A useful preconstruction checklist is a sequence of decision gates: prove the lot can support the project, settle the design and written scope, secure the required approvals, and coordinate people, money, utilities, safety, and records before site work begins. Start with the land and local rules, not with a builder’s start date.
Planning rules, permit documents, fees, utility procedures, inspections, and professional-licensing requirements vary by authority and project. The examples linked below come from Victoria, New York City, Toronto, Seattle, Texas, and Douglas County, Colorado. They illustrate recurring tasks, not universal legal requirements. Ask your own planning and building departments for the controlling checklist.
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Use the checklist as a series of release gates
Do not treat preconstruction as one form to complete once. Divide it into gates and do not release the next gate until the evidence for the current one is filed.
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| Gate | Release condition | Typical evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Lot and feasibility | The site, title, constraints, services, and required studies are understood well enough to design. | Current survey or boundary information, zoning notes, utility responses, site reports, and a constraints register. |
| Design and scope | The proposed home is coordinated with the site and the intended inclusions are written down. | Controlled plan set, specifications, selections, engineering inputs, and revision log. |
| Money and contract | Funding, price basis, allowances, exclusions, changes, insurance, and responsibilities are explicit. | Budget, lender requirements, bid comparison, signed contract, and responsibility matrix. |
| Approvals | The correct applications are submitted and the legally required approvals and permits are issued. | Application receipts, issued permits, approved drawings, conditions, inspection schedule, and separate trade approvals where applicable. |
| Site start | The builder can mobilize without guessing about access, utilities, safety, documents, or decisions. | Pre-start minutes, contacts, site logistics plan, utility appointments, selections schedule, and document register. |
Keep the checklist in a shared folder and a physical project binder if that is useful. Give every document a date, revision, owner, and status. A checklist is a control system; a tick without the supporting document is not proof that a gate is complete.
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1. Confirm the lot and project constraints
Verify ownership, boundaries, access, and easements
- Confirm the legal owner and the person authorized to sign design, financing, construction, and permit documents.
- Obtain the most current survey or boundary information available. Note dimensions, encroachments, rights of way, drainage corridors, restrictive covenants, and access limitations.
- Mark where construction vehicles, workers, materials, and temporary services can enter and leave. Check whether access crosses another parcel or public land.
- Record easements and setback lines on the working site plan rather than leaving them in a separate file.
Toronto’s new-house guide calls for site information showing boundaries, easements, building locations, dimensions, setbacks, and zoning data. The exact survey product and format are authority-specific.
Ask the planning authority what the lot permits
- Confirm zoning, permitted use, minimum setbacks, height, lot coverage or site coverage, parking, frontage, and any design controls.
- Ask about environmental, heritage, flood, wildfire, steep-slope, tree, drainage, or other hazard overlays.
- Find out whether planning approval, a variance, site-development approval, or neighborhood or design review is needed in addition to a building permit.
- Request the current application checklist, forms, submission format, fees, review sequence, and contact for pre-application advice.
Seattle directs applicants to check zoning and environmentally critical areas for a new single-family home or duplex; Douglas County’s Residential – New Home Construction guidance lists surveys, soils information, utilities, easements, and engineered materials among possible requirements. Use those examples as prompts, not as a substitute for your authority’s determination.
Prove that services can reach the site
- Identify the connection point and process for potable water, sewer or septic, electricity, gas where available, telecommunications, stormwater, and fire protection if applicable.
- Ask each provider who pays for extensions, meters, inspections, trenching, restoration, and temporary construction service.
- Record lead times, application numbers, easement needs, capacity limits, and the person responsible for each appointment.
- Check whether an existing service must be relocated, abandoned, upgraded, or protected during construction.
The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs’ HRA Project Setup Checklist uses zoning evidence and utility availability as project-setup inputs. It does not establish a universal utility process or cost.
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Order the site studies that affect design
- Ask whether a topographic survey, soil or geotechnical report, foundation recommendations, drainage study, tree assessment, environmental report, flood information, or fire-risk assessment is required.
- Give reports to the designer and engineer before foundations, retaining walls, grading, or stormwater systems are finalized.
- Track assumptions that remain unverified, such as rock, groundwater, unsuitable fill, contaminated soil, or neighboring structures.
- Engage appropriately qualified specialists where the site or authority requires them.
