Building permits, zoning and septic rules in Brentwood, Tennessee

At a glance

Building permits

City Planning & Codes handles building permits; confirm which approvals your project needs¹

Zoning

City zoning applies inside Brentwood; standards vary by district²⁴

Septic

Williamson County Sewage Disposal Management; septic construction, modification and repair require approval³⁵

RV living

Floodplain restrictions are verified; general private-land occupancy needs city confirmation⁶

OSRD lot size

Minimum 14,000 square feet for conventional lots; 21,780 for transitional lots, with additional boundary rules⁷

Owner-builder

State licensing exemption for an owner’s personal residence has conditions; local approvals still need confirmation⁸

Who to call

Contact details are copied from each office’s official page and were checked against it on October 11, 2026.

Do you need a building permit in Brentwood, TN?

Brentwood’s Planning & Codes Department handles city building permits, and the city accepts permit applications, plans and supporting documents electronically.¹⁹ We could not confirm a general permit-trigger statement covering every type of project; ask Planning & Codes which building permits your proposed home, addition or accessory structure requires.¹

Brentwood has adopted the 2018 International Residential Code and residential energy code; electrical-code enforcement rests with the State Fire Marshal’s Office.¹⁰ The Tennessee owner-builder licensing exemption is conditional on constructing a residence for personal use rather than sale, lease or rent; ask the city how to document owner-builder status for your application.⁸¹

Who handles Brentwood building permits and inspections?

Contact the Brentwood Planning & Codes Department at (615) 371-2204 or [email protected] for city building-permit and planning questions.¹ Brentwood accepts electronic applications and allows building-permit fees to be paid online or by check payable to the City of Brentwood.⁹ Ask the department for the current fee calculation before setting your construction budget.¹

Brentwood building inspections are scheduled by appointment only; use the online account or call the inspection line at (615) 661-7077.⁹ Keep application questions with Planning & Codes and inspection scheduling with the Codes Section so your proposed work reaches the appropriate city service.¹⁹

Does Brentwood have zoning, lot-size rules and setbacks?

Brentwood applies city zoning inside city limits, with district-specific standards rather than a single dimensional rule for every parcel.²⁴ In Brentwood’s R-1 district, principal structures need front, rear and ordinary side setbacks of 150, 50 and 30 feet; a side yard adjoining a public street requires 45 feet.¹¹ In R-2, the corresponding setbacks are 75, 30 and 20 feet, with 30 feet on a street-facing side.¹²

Brentwood OSRD conventional lots require at least 14,000 square feet and transitional lots at least 21,780 square feet; additional rules apply where lots abut existing residential development.⁷ OSRD principal structures have a 50-foot front setback and a 30-foot rear setback, with side-yard alternatives and boundary conditions.¹³ Ask Planning & Codes to identify the parcel’s district and applicable exceptions before selecting a house footprint.¹

How do septic permits work inside Brentwood?

Williamson County’s Department of Sewage Disposal Management administers onsite septic systems within the county, including Brentwood, and designates the appropriate system type for each property.³ Tennessee requires a septic permit before constructing, modifying or repairing a septic system, and advises obtaining approval before dirt work or a building pad begins.⁵ Williamson County is a contract county, so septic permit and completion packages go directly to the county rather than the state’s non-contract-county application route.¹⁴

Only 14.1% of Williamson County soils are rated not limited for a conventional septic drain field; that countywide screening does not determine a Brentwood lot’s suitability or mean septic is impossible.¹⁵ Obtain the county’s site-specific system determination before committing to a septic-dependent building layout.³

Can you live in an RV or tiny home in Brentwood?

Brentwood’s verified RV provision concerns identified special flood hazard areas: an RV must remain fewer than 180 consecutive days, be fully licensed and ready for highway use, or meet new-construction requirements.⁶ That floodplain provision does not establish general permission to live in an RV elsewhere in Brentwood.⁶

We could not confirm Brentwood’s general private-land RV occupancy, temporary camping, tiny-home occupancy, accessory-dwelling or minimum dwelling-size rules; ask Planning & Codes about your proposed use before buying a vehicle or ordering a dwelling.¹ Brentwood zoning and residential building-code standards still provide separate questions for the city to resolve for a proposed small dwelling.²¹⁰

Building a home in Brentwood: what should you do first?

