What Building Permits Are Needed for Tenant Improvements in Portland?

As a landlord, there are many great reasons to want to make tenant improvements on your property. Improvements can make buildings more energy-efficient, saving you money in the long-term. They can boost a property’s value, making it easier to attract tenants who will pay top dollar. And, critically, they can help satisfy current tenants’ complaints or issues, making it more likely that they’ll stay happy customers of yours for years to come.

If you’re in Portland, Oregon, the tenant improvement process can be an involved one. Here’s what you need to know about getting building permits for tenant improvements in Portland.

Tenant Improvement Permit vs. New Construction Permit

As with many places, the City of Portland draws a critical distinction between making tenant improvements to an existing space and building new construction. While both involve a permitting process, the former requires significantly less work than the latter.

In a nutshell, the difference between the two is this: any project that increases the square footage of a property is “new construction,” while a project that only changes the interior can be classified as tenant improvement, or TIs.

So, if you’re planning on knocking out a wall to extend a room by a couple of feet (but not changing much else) versus completely ripping out everything on the interior of a room and overhauling it top to bottom, the former would be a new construction project, while the latter would be tenant improvements. Portland, like most cities, would mandate you seek the appropriate permit.

Seeking a Shell Permit

A shell permit is a special type of permit that governs the creation of a barebones space (the “shell” of a building), but not the contents of the area. In other words, if you want to create or modify a room or rooms but will allow future tenants to make specific additional construction, you must first seek a shell permit by Portland law.

In a vacuum, this can seem a little confusing, so let’s illustrate it with an example.

Let’s say that you’re the property owner of a multi-residential building in downtown Portland. To take advantage of your location with lots of foot traffic, after residential tenants move out of your ground-floor apartments, you decide to hold them vacant and convert them into commercial units that you can rent out to businesses.

However, while you know ahead of time that there are certain improvements any business will want—accessible exterior entrances, more windows than a residential unit would need (privacy expectations being different), and so on—you aren’t yet sure what specific businesses you’ll attract. Thus, you apply for a shell permit, letting you do this early construction while still leaving the actual space more or less vacant. Then, when businesses do want to rent property from you, the tenant improvement process can be followed, installing ovens and gas lines for a restaurant, installing extra water fixtures for a hairdresser, and so on.

If you plan on improving the general shell of your property or unit but leaving the interior empty pending tenant needs, then you need to apply for a shell permit before anything else. You can find the Portland shell permit form here.

Portland Tenant Improvements: What Permits Do You Need?

The permitting process for tenant improvements in Portland, as with many other cities, is a long and involved one. However, generally speaking, you can expect to need at least four permits for tenant improvements:

• General building permit

• Electrical permit

• Plumbing permit

• Mechanical permit

There may also be a need for commercial permits if you’re renovating a commercial space—or, as in our example earlier, doing something like changing a residential space to a commercial one.

If you intend to change the use of the property in question, we highly recommend perusing the Change of Use section on the Portland Info Center for your specific use case. If you’re, say, changing a house into a restaurant with a home-style appearance, converting a warehouse into a trendy office block, or the like, your requirements may very well be different.

Tenant Improvements Permit Application Process

The primary permit for tenant improvements in Portland is a building permit; you can find that https://www.portland.gov/permits

When you’re applying for a building permit, the city of Portland recommends you research:

• Any applicable zoning of the property

• Any applicable codes

• Current occupancy and any information about changing the occupancy

• Project feasibility

• Duration of the permit

• Total amount you will need to pay in fees

You also must be prepared to demonstrate how your new tenant improvements will meet the Portland city code. This may include life safety measures, like sprinklers and fire alarms. Given Portland’s location on the Cascadia subduction zone, it may also be necessary to ensure your improvements are in compliance with Portland code 24.85 for seismic design requirements.

You may also need to submit professional drawings:

• They should be drawn to scale when necessary, to ensure compliance with code.

• Drawings may be handwritten if clear. All text should be in print, not cursive.

• The minimum size is 11×17. The font must be 3/32 inch (about 12 points) or larger so that it’s legible.

If using a professional’s drawings (e.g., an architect), you must have their permission to do so. Even if you had previously obtained use for an earlier permit, you must seek permission again.

The City of Portland recommends you prepare the following information to accompany your building permit application:

• Erosion control plan

• Life safety completeness checklist

• Commercial system development charge form

• Stormwater plan

• Any further information in the following standards: Submittal Guidelines Commercial, Major Interior Alterations or Submittal Requirements Commercial, Minor Interior Alterations

• A shell permit acknowledgment statement if your property needs a shell permit, as previously discussed

Once you have all of these things in hand, you can begin your application for the permit. You can find a step-by-step guide to that process here.

Work with an Expert

Applying for a tenant improvements permit in Portland can be a complicated process, as with any other city. We recommend you talk to an expert for guidance on your specific project. Contact Robert Hakes Construction Consulting today.