Consumer Affairs Victoria advises designers to account for foundation data and soil tests, local rules, energy requirements, and boundary surveys where relevant in its Plans and permits checklist. A report is not interchangeable with another report simply because both concern the site.
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2. Assemble and brief the professional team
Match each role to a deliverable
List the people needed for this site and scope: architect or registered designer, draftsperson, structural or civil engineer, surveyor, geotechnical specialist, energy or sustainability consultant, landscape or arboricultural specialist, and permit adviser where applicable. Some projects combine roles; others require separate licensed professionals.
| Role | Define before appointment |
|---|---|
| Designer or architect | Concept, developed and permit drawings, specifications, coordination, revisions, and construction-stage support. |
| Surveyor | Boundary, topographic, set-out, easement, and any completion survey products. |
| Engineer | Structural, foundation, civil, drainage, retaining, energy, or other calculations and stamped documents required for the project. |
| Builder or contractor | Construction scope, site management, program assumptions, procurement, safety, quality records, and close-out responsibilities. |
| Owner or client representative | Decisions, funding, approvals, selections, communication route, and authority to approve changes. |
Check qualifications and written appointments
- Verify registration, licensing, insurance, and relevant experience through the appropriate local bodies.
- Ask for references for work of similar scale, site conditions, and approval pathway; do not rely on a generic portfolio.
- Put fees, deliverables, schedule, revision limits, report coordination, ownership or permitted use of drawings, and termination terms in writing.
- Name the person who coordinates technical inputs and the person who may submit each application.
Victoria recommends appropriately registered design practitioners and written contracts specifying what the client receives. New York City’s owner checklist likewise directs owners to assemble a project design team and use a registered design professional for applicable work. Those are jurisdictional examples; confirm the qualifications that apply where the home will be built.
3. Complete a coordinated design and specification set
Build the site plan from verified information
Use the current survey and site reports to show the proposed building, setbacks, easements, access, grading, drainage, trees, utilities, retaining work, and neighboring conditions that affect construction. If a drawing relies on an assumption, label it and assign an owner and due date for verification.
Coordinate every drawing that controls construction
- Floor plans, roof plans, elevations, sections, schedules, details, and door and window information.
- Foundation and structural drawings, calculations, and soil-based recommendations.
- Mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire, energy, accessibility, stormwater, and other compliance documents required locally.
- Site works, retaining walls, driveways, pools, outbuildings, and landscape elements that are part of the approval or contract scope.
Douglas County’s example lists site plans, floor plans, elevations, cross-sections, engineered foundation plans, and soil reports. Toronto identifies a survey or site plan with boundaries, easements, building locations, dimensions, setbacks, and zoning data. Your authority may require fewer, additional, or differently formatted documents.
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Write specifications and selections before pricing
- Describe materials, fixtures, fittings, appliances, finishes, performance requirements, and included installation.
- Record model numbers or an objective equivalent standard where a specific product is not yet chosen.
- Separate owner-supplied items from contractor-supplied items and identify storage, delivery, warranty, and installation responsibility.
- Maintain a dated revision register so the builder and permit set cannot silently diverge.
Resolve the design against zoning and site constraints before paying for a final permit-ready package where possible. A cheaper early drawing that cannot be approved is not a saving.
4. Build a complete budget and contract scope
Make every cost category visible
- Land and legal or title work.
- Design, engineering, surveying, geotechnical and other studies.
- Site preparation, demolition, excavation, rock or unsuitable-soil handling, retaining, drainage, and temporary works.
- Utility extensions, connection charges, meters, temporary power and water, and restoration.
- Permit, planning, inspection, testing, and authority fees.
- Construction, insurance, financing costs, owner-supplied items, and a clearly identified contingency allowance.
The guidance reviewed establishes the need to account for fees, financing records, studies, utilities, and a defined scope. It does not establish a universal contingency percentage, construction price, or completion date, so do not insert a generic figure into the checklist.
Check financing before signing a start commitment
- Ask the lender what plans, permits, builder credentials, valuation, insurance, draw schedule, inspections, and owner equity evidence are required.
- Record approval conditions, expiry dates, interest or fee assumptions, and the documents needed for each draw.
- Align payment milestones with measurable work and required certificates, not only calendar dates.
- Keep evidence of available funds for changes, authority charges, and site conditions that were not reasonably knowable at pricing.