Start by asking Brentwood Planning & Codes to identify the parcel’s zoning district and the city building-permit application requirements.¹ District setbacks and lot-size rules can change the usable building envelope, so resolve those before choosing the footprint.^1112137

Next, resolve sewage disposal: obtain county septic approval before dirt work if the project relies on septic, and ask the serving utility about sewer availability if it does not.⁵³¹⁶ For mapped floodplain land inside Brentwood, contact the city floodplain administrator; Engineering provides a city contact for engineering and stormwater questions.¹⁷¹⁸ Then submit city application documents electronically and schedule required city inspections by appointment.⁹

What stays with Williamson County, and what should Brentwood buyers check?

Onsite septic administration stays with Williamson County even when the property is inside Brentwood, while the city handles building permits and zoning.³¹² For land outside Brentwood city limits, use the Williamson County guide: the county’s building-permit and zoning rules apply to unincorporated land.¹⁹²⁰

A driveway involving Tennessee state highway right-of-way requires a TDOT entrance permit for construction, modification or a change in use; that rule does not establish requirements for every city street.²¹ Tennessee’s agricultural zoning exemption applies to counties and has no application to municipalities, so do not assume farm use removes Brentwood zoning obligations.²² Ask Planning & Codes about well drilling and off-grid sanitation, whose city requirements we could not confirm.¹

Watch-outs

• Brentwood’s floodplain RV provision is not a general citywide RV occupancy approval; ask Planning & Codes about your proposed residential use.⁶¹
• Williamson County’s Sewage Disposal page lists a public hearing for proposed regulation amendments; ask Sewage Disposal Management which regulations apply when you submit a septic application.²³
• County agricultural zoning exemptions do not apply to Brentwood municipal zoning.²²

Sources

1. Brentwood Planning & Codes Department (brentwoodtn.gov)
2. Sec. 78-144. Technical standards (Brentwood), quoted and re-checked
3. Sewage Disposal, quoted and re-checked
4. Sec. 78-144. Technical standards (Brentwood), quoted and re-checked
5. Septic System Construction Permit (Tennessee statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
6. Sec. 56-82. Specific standards for areas other than the floodway (Brentwood), quoted and re-checked
7. library.municode.com (Brentwood), quoted and re-checked
8. Can I build my own home without a license? (Tennessee statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
9. Brentwood Codes Section (brentwoodtn.gov)
10. Codes Section - City of Brentwood (Brentwood), quoted and re-checked
11. library.municode.com (Brentwood), quoted and re-checked
12. Sec. 78-164. Technical standards (Brentwood), quoted and re-checked
13. Sec. 78-184. Technical standards (Brentwood), quoted and re-checked
14. Septic System Construction Permit (Tennessee statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
15. Share of soils USDA rates "not limited" for a conventional septic drain field (SSURGO). A strict rating: the median county is about 6% and a tenth of counties are 0%, so a low figure means most lots need a site evaluation or an engineered system, not that septic is impossible. Cite it only with that caveat: Bolthole Index county data
16. Utility Customers Frequently Asked Questions (Tennessee statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
17. Statewide Floodplain Administrator Directory (Tennessee statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
18. Brentwood Engineering Department (brentwoodtn.gov)
19. Williamson County, Tennessee Zoning Ordinance, quoted and re-checked
20. Zoning, quoted and re-checked
21. Highway Entrance Permits (Tennessee statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
22. Exemption from County Zoning Regulation for Buildings on Land Used for Agriculture, Opinion No. 22-07 (Tennessee statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
23. Williamson County Department of Sewage Disposal Management (williamsoncounty-tn.gov)

Written October 11, 2026 from the rules quoted below, each taken from an official source and re-checked by an independent reviewer. This is research, not legal advice: rules change, so confirm with the office before you buy or build.