Hello everyone! When I was surfing on this forum I came across the topic of permissions and I was curious how this situation looks in your country? In my country, Poland, this is absurd. You need permission for like..everything. For instance, when you want to make a pond or build a freestanding garage. A few years earlier situation was worse because you had to have an aproval to cut down a tree on your possession..But they abolished it! How does it look in your country?

We need permission to build almost anything. We need permission to keep chickens or other animals. We need permission to have more than 3 dogs. We don't need permission to cut down trees, thank goodness!

Well, it depends upon what it is that you want to do. It also varies by County, and by state. It can also be more strict within the limits of a city than it is out in the country, or more rural farming areas.

I have very large old oak trees on my property that I would definitely have to apply for a permit to remove. They are known as "grand trees" and are protected by a state law. But smaller, less ancient trees like palms, I can take out with no permission.

I would have to submit a design, and get a permit to build any sort of structure on my property. It also would have what are known as "setbacks" which means a house, garage, shed or stable would need to be a certain distance from my property boundary. I also must get a permit to build a fence, and there are restrictions as to how tall the fence can be, and how close to the road it may come.

Many people here in Florida and other parts of the US live in what are known as "deed restricted communities" which have many more rules and restrictions, such as what plants you can plant and where, what kind of fence you can erect, what cars can be parked in your driveway and even what color your mailbox can be. When you buy a property in one of these communities, you agree to abide by the strict rules and there are big fines for breaking them. It's mostly about keeping these neighborhoods looking nice, to regulate the property values. But it really does get out of hand in some places!

Our first requirement when we looked for a new home was "non-deed restricted". We have boats, hobby cars and a crazy gardener (me) that wants to plant one of every type of plant . . . couldn't live with restrictions. I have a sort of little botanical garden here on our property now.

It rather depends on where you live. Most cities require building permits, but they may not be necessary if you live in the country. The same is true of animal possession. Strictest are the subdivisions where the type of trees you grow, the color you paint your house, even where you wash your car all may be regulated.

Cross post, but Elaine said it better than I.

In the city of Sebastopol you can't cut down trees on your own property without the permission of the city council. There are limits on the number of pets you can have, the types of structures you can add to your home, and a variety of other restrictions.

Luckily, I live two miles outside of the city limits, so we have completely different rules. If we want more than four dogs, we have to get our neighbors' signed permission, but there's no limit on cats. Livestock limits depend on acreage. We have to have one acre for each horse, for example. Some additions require permits, but if they can be classified as storage space (even if they are libraries or solariums), no permit is required. Any additional room with a closet, however, is classified as a bedroom and can necessitate a second septic tank.

Our library is listed as storage space with the county tax assessor. I am not sure how that happened, but I am not about to correct it.