Compare bids on an identical basis
Issue the same controlled drawings, specifications, schedules, site information, and questions to each bidder. Use a comparison table with these columns:
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| Scope | Does the price include every drawing item, site work, utility task, fixture, finish, and handover document? |
| Allowances and exclusions | Which amounts are provisional, what assumptions set them, and what is expressly excluded? |
| Responsibilities | Who obtains permits, schedules inspections, coordinates survey and soil information, orders utilities, and secures final records? |
| Price and changes | Is the basis fixed, measured, cost-plus, or mixed, and how are substitutions and owner changes approved and priced? |
| Program and resources | What start assumptions, lead items, decision deadlines, staffing, and access restrictions affect the proposed sequence? |
| Risk and insurance | Who carries site, public-liability, workers, design, materials, and weather-related risks under the contract? |
Put the agreement in writing
The contract should identify the parties, controlled drawings and specifications, price basis, allowances, payment schedule, change procedure, insurance, start assumptions, permit duties, inspection duties, communication route, suspension or termination rights, warranty obligations, and close-out documents. Attach the responsibility matrix rather than relying on a verbal understanding.
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5. Confirm approvals, permits, and inspections
Get the authority’s route before submission
- Call or meet the planning and building departments with the address, proposed use, drawings or concept, and known constraints.
- Ask which approvals apply, which forms and drawings are required, who may apply, what professional seals or owner authorizations are needed, and whether separate trade or site permits are involved.
- Confirm fees, payment method, review sequence, correction cycles, expiration rules, and the required inspection stages.
- Assign one person to maintain the application register and return comments to the design team.
Consumer Affairs Victoria states: You must not start work without a building permit. That sentence is Victoria-specific guidance. Treat it as a warning to verify your own jurisdiction’s rule, not as a universal quotation of every building law.
Submit a controlled package
- Use the same revision of the site plan, architectural drawings, engineering, specifications, energy or other compliance documents, and supporting reports.
- Save the submitted files, receipts, payment confirmations, reviewer comments, responses, and issued approvals.
- Do not let field changes outrun the approved set. Ask the authority and designer how revisions must be approved before construction departs from the documents.
- Keep permits accessible to the owner and builder at the site or in the required digital system.
Plan inspections and completion records
List each required inspection, the stage at which work must remain visible, who schedules it, the notice period, and where the result is stored. New York City’s owner checklist addresses permits before work, ongoing safety, staged inspections, and project close-out; Victoria calls for final inspection or occupancy documentation. The actual inspection names, sequence, and completion certificate depend on the authority.
6. Coordinate the pre-start meeting and site logistics
Set the communication and decision rules
- Name the owner, builder, designer, engineer, permit contact, lender contact, and utility contacts.
- Choose the official channel for instructions and establish who may authorize a change.
- Set the response time for decisions, the form of a change request, and the information required before work proceeds.
- Agree how drawings, requests for information, meeting minutes, inspections, photographs, warranties, and invoices are filed.
Make the site ready for mobilization
- Confirm legal access, neighbor notices where required, fencing, signage, erosion and sediment controls, tree protection, security, and worker welfare facilities.
- Book temporary power, water, sanitation, communications, survey set-out, deliveries, crane or pump access, and waste removal as applicable.
- Identify no-go areas, overhead or buried services, traffic controls, emergency arrangements, and weather or environmental restrictions.
- Verify that long-lead selections are released only after the approved dimensions and interfaces are confirmed.
Run a recorded pre-start meeting
Walk through the approved plans, written scope, selections, schedule assumptions, site constraints, safety arrangements, inspection hold points, payment process, change route, and responsibility matrix. Issue minutes with an owner and due date for every open item. Do not mark the project ready merely because attendees agree verbally.
7. Keep a responsibility matrix that survives handoffs
Use one row for every obligation and one named owner. A practical matrix includes the following:
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| Obligation | Owner to name | Evidence to file |
|---|---|---|
| Boundary, topographic, and set-out surveys | Surveyor or builder, with owner approval | Survey, instructions, and issued set-out record |
| Soil, geotechnical, drainage, tree, or hazard studies | Owner, designer, or specialist as contracted | Signed report and design response |
| Planning and building applications | Owner, designer, or builder | Submitted and issued documents |
| Trade permits and inspections | Named contractor or builder | Permit numbers, notices, and results |
| Utility connections | Owner, builder, or provider | Applications, quotes, appointments, and connection confirmation |
| Selections and owner-supplied items | Owner and builder jointly | Approved schedule, orders, delivery and warranty records |
| Final inspections, occupancy or completion records | Named permit applicant or builder | Certificates, sign-offs, surveys, manuals, and warranties |
If a contract says a party is “responsible for coordination,” define whether that includes paying fees, submitting forms, responding to comments, attending inspections, and obtaining the final document. Those are separate actions.
