A seller in Shavano Park called her agent three weeks before closing convinced there was nothing left to worry about. The pool had been permitted when it went in. She had the permit number. The contractor had been licensed. Then the buyer's lender pulled the city's permit history and found the file marked closed, not because the work passed final inspection, but because the permit itself had expired before the plaster ever cured.
That gap between "I have a permit" and "the permit is still valid" is where a lot of Shavano Park sales lose a week they didn't budget for. It isn't a Texas-wide quirk or a generic disclosure trap you'd read about on a national real estate blog. It comes from how this one city's building code is written, and it catches people who did everything right at the start of a renovation and then, like most homeowners, took a little too long to finish it.
The Permit List Is Longer Than Most Cities'
Shavano Park requires a building permit for almost everything you'd do to a house short of painting a wall. Pools, patios, retaining walls, screening walls, sheds, stables, sprinkler systems, gunite spas, re-roofing, tennis and sport courts, septic systems, and any attached wood deck over 100 square feet all need one, according to the city's code of ordinances. The exemptions are narrow: fences no taller than 7 feet, standard sidewalks and driveways, and freestanding decks under 200 square feet that sit less than 30 inches above grade and don't serve as an exit from the house.
Here's how that plays out for a typical backyard project:
| Improvement | Permit Required? |
|---|---|
| Fence, 7 ft or under | No |
| Freestanding deck, under 200 sq ft, under 30 in. high | No |
| Attached deck over 100 sq ft | Yes |
| Swimming pool or gunite spa | Yes |
| Patio, retaining wall, screening wall | Yes |
| Sprinkler system | Yes |
| Re-roofing | Yes |
| Tennis or sport court | Yes |
That's a wider net than most homeowners expect walking into a renovation. But the list itself isn't the surprising part. The expiration rules attached to it are.
The Clock Resets to Zero, Not to Where You Left Off
Under the city's code, standard building, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing permits expire automatically after six months if construction stalls. The ordinance describes the lapse as happening "automatically and irretrievably," which means there's no grace period built in for a slow contractor, a supply delay, or a homeowner who paused a project over the holidays. Master permits get a longer runway, valid for 15 months with the possibility of a 180-day extension if the City Manager grants one in writing. Swimming pool permits get the shortest leash in the code: 90 days, with one possible 90-day extension for justifiable cause.
Ninety days is not a long time to pour a shell, plumb it, plaster it, fill it, and pass final inspection, especially with the kind of resort-style pools common in Shavano Park's larger lots, the ones with attached spas, sun shelves, and outdoor kitchens built around them. A permit that started clean in month one can be void by month four if the project hits even one ordinary delay. Once that happens, the pool exists physically but not on paper. The city's records will show a permit that was issued and then expired, not one that was ever finaled.
If the home sits inside the Cottage Estates zoning district, there's a second layer worth knowing. The Willow Wood Cottage Estates Planned Unit Development carries its own pool setback rules: at least 10 feet from the main residence, 10 feet from any side lot line, and 10 feet from the rear lot line unless an easement holder grants a waiver. A pool that clears the permit hurdle but sits inside one of those setbacks creates a second, separate compliance question at resale.
Why It Surfaces During the Option Period, Not Before
Texas law requires sellers to complete a written disclosure notice under Property Code Section 5.008, and that notice specifically asks whether any repairs, modifications, or additions were made without a required permit. Most sellers answer that question from memory. They remember pulling the permit. They don't remember, or never knew, that it lapsed.
The problem usually comes to light later, when a buyer's lender or title company checks the city's permit records as part of underwriting. An appraiser who can't find a finaled permit for a pool or a large addition may decline to include it in the valuation. A lender may ask for proof of a closed permit before funding. None of this happens at the negotiating table where a seller could explain the history. It happens inside a file review, and it shows up as a request days before closing, at the exact point in a transaction when nobody wants a new condition attached.
The Fifteen-Minute Check Before You List
Shavano Park runs its permitting through MyGovernmentOnline, and permit applications and inspection results are reviewed by BB Inspection Services, LLC and Colliers Engineering & Design under contract with the city. That means a seller doesn't have to guess about permit status. Anyone can create a free account and search the address, or reach out directly to the city's Permit Clerk, Marisa Knuffke, to confirm whether a given permit was ever finaled.
Before listing a home with a pool, a large deck, a patio, or any other permitted improvement, it's worth pulling that history yourself rather than waiting for a buyer's team to find it first. If a permit did lapse before final inspection, you have options. You can apply for a new permit and schedule the outstanding inspection before you go to market, which is usually the cleanest path if the work is otherwise up to code. Or you can disclose the lapsed status directly and let a buyer factor it into their offer, which keeps you honest but may narrow your buyer pool to those comfortable taking on the paperwork themselves.
What doesn't work is assuming the original permit still covers you. In Shavano Park's system, it doesn't, once the clock runs out.
A Few Questions Sellers Ask
Does this apply if I didn't do the renovation myself? Yes. A permit's status attaches to the property, not to whoever pulled it. If a previous owner's pool permit lapsed before the work was finaled, that history carries forward to you as the current owner and shows up the same way in city records.
What if I have the paperwork but can't remember if the final inspection happened? Check your MyGovernmentOnline account first, since every inspection result gets logged there once it's completed. If you can't find the record or never had an account tied to the project, the Permit Office can look up the address directly.
Can a lapsed permit be renewed instead of restarted? That depends on the project and how much has changed since the original application. The Permit Office is the right first call, before you assume you need to start over or assume you don't.
Shavano Park's estate lots and mature landscaping make backyard improvements one of the biggest value drivers in the neighborhood, which is exactly why it pays to get the paperwork right before a buyer's underwriting team finds the gap for you. If you're preparing to list a home here, or trying to make sense of what a stalled permit means for your timeline, Shawn Alvarez can walk through your specific address and permit history before you go to market. Contact Shawn, your trusted real estate partner, to get started.
