Litchfield Park water heater permit: required for every replacement, $50 flat fee and the install checklist

The city's Interactive Property Improvement Diagram has a Water Heaters section. Its first lines are: "A permit is required for the installation or replacement of a water heater. Installation must comply with the requirements of the currently adopted International Plumbing Code and International Residential Code." The page lists no exception for a unit of the same size in the same place.

The specific requirements are:

• Gas units. Upper and lower combustion air must be installed or maintained when the heater is in an enclosed area. The vent needs a 1 inch clearance from all combustible materials, following the manufacturer's specifications. Flex gas pipe is limited to 36 inches maximum length and a 1/2 inch minimum diameter.
• Tankless units. Installed per the manufacturer's instructions. The page warns that "Gas sizing or electrical supply may require an upgraded line" and asks for the manufacturer's specification sheets at review and at inspection.
• Solar units. Installed per the manufacturer's instructions, with specification sheets at inspection.
• All water heaters. A pan, where required, must be approved for the application and have a 1 inch drain line to the outside or an approved receptor. The page's line on the temperature and pressure relief discharge pipe names outside discharge or an approved indirect waste receptor, but its height wording is garbled, so follow the adopted code for the height (next section). There must be an isolation valve on the cold water pipe. In a garage, the source of ignition must be elevated 18 inches above the garage floor. And the page says to "Provide an expansion tank on all tank type water heaters."

Low, close to the floor or the receptor. The city's Building Safety page lists the 2018 International Plumbing Code and 2018 International Residential Code as current, and the city's amendments to the 2018 codes (effective January 1, 2020) do not change the discharge pipe rules in either one.

The 2018 IPC, Section 504.6 item 10, says the discharge piping shall "Terminate not more than 6 inches (152 mm) above and not less than two times the discharge pipe diameter above the floor or flood level rim of the waste receptor." For a house, 2018 IRC Section P2804.6.1 item 10 sets the same limit: "Terminate not more than 6 inches (152 mm) and not less than two times the discharge pipe diameter above the floor or waste receptor flood level rim."

The same IPC list says the pipe must "Discharge in a manner that does not cause personal injury or structural damage" and "Not be trapped." A pipe that ends at chest or waist height breaks the 6 inch limit.

• Flat fee. The page says water heater permit fees are flat and due when the permit is issued. The amount comes from the fee schedule.
• Isolation valve. A shutoff on the cold supply to the heater, so the unit can be serviced without shutting off the building.
• Expansion tank. A small tank that absorbs the pressure rise when water heats in a closed system. The city's page does not explain the term or say when a system counts as closed, so the Litchfield Park line applies to every tank type unit as written.
• Currently adopted code. City Code 7-2-1 adopts the 2018 International Plumbing Code, amended by city amendments effective January 1, 2020. City Code 7-1-3 adopts the 2018 International Residential Code for R-3 occupancies. The amendment document is posted on the Building Safety page; its plumbing changes cover items such as sewer depth, service sinks and drinking fountains, not water heater discharge piping.

Anyone installing or replacing a water heater in Litchfield Park: homeowners, landlords and contractors. The page covers gas, electric, tankless and solar units.

It does not say who may pull the permit. If you are not the owner, ask Building Safety before the contractor files.

A 10-year-old tank fails in a Litchfield Park house. The owner wants it swapped that day. The city's page lists a permit for replacement, so the contractor files the application with the water heater details and pays the $50 flat fee when the permit is issued. The old unit has no expansion tank, and the new tank type unit needs one under the page.

A garage install. The gas heater sits in the garage. The ignition source has to be elevated 18 inches above the floor, and the T&P discharge has to reach outside or an approved receptor, ending not more than 6 inches above the floor or the receptor's flood level rim.

The edge case. A homeowner reads that Mesa and Chandler exempt equal replacements and assumes Litchfield Park does too. The Litchfield Park page has no such exemption, so the neighboring rule does not carry over.

1. 1Call Building Safety at 623-935-1066 before the work starts, and ask whether any replacement exemption applies to your unit. The page does not list one.
2. 2Collect the manufacturer's specification sheets, especially for a tankless or solar unit.
3. 3Submit the permit application to Building Safety, 214 W Wigwam Blvd., Litchfield Park, AZ 85340, and pay the flat fee at issuance.
4. 4Plan the install around the checklist: pan and drain, T&P discharge, isolation valve, garage ignition height and an expansion tank on tank type units.
5. 5Request the inspection on the same line. Calls before 3:00 p.m. are inspected the next business day, per the city's page.

HQ Plumbing & Air installs and replaces water heaters, including expansion tanks and T&P discharge piping.

• Myth: a like-for-like swap needs no permit. That is true in some neighboring cities. Litchfield Park's page says a permit is required for the installation or replacement.
• Myth: the fee depends on the heater's size. The schedule lists a flat $50 for gas, electric or tankless.
• Myth: an expansion tank is optional. The city lists it for all tank type water heaters.
• Myth: the fee schedule date is settled. The FY2027 schedule has a cover that says effective 8/1/2026 and a footer that says Effective August 1, 2025, so confirm the line with the city.

The text above comes from the City of Litchfield Park water heater guidance, the Citywide Fee Schedule FY2027 and City Code 7-2-1, the city's amendments to the 2018 codes, and 2018 IPC 504.6 and IRC P2804.6.1, read on 2026-10-04. This page explains them, and the official text governs.