8. Build document control and close-out into preconstruction
Use a simple register
For each document, record title, revision, date, author, approver, submission or issue status, and superseded version. At minimum, register surveys, reports, drawings, specifications, contracts, permits, inspection results, change orders, payment records, product data, warranties, photographs, and completion certificates.
Reserve the handover evidence now
Add final inspections, occupancy or completion documentation, required surveys or sign-offs, test results, equipment manuals, warranties, keys, and as-built information to the original checklist. New York City and Victoria both treat close-out as an owner responsibility area, although the exact records differ locally. If the contract does not name who obtains a record, assign that task before work starts.
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| Failure | Why it causes trouble | Checklist correction |
|---|---|---|
| Design begins before boundaries, easements, or zoning are verified | The home may need redesign, a variance, or a different foundation and access arrangement. | Make verified site information and a planning response a release gate for developed design. |
| Builder prices drawings without specifications | Quotes hide allowances, exclusions, and inconsistent assumptions. | Issue one controlled scope and require bidders to list every allowance and exclusion. |
| No named permit applicant | Applications, corrections, and inspections fall between owner, designer, and builder. | Name the applicant and each submission, response, inspection, and close-out duty in writing. |
| Utility responsibility is vague | Connection costs, lead times, and temporary services appear after the contract is signed. | Obtain provider responses and assign payment, application, trenching, meter, and appointment tasks. |
| Selections change after procurement | Interfaces, lead times, price, and approvals can all move. | Set decision deadlines and use a written change process tied to the controlled drawings. |
| Records are left until handover | Missing permits, inspection results, warranties, or manuals are difficult to reconstruct. | File each record when issued and review the close-out register at every progress meeting. |
Printable master checklist
Copy these action lines into your project tracker and add the local authority’s exact documents, dates, and fees:
- Confirm ownership, signing authority, boundaries, access, easements, and current survey information.
- Record zoning, setbacks, site coverage, height, parking, overlays, hazards, and additional planning approvals.
- Confirm water, sewer or septic, power, gas where applicable, communications, stormwater, and temporary-service arrangements.
- Order required soil, geotechnical, topographic, drainage, tree, environmental, flood, or fire studies.
- Appoint qualified designers, surveyors, engineers, and specialists with written scopes and verified credentials.
- Coordinate the site plan, architectural drawings, engineering, compliance documents, specifications, selections, and revision register.
- Build the budget from separate land, professional, study, site, utility, fee, construction, insurance, financing, and contingency lines.
- Confirm lender conditions, draw evidence, deposits, payment milestones, and available funds for approved changes.
- Issue identical controlled bid documents and compare scope, allowances, exclusions, responsibilities, program, insurance, and change terms.
- Sign a contract that identifies the price basis, documents, duties, inspection route, communication, changes, insurance, and close-out.
- Obtain the authority’s application route, forms, fees, seals, owner authorizations, review sequence, and inspection requirements.
- Submit and file the application package, comments, responses, issued approvals, permits, and conditions.
- Schedule inspections and identify hold points where work must remain visible.
- Arrange utilities, access, fencing, safety controls, temporary facilities, deliveries, waste, and long-lead selections.
- Hold and minute the pre-start meeting, then close every open action before mobilization.
- Track final inspections, occupancy or completion documents, surveys, sign-offs, warranties, manuals, and as-built records from day one.
Local sources to check for the official version
- Consumer Affairs Victoria: Plans and permits – checklist (updated 2 July 2025).
- New York City Department of Buildings: Project Checklists for Owner.
- City of Toronto: New House guide.
- Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs: HRA Project Setup Checklist.
- City of Seattle: Construction Permit – New Building, Single-Family Residential or Duplex.
- Douglas County, Colorado: Residential – New Home Construction.
The Bottom Line
Release construction only after the lot, design, written scope, funding, approvals, responsibilities, inspections, utilities, and records are all assigned and evidenced. Then keep the checklist live through completion rather than treating it as a one-time pre-start form.
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