Do You Need a Permit to Tear Down a House in Kentucky?
Whether you need a permit to tear down a house in Kentucky depends on the city or county the house sits in. Here is who to ask in central Kentucky, and the state rules that apply wherever the building stands.
Short answer: ask your city or county first
Where a demolition permit is required in Kentucky, it comes from a city or county planning, zoning or building office. Some places want an application and proof the utilities are off. Others have little written down for a house outside city limits. We will not tell you which one you are in, since rules change and we are not the ones who enforce them. Before you set a date, call the office for the address where the building stands, tell them what you plan to tear down, and ask what they need from you.
Permit offices on record in central Kentucky
Here is what we have found on record for towns we work in. Campbellsville: Planning & Zoning, which posts a Demolition Permit Application with the city's forms. Lebanon: the city's Planning and Zoning Department. Bardstown and Nelson County: the Joint City-County Planning Commission, which requires a zoning compliance permit for demolition. Elizabethtown: the city code lists a demolition permit with separate residential and commercial fees. Danville and Boyle County: the Boyle County Building Inspector, where demolition needs a building permit. For Greensburg, Columbia and Springfield we found nothing published, so call city hall or the county and ask.
Utilities have to be disconnected first
No building should be torn down with live service running to it. Electric, gas, water and sewer each have to be disconnected by the provider, and that request has to come from the owner or the account holder. Call early, since this is often the slowest step. Ask each provider to confirm when it is done. On a farm, think about the things no utility knows about: a line to a well pump, power run to a barn, a propane tank, a cistern, a septic tank. Those are yours to point out.
The asbestos rule: homes versus commercial buildings
Kentucky's asbestos rule treats a house differently from a business. One single-family home, or one apartment building with four or fewer units, is generally exempt from the state survey and notification rule, as long as the tear-down is not part of a larger project and the building was never used for commercial purposes. Buildings that are not exempt need a thorough asbestos survey and a notice to the Kentucky Division for Air Quality at least 10 working days before demolition. We do not do asbestos work. If your building needs a survey, an asbestos inspector does it. Confirm where your building falls with the Division.
Kentucky 811 before footers come out
Knocking walls down is not digging, but pulling footers, a slab or a basement wall is. Kentucky 811 has to be notified at least two full working days before digging so the public utilities can be marked, and a ticket is good for 21 days. The locators mark public lines only. Private lines, such as the wire to a shop or the water line to a barn, are the owner's to point out. Walk Trey through everything you know is buried before the machine starts on the foundation.
You cannot burn a building or its debris
This comes up on nearly every farm tear-down. Kentucky's open burning rule lets natural growth from land clearing be burned on the site where it grew, within local rules. It never allows a building, demolition or construction debris, painted or treated wood, tires or plastic to be burned. That covers an old house, a barn, and the pile after a tear-down. The debris has to be loaded out and taken to a landfill that accepts it. Our guide to burning brush in Kentucky covers what can be burned and when.
What the owner arranges
A few jobs belong to the owner, since only the owner can speak for the property. Call the city or county office and get the permit if one is required. Request the utility disconnects. Confirm the asbestos question for your building. If there is a mortgage, talk to the lender before the house comes down, and if there is an insurance claim, talk to the adjuster. Empty the building of anything you want. Show us the well, the tanks and the private lines, and tell us what you want left standing.
What Trey handles
Trey looks at the building and gives you a straight quote before work starts. He takes the structure down with a full-size excavator, sorts the debris, gets it loaded out, and cleans the footprint with a tracked skid steer. He pulls footers, slabs and foundations if you want them out, cleans out a basement you want kept, and grades the lot when he is done. See our demolition page for the full list and the cost guide for what moves the quote. If the house burned, read fire damage demolition too.
What to do next
Rules differ from one town to the next, so call your city or county office before you set a date. Then call (270) 272-8739 or send the form, and Trey will come look at the building and give you a straight quote.
See our demolition service or call (270) 272-8739.
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