The inside is done. The floors are sealed, the appliances are running, and the movers are booked. Outside, the landscaping is half planted, the driveway still needs its final inspection, and the drainage review hasn't come back. In Piney Point Village, that gap between finished inside and finished outside now has a price and a deadline set by the city, and both got stricter this year.
The document that covers this gap is the Temporary Certificate of Occupancy, or TCO. Most buyers of custom and new-construction homes in the Memorial Villages first hear about it in the last few weeks of a build. By then the deposit amount, the deadline and the penalty are already fixed by the village the house sits in. Two neighboring villages have now written that rule in very different ways.
What a Temporary Certificate Actually Covers
In Piney Point Village, a TCO is available only once the structure is complete and the final certificate of occupancy depends solely on exterior improvements, exterior inspections and the building final. Two of three city officials must confirm a preliminary final walk-through: the building official, the city administrator or the mayor. The house must also have passed every interior inspection, including the interior final.
A TCO lets a family live in a house that is safe and complete inside while the yard, hardscape and final sign-offs catch up. The money involved goes to the city on top of the builder contract.
Why Piney Point Decided Its Old Rule Wasn't Working
Before 2026, Piney Point's rule looked tough. It required a $25,000 cash deposit and a written certification from the owner and builder that the remaining work would be done within 45 days. After that, liquidated damages ran at $2,000 a day.
City staff told the council in a December 15, 2025 memo that the rule worked better on paper than in practice:
"While the ordinance is strict on paper, staff often face challenges with practical effectiveness."
The memo named the problem. Builders sometimes moved other jobs ahead of the remaining work once the owner had moved in. The city also didn't systematically impose the daily penalty, because it was often unclear who was responsible for a delay, especially when engineering reviews were still pending. In practice, staff usually allowed a reasonable grace period and applied the penalty when a project ran well past its deadline.
Once the owner has moved in, the builder has less reason to hurry, and the rewrite is meant to put that urgency back through money.
What Piney Point Adopted in February
After a Planning & Zoning review and a public hearing, the Piney Point City Council adopted Ordinance No. 2026.02 on February 23, 2026, by a 4–1 vote. The approved minutes of that meeting and the February 23 council packet set out the terms:
- A $30,000 cash deposit, up from $25,000.
- A new $5,000 nonrefundable processing fee, paid with the application.
- A written certification from the owner and builder that the home will receive its final certificate of occupancy within 45 days.
- $2,000 per day in liquidated damages from the deposit for every day past that period, with the right to appeal the amount.
- Up to two 30-day extensions for "extraordinary circumstances," defined as acts of God or other unforeseeable events. Financial hardship explicitly doesn't qualify.
- A pause on the clock while the applicant waits on a city inspection, review or approval, as long as the request was complete, compliant and timely, and the applicant isn't in default.
The council's choices show how far it meant to go. A motion to lengthen the deadline to 60 days died without a second. The council also cut a proposed "extended temporary occupancy" option, which would have let an owner buy one more 30-day period for another $30,000 deposit and another $5,000 fee. In January, council members had said they wanted TCOs restricted to extreme cases.
At $2,000 a day, the full $30,000 deposit is gone 15 days after the deadline. The $5,000 fee is gone the day it's paid.
One more practical detail: the public Municode version of Piney Point's Chapter 74 still shows the older $25,000 figures. The council record from February is the current rule.
Hunters Creek Started From Piney Point's Rule and Drafted a Different One
Hunters Creek Village used Piney Point's ordinance as its starting point. The June 23, 2026 council packet attached Piney Point's adopted text as an example. At that meeting, the council voted unanimously to refer a proposed ordinance to its own Planning & Zoning Commission. The commission unanimously approved a preliminary report on August 24. It held a public hearing on September 14 and recommended forwarding its final report to council.
