Building permits, zoning and septic rules in the Village of Harriman, New York

At a glance

Building permit

Required inside the village for work covered by the state Uniform Code¹

Who issues it

The village, through its Code Enforcement Officer⁵

Zoning

Village zoning law, with its own districts and map²⁶

Certificate of occupancy

Required after inspections for completed work⁷

Accessory apartment

One per single-family house, by Planning Board approval, owner-occupied⁸

Septic

Orange County Department of Health reviews sewage-disposal plans⁴

Who to call

Contact details are copied from each office’s official page and were checked against it on October 14, 2026.

Does Harriman, NY have zoning, and what does it mean for RVs, tiny homes and lot size?

Yes. The Village of Harriman has its own zoning law, administered by the Code Enforcement Officer and the village boards, and it covers land inside village limits². The village's code sets out a zoning plan with a text, a schedule of district regulations and a map⁶.

Orange County itself does not zone: local municipalities adopt and enforce zoning, and each of the county's municipalities has its own code and map³⁹. The county's lack of zoning therefore does not apply to a lot in Harriman; the village's rules do.

We could not confirm the village's district-by-district rules on RV living, tiny homes, minimum lot size, setbacks or building height. Ask the Village Hall which district a parcel sits in and what that district allows before you buy¹⁰.

Do you need a building permit in Harriman, and who issues it?

Yes. Inside the Village of Harriman, a building permit is required for any work that must conform to the state Uniform Code or Energy Code, including construction, enlargement, alteration, removal, relocation or demolition of a building or structure¹. The village administers and enforces the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code itself⁵. The code lists some exemptions that we have not reviewed in full, so confirm a small project with the village before skipping a permit¹.

Inspections are made by the village's Code Enforcement Officer or an authorized inspector, and a certificate of occupancy or compliance follows the final inspection¹¹⁷. Permit fees are set in the village code and we could not confirm the current amounts.

Call Village Hall at 845-783-4421 and ask for the building department¹⁰. Orange County does not issue building permits for village lots¹².

How do septic permits work inside Harriman?

Septic and sewage-disposal review in Orange County runs through the Orange County Department of Health, which acts under the New York State Sanitary Code⁴. State rules point the same way: approval may be needed from the county health department before construction, depending on where the property sits¹³.

The county's published materials do not say that every individual residential septic system needs a county permit, so ask the Sanitary Engineering office what review your system needs¹⁴¹⁵. Where Orange County Sewer District No. 1 serves a property, new building construction needs sewer-district approval, and private septic disposal is generally unlawful there¹⁶.

The village's own private-sewage-disposal rules, and whether a given lot is on public sewer, are not something we could confirm. Ask Village Hall about both¹⁰.

Can you build an accessory apartment in Harriman?

Only in a limited way. The village allows one accessory apartment located entirely within a single-family detached dwelling, as a special permitted use approved by the Planning Board⁸. The house must be connected to Orange County Sewer District No. 1 or a similar municipally operated sewer district, the owner must live in the single-family dwelling, and a building permit and certificate of compliance are required⁸.

We did not confirm village rules on separate tiny homes, manufactured homes or RV occupancy; treat them as unconfirmed and ask Village Hall¹⁰.

Building a home in Harriman: the steps, in order

1. Ask Village Hall which zoning district the parcel is in and what it allows⁶¹⁰.
2. Ask whether the lot has public sewer, and if not, what the Orange County Department of Health will need for a septic design⁴¹⁵.
3. Apply for a building permit from the village before starting any covered work¹.
4. Keep work exposed until the village inspector has seen it¹¹.
5. Obtain the certificate of occupancy or compliance before moving in⁷.
6. If the driveway meets a state highway, get a permit from the New York State Department of Transportation¹⁷.

What stays with Orange County, and what to check before you buy in Harriman?

Septic review and county health standards stay with Orange County, and the county reviews subdivisions of 5 or more lots on under 5 acres, mainly for water supply and wastewater⁴¹⁸. The county's health standards say an area susceptible to flooding generally shall not be used for subsurface sewage disposal¹⁹. Floodplain development permits in New York are local, so ask the village if a parcel is mapped in a flood hazard area²⁰.

For land outside village limits, see the Orange County page: the county's answers there do not apply inside Harriman.

Orange County's effective property tax rate is 2.3% and the median bill is $8,463 a year, county-wide²¹²².

Watch-outs

• District rules on lot size, setbacks, height and RV or tiny-home use inside Harriman were not confirmed; ask Village Hall for the zoning schedule for the parcel¹⁰.
• Orange County's lack of county zoning and its county-level answers apply to unincorporated land, not to lots inside Harriman³.
• Septic rules for a village lot depend on whether it is on public sewer; confirm with Village Hall and the Orange County Department of Health before you buy⁴.

Sources

1. Village of Harriman Code, Ch. 78 Fire Prevention and Building Code (Village of Harriman), quoted and re-checked
2. Village of Harriman Code, Ch. 140 Zoning, Article I General Provisions (Village of Harriman), quoted and re-checked
3. Map Resources | Orange County, NY, quoted and re-checked
4. Environmental Health- a division of the Health Department, quoted and re-checked
5. Village of Harriman Code, Ch. 78 Fire Prevention and Building Code (Village of Harriman), quoted and re-checked
6. Village of Harriman Code, Ch. 140 Zoning, Article I General Provisions (Village of Harriman), quoted and re-checked
7. Village of Harriman Code, Ch. 78 Fire Prevention and Building Code (Village of Harriman), quoted and re-checked
8. Village of Harriman Code, Ch. 140 Zoning, Article VII Accessory Apartments (Village of Harriman), quoted and re-checked
9. Map Resources | Orange County, NY, quoted and re-checked
10. Village of Harriman Village Hall (building department and code enforcement inquiries) (villageofharriman.org)
11. Village of Harriman Code, Ch. 78 Fire Prevention and Building Code (Village of Harriman), quoted and re-checked
12. NY Department of State - Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code (2026 county census)
13. State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) Permit Program (New York statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
14. Sanitary Engineering | Orange County, NY, quoted and re-checked
15. Orange County Department of Health, Sanitary Engineering (orangecountyny.gov)
16. Sanitary Engineering | Orange County, NY, quoted and re-checked
17. Residential Driveway Permits (New York statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
18. Environmental Health- a division of the Health Department, quoted and re-checked
19. OCHD Design Policy & Standards – Appendix 75-A & Design Handbook, quoted and re-checked
20. Floodplain Management - NYSDEC (New York statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
21. Effective property tax rate: Bolthole Index county data
22. Median property tax bill: Bolthole Index county data

Written October 14, 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.