Spent a full week trying to get a simple city permit for our new office

We signed a lease for a small spot on South Congress and needed a basic occupancy permit. The city's online portal kept saying our file was 'in review' with zero updates. I must have called the permit office 15 times, got transferred around, and was on hold for over 30 minutes each time. It finally got approved yesterday after 7 business days for something they said takes 48 hours. Has anyone else hit a wall with Austin's permit system lately?

4 comments

4 Comments

ray_martinez823mo ago

Honestly, seven days for that permit sounds pretty standard, maybe even quick. Tried to get a simple deck permit last year and it took three months of back and forth. The city is understaffed and everything moves slow. Calling them is a waste of time, you just have to wait it out. Consider yourself lucky it only took a week.

torres.thea3mo ago

Remember my buddy's bathroom reno? His permit sat for six weeks with no word at all. He finally drove down to the office and they found it stuck under a coffee cup on some guy's desk. Sometimes you really do have to bug them, or nothing moves.

lilyp373mo ago

My cousin's fence permit got lost for a month, just like @ray_martinez82 said, until she went down there and asked.

murphy.mason1mo ago

Stopped me dead in my tracks reading that it was stuck under a coffee cup. Like, that's not even filing, that's just somebody being a total mess. I've heard stories about permits getting buried in stacks or put in the wrong drawer, but under a cup? That's next level. Makes you wonder how many other people's paperwork is just sitting around like that. It's wild that we have to physically go down there and babysit our own applications just to get anything done.