled with clean fill under PA DEP “Safe Fill Regulations,” with no wood, roots, grass, coal or carbonaceous shale. The site goes back to natural grade, slopes away from the properties beside it and sits level with the sidewalk. The top of the grading takes a minimum of 4 inches of topsoil, and the property is seeded and covered with straw.

What does a Pittsburgh demolition permit cost?

Demolition is one of PLI’s construction permit types, so the fee runs off the value of the work. These lines come from the city’s 2026 PLI fee schedule, effective 1/1/2026. They are published city fees, not our price list.

What happens if you demolish without a permit?

Pittsburgh City Code Title 10, the Building Title, covers demolition. Section 1001.10 says a violator “shall, upon conviction thereof before any City Housing or Police Magistrate be fined not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) and costs for each and every violation or non compliance.” Each day’s violation counts as a separate offense.

Do the suburbs work the same way?

No. Outside city limits the borough, township or municipality issues the demolition permit under the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code. PA Labor and Industry says most municipalities handle code enforcement with their own staff or a third-party code agency. Bethel Park, Whitehall, Monroeville, Canonsburg and Irwin each run their own office and fees.

Two rules do not change at the town line. ACHD asbestos rules cover all of Allegheny County, and PA One Call notice covers the whole state.

Before you call about a teardown

Start with who issues the permit where the property sits. We hold the City of Pittsburgh general contractor license that the city requires for demolition permits, and we are an EPA Lead-Safe Certified Firm. When we quote the job we go over what your municipality requires and who handles each step. Our pages on house demolition and garage demolition walk through how those jobs run, and what a house teardown costs in Pennsylvania covers the money side.