The draft that went to the October 27 council meeting for a public hearing and possible action takes a different approach.
| Piney Point Village, adopted Feb. 23, 2026 | Hunters Creek Village, draft in the Oct. 27, 2026 council packet | |
|---|---|---|
| Cash security | $30,000 | $25,000 |
| Nonrefundable fee | $5,000 | None stated |
| Initial window | 45 days | 90 days |
| Extensions | Up to two 30-day extensions | One 45-day extension |
| If the deadline passes | $2,000 per day from the deposit | City keeps the full security |
| Clock pauses for city reviews | Yes | Not stated |
| Extra condition | Two-official walk-through | Council-approved permit extension if the building permit would expire during the TCO |
In Piney Point, the penalty starts the day after the deadline and grows daily until the deposit is gone. Under the Hunters Creek draft, the owner has a longer runway of up to 135 days with the extension. The draft also requires the house to have passed its mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire sprinkler, driveway, drainage and pool requirements before a TCO is issued. If the deadline is missed, the whole $25,000 is lost at once. Builders under Piney Point's rule always have a reason to finish sooner. Under the Hunters Creek draft, the pressure falls on a single date.
A written comment in the commission's September 14 packet supported the effort. It asked the city to also consider tools for construction and remodeling projects that stay unfinished for years before they reach the certificate stage, such as completion timelines and exterior maintenance standards during construction. The draft adds a new Section 44-59 next to the existing sections on final certificates of occupancy. Anyone building in Hunters Creek should get the ordinance text currently on file from the city before planning a move-in date.
Where This Lands in a Build Budget and a Contract
The TCO deposit sits on top of permit fees, which Piney Point also reset this year. Its master fee schedule, in effect since January 1, 2026, charges $500 to review plans for a new house and $1.46 per square foot for new home construction. It also charges $500 for a house demolition application and $1.40 per square foot for a new pool. On a 6,000-square-foot new home, the construction fee alone comes to $8,760. Add a $30,000 refundable deposit and a $5,000 nonrefundable fee, and an early move-in can tie up about four times that permit fee in cash.
The text of Piney Point's revised ordinance has the applicant post the deposit. Both the owner and the builder sign the 45-day certification, and the ordinance names the property owner as the one who pays the daily damages. How any of that cost is split with a builder is a matter for the construction contract and your attorney.
These deposits can also come up again long after move-in. At its October 26, 2026 meeting, the Piney Point council discussed a $25,000 TCO-related charge on one property that had gone uncollected through an administrative oversight. The city attorney advised that it was still due, and no waiver or refund was approved. A TCO reimbursement request on another property was also on the council's agenda in February. For anyone buying a recently finished home, it's worth asking whether its TCO deposit was ever resolved.
Questions to settle with a builder before closing on, or moving into, a new Villages home:
- Will this house need a TCO, or will it reach a final certificate of occupancy before move-in?
- Who posts the cash deposit, and who pays the processing fee?
- If daily damages are assessed, does the construction contract address who bears that cost?
- Which exterior items, inspections and drainage reviews are still open, and how long does each one usually take?
- For a recently completed home, was the TCO deposit refunded or applied, and does the city consider the file closed?
A Few Quick Answers
Does every new home in the Memorial Villages need a TCO? No. A TCO is only needed to move in before the final certificate of occupancy. A house that gets its final certificate first never needs one.
Do these rules apply in Bunker Hill, Hedwig, Spring Valley or Hilshire Village? Each Memorial Village writes its own code. The terms above come from Piney Point Village's adopted ordinance and Hunters Creek Village's October draft. Check with the city hall that has jurisdiction over the address.
Is the $5,000 fee in Piney Point refundable if the house finishes early? No. The ordinance makes the processing fee nonrefundable. Only the $30,000 deposit can be returned, less any damages assessed.
This post is general information drawn from public city records, not legal or financial advice. Please confirm the rules that apply to your property with the village and with your own attorney or builder before you commit to a move-in date.
If you're buying or building a new home in Piney Point or Hunters Creek, it helps to have the TCO question settled before closing and before the movers are booked. The Property Joes Group can help you work out your timeline, the questions for your builder, and what the village will expect before you move in. Start Your Home Journey Today.
