Virginia Beach logs each report of construction without a permit as a Complaint (CMPL) record in its permit system, and about half of the reports about building work end with a permit application at the same property. Of 762 building-work complaints filed from January 2023 to mid-October 2025 with a parcel number, 392 (51.4%) were followed by a permit application on that parcel within 12 months, a median 13 days after the complaint. On the same parcels in an unrelated year, only 13.9% had any permit application.
These are our calculations from the City’s Building Permits Applications dataset on the OpenVB data portal, which holds 2,330 complaint records from January 2023 to October 2026 alongside the City’s permits. To report work in progress, call VB311 at (757) 385-3111 or email vb311@vbgov.com; for permit questions, call Permits & Inspections at 757-385-4211.
| Item | What the records show |
|---|---|
| Complaint records, Jan. 2023 to Oct. 2026 | 2,330; 1,422 about building work, 286 about driveways, the rest about utilities, trees, drainage, land disturbance and property use |
| Building-work complaints per year | 283 in 2023, 361 in 2024, 461 in 2025, 317 in 2026 through October 18 |
| Permit application within 12 months | 51.4% of 762 complaints with a parcel number and a full year of follow-up; 40.0% were building permits |
| Time to the permit application | Median 13 days; a quarter within 3 days; 90% within 162 days |
| Permit already applied for | 17.2% had a permit application in the 90 days before the complaint |
| Highest follow-through | Interior remodeling 66.7%, roof and windows 60.0%, additions 59.5%, trade work 58.6% |
| Lowest follow-through | Sheds and garages 33.3%, fences and walls 34.1% |
| Complaint record closed | Median 5 days after filing; 75% within 21 days |
| Penalty ceiling under state law | Fine up to $2,500 per conviction; repeat offenses higher (Va. Code § 36-106) |
How to report unpermitted construction in Virginia Beach
- Check whether the work has a permit. Search the address in the Building Permits Applications dataset or in the City’s Accela Citizen Access portal. Look for Building, Electrical, Plumbing, Mechanical or Gas permits with a recent application date.
- If nothing matches, report it to VB311 at (757) 385-3111, vb311@vbgov.com or the VB311 chat. Give the address, what is being built and when you saw it.
- For a question about whether a type of work needs a permit, call Permits & Inspections at 757-385-4211 or email perminsp@vbgov.com.
- Watch the address in the dataset. A CMPL record appears with the complaint date and a status of Active, Closed or Final, and any permit the owner applies for appears under the same parcel number (GPIN).
What happened after 1,422 building-work complaints
We sorted complaints into groups by keywords in the complaint description, then looked for any permit application on the same GPIN. To leave a full year of follow-up, the main figures use the 762 building-work complaints filed through October 18, 2025 that carry a GPIN.
- 51.4% had a permit application on the parcel within 12 months. For 40.0%, it was a building permit; the rest were electrical, plumbing, mechanical or gas permits.
- Speed: the median gap from complaint to application was 13 days. A quarter applied within 3 days.
- Before the complaint: 17.2% of parcels already had a permit application in the prior 90 days. Some of those reports concern permitted work, and some concern work beyond the permit, which complaint notes describe as “exceeded scope.”
- Comparison: on the same parcels in a 12-month window two years before the complaint, 13.9% had any permit application.
- Inspection: 67.1% of the first permits that followed a complaint had a final date by October 2026.
Which Virginia Beach complaints led to a permit
Groups come from keywords in the complaint text. “Matching permit” means the permit description used the same kind of word, such as deck, pool or roof. Complaints filed through October 18, 2025, with a GPIN.
| Complaint about | Complaints | Any permit in 12 months | Matching permit | Median days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Interior remodeling | 126 | 66.7% | 41.3% | 19 |
| Roof, siding, windows | 55 | 60.0% | 40.0% | 4 |
| Additions, new structures | 74 | 59.5% | 27.0% | 24 |
| Electrical, plumbing, HVAC, gas | 58 | 58.6% | n/a | 6 |
| Decks and porches | 108 | 52.8% | 42.6% | 10 |
| Pools | 63 | 47.6% | 28.6% | 16 |
| Work not described | 107 | 41.1% | n/a | 13 |
| Fences and walls | 44 | 34.1% | 13.6% | 40 |
| Sheds, accessory buildings, garages | 90 | 33.3% | 16.7% | 10 |
| Driveways | 126 | 61.1% | n/a | 4 |
Why fence and shed complaints in Virginia rarely end in a building permit
The state building code, Virginia Construction Code section 108.2, exempts several common projects from a building permit. The low rates for fences and sheds line up with these exemptions:
- Fences of any height, unless the fence is a swimming pool barrier or a pedestrian safety fence.
- One-story detached tool sheds, playhouses and similar buildings up to 256 square feet. Several Virginia Beach complaints mention that 256-square-foot line.
- Concrete or masonry walls up to six feet, and retaining walls holding back less than three feet of soil.
- Ordinary repairs such as same-size window replacement, floor finishes, cabinets, trim and paint.
- Roof covering and siding replacement on houses, where the design wind speed is 100 mph or less.
The same section lets the building official require a permit for exempt items in a special flood hazard area, which covers parts of Virginia Beach. Zoning rules on setbacks, height and lot coverage still apply to fences and sheds, so call the City before treating any project as permit-free.
Driveway complaints in Virginia Beach
Driveways were the single largest complaint topic: 286 records. Of 126 with a GPIN and a full year of follow-up, 61.1% had a permit application within 12 months, a median 4 days after the complaint. The City records this work as building permits with descriptions such as “replace driveway and apron,” and the apron sits in the public right of way, so a driveway job usually needs City approval even when the house work does not.
Penalties for building without a permit in Virginia
Under Va. Code § 36-106, violating the building code is a misdemeanor with a fine of up to $2,500. If the violation is still there at conviction, the court orders it fixed, usually within six months. A second offense within five years carries a fine of $1,000 to $2,500, and a third within ten years can bring up to 10 days in jail and a $5,000 to $10,000 fine. Localities may instead adopt a civil penalty schedule of up to $100 for the first summons and $350 for each later one, capped at $4,000 for the same facts. In practice, most complaints here ended with a permit application or a closed record within weeks.
Checklist for a Virginia Beach house with a complaint record
- Each CMPL record at the address: date, description and status.
- Whether a permit was applied for after the complaint, and whether that permit has a final date.
- Whether the permit description matches the work in the complaint, such as a deck complaint followed by a deck permit.
- Work visible on the property, such as a deck, addition, pool or converted garage, with no permit in the dataset.
- Exempt items (fences, small sheds) checked against zoning setbacks and flood-zone rules.
- For permits from before 2023, a records request to Permits & Inspections, since the open dataset starts in January 2023.
About the Virginia Beach complaint data
The Building Permits Applications layer (last edited October 19, 2026) lists complaints as permit type Complaint. We grouped them by keywords in the description, matched permits by GPIN with application dates up to 12 months after the complaint, and dropped void and withdrawn permits. A permit on the same parcel may be for other work, which is why we show the keyword-matched share and the 13.9% comparison. These are our calculations from City data. For permit searches, see our Virginia Beach building permit search; for similar reports elsewhere, our studies of Seattle and Los Angeles unpermitted construction complaints; and for more city data, our building permit data page.
City of Virginia Beach open data and Virginia Code pages checked October 25, 2026.