First, work out which filing you are in
There are broadly three answers, and everything downstream depends on getting this one right.
- Taking a whole structure down needs a demolition permit. Since March 2023 all new full demolition jobs are filed, processed and managed in DOB NOW: Build.
- Interior gut work that uses several trades but does not change the building’s legal use, egress or occupancy normally runs under an Alt-2 filing. This covers most apartment gut renovations and most commercial fit-out strip-outs.
- Genuinely small cosmetic removal can fall outside a DOB filing. That boundary is set by scope, not by which room you are in, so it is worth confirming rather than assuming.
What a full demolition application has to contain
A full demolition filing is not one form. It is a package, and it cannot be submitted complete until several separate parties have each done something.
- Utility disconnect certifications from each provider, confirming gas, electric, water, steam and any other service line to the building has been disconnected.
- Proof of notice to adjoining owners. Your neighbours have to be told.
- Certification that the building has been treated for rodent extermination. People are consistently surprised by this one.
- A site safety plan, or an approved site safety waiver submission. Full demolition jobs always need one or the other.
- An ACP-5 asbestos assessment, for any building put up before 1 April 1987.
Then the sequence around the permit itself
Once the application is approved there are still steps with dates attached to them.
- DOB may require a pre-demolition inspection before work permits are released.
- DOB must be notified two days before demolition work starts. This is a hard requirement, not a courtesy.
- On completion, a post-demolition inspection has to be scheduled before the job can be signed off.
How long the front end really takes
Industry practice puts a typical full-demolition front end at roughly four to eight weeks, assuming the asbestos assessment, utility certifications, neighbour notice, rodent certification and site safety submission are all being worked in parallel rather than one after another.
That is a typical range from practice. It is not a commitment from DOB, and nobody can give you one. What you can control is whether the long-lead items start on day one.
The two things that actually cause delays
In our experience it is nearly always one of these two, and both are avoidable.
The asbestos assessment was started late. It has to be filed with DEP and verified by DOB before the permit will issue, so it sits directly on the critical path. Starting it after the drawings are finished can add weeks to a programme for no reason at all.
A utility disconnect certification has not come back. Each provider runs its own process and the certification has to come from them. You cannot accelerate it once requested, which is exactly why the requests should go in first.
What to do with this
If you are planning a demolition, do two things this week: request the utility disconnects, and get a DEP-certified asbestos investigator instructed. Everything else in the package can be assembled while those run.
If your filing is already stalled, work out which of those two is outstanding before you chase anything else. It is usually one of them.
