Before signing a lease, identify open plumbing permits, their approved scope, inspection history and unresolved corrections. Ask the building department what the proposed use and unfinished work require, then put responsibility for resolving the findings in the lease or project agreement. A new tenant or contractor does not automatically close an old permit.
What should you request from the landlord?
Collect the permit numbers, approved plans, revisions, inspection results and any correction notices relevant to the space. Match each document to the address, suite and actual work. A permit for another unit or an earlier piece of equipment may not answer the question about the installation you will use.
List each open issue in a simple register:
- What work the permit authorized.
- Which inspections were recorded and which remain outstanding.
- Any correction, plan discrepancy or unfinished connection.
- The currently recorded permit holder or responsible party.
- What the building department says must happen next.
The commercial building plumbing checklist covers other condition and capacity checks. Keep permit status separate from those findings: a permit record does not reveal every hidden pipe's condition.
What changes when a contractor is replaced?
In Phoenix, Section 105.8.3 allows the recorded owner to request contractor substitution by affidavit, with the new contractor agreeing to the specified code-compliance responsibilities. It also preserves the possibility of a new contractor obtaining a permit for only the work it intends to perform. Ask the city which path applies before assigning a new plumber every unresolved part of a prior project.
Use the plan-revision checklist if the intended work differs from the approved layout. If a required inspection was missed before work was covered, follow the concealed-work response rather than assuming a later visual visit settles it.
How do you keep the lease decision informed?
Ask the authority about permit validity, closure requirements and the proposed use. Do not borrow another city's expiration rule; Scottsdale's inspection timing illustrates why location matters.
If opening is proposed while part of the work remains unfinished, review the temporary-occupancy questions with the authority rather than treating the planned opening date as approval.
Have the landlord and tenant identify who commissions corrections, pays for agreed work and supplies access. The lease and project contract should address that split; commercial tenant-versus-landlord responsibility explains why the signed terms matter. Preserve the authority's response and resolved records in the closeout file before relying on the installation for a new opening.