Hot job leads · Morgan Hill

Morgan Hill for pros: the license, the permits and the clock

In Morgan Hill the rules bite on the calendar and the yard as much as on the house. Saturday work ends at 6 p.m. and Sundays are off, every water heater swap needs a permit, a fence over 6 feet must finish in a foot of lattice, and cutting more than a quarter of a protected oak's canopy needs a city permit. Owners live in most homes, and nine in ten date from 1970 or later.

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Business license
Through HdL; runs July to June, renewed yearly
Source: morganhill.ca.gov: 577 (opens in a new tab)
Saturday hours
9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; no work on Sundays
Source: morganhill.ca.gov: Building Fire Prevention (opens in a new tab)
Median home built
1989 (Census ACS 2019-2023)
Source: data.census.gov: ACSDT5Y2023 (opens in a new tab)
Owner-occupied
72.3% of occupied homes
Source: data.census.gov: ACSDP5Y2023 (opens in a new tab)

Working legally here

Morgan Hill's business license, run by HdL

Morgan Hill hands its business licensing to HdL Companies, which takes applications, renewals and payments online, by phone and by mail. Anyone conducting business inside city limits needs a license before starting, and the city lists contractors and self-employed people among those covered. The license counts when you are providing services to a resident or business in the city, wherever your office is. The tax is a flat amount by category, not a share of receipts: a construction contractor holding a state license pays the same tax whether based in town or not, and independent contractors with offices elsewhere have their own, lower category. New applications also carry a one-time review fee. Licenses run July through June, and paying late adds 10% after 30 days and another 15% after 60.

City of Morgan Hill, Finance (opens in a new tab)

Permits

Morgan Hill permits a handyman runs into

  • Every water heater, and online only for contractors

    Morgan Hill requires a permit for every water heater replacement. A contractor can apply online through eTRAKiT, which handles only four residential types: reroofs, repipes, SolarAPP+ solar and water heaters. Everything else goes to the Building Division by email, as PDF files only; photos and JPEGs are refused. Converting to a heat pump water heater adds an electrical load calculation, unless the main panel is 200 amps or larger, plus the manufacturer's spec sheet. The city also flags Bay Area air district rules that phase out sales of standard gas water heaters starting in 2027 and furnaces in 2029.

    City of Morgan Hill, Building & Fire Prevention (opens in a new tab)

  • Fences, deck boards and the lattice rule

    Fences up to 7 feet need no building permit, but Chapter 18.52 of the municipal code sets their shape: 7 feet at most along side and rear lines, with the top foot in lattice once a fence passes 6 feet, and no more than 3 feet inside the front setback. Chain link, barbed wire and sheet metal are not allowed in residential zones without Planning Commission approval. Small deck repairs are exempt as well: replacing up to 24 square feet of damaged decking with identical members needs no permit, as long as the guardrails are not being replaced.

    City of Morgan Hill, Planning Division (opens in a new tab)

  • Protected trees, oaks included from 6 inches

    Chapter 12.32 protects every tree with a trunk 13 inches or more across at 4.5 feet up, every native tree from 6 inches, including oaks of all types, bays, madrones, sycamores and alders, and every street tree of any size. Removing one, or pruning away more than 25% of its canopy, needs a Tree Removal & Pruning Permit, with a public notice posted for at least 10 days. Working from the street or a public walkway also takes an encroachment permit from Engineering. Lighter pruning under that 25% line needs no tree permit.

    City of Morgan Hill, Planning Division (opens in a new tab)

The homes

Morgan Hill houses by the Census numbers

The 2019-2023 American Community Survey counts 15,025 housing units in Morgan Hill, and owners live in 72.3% of the occupied ones. Detached houses are 60.2% of the stock and attached single-family homes 17.7%. Mobile homes make up 5.4%, more than double the share in Gilroy or Milpitas, so manufactured-home steps, skirting and small decks belong on a local pro's list. The median home dates from 1989. The 1970s were the busiest decade, with 26.2% of today's units, which leaves a large block of houses now 45 to 55 years old, where original sliders, bathrooms and supply lines are reaching the end of their run.

U.S. Census Bureau (opens in a new tab)
Shops at First Street and Monterey Road in downtown Morgan Hill
Shops at First Street and Monterey Road in downtown Morgan Hill. Photo: Cristiano Tomás, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Part by part

Morgan Hill districts and the jobs in them

  • Downtown

    Downtown, along Monterey Road, keeps some of the town's early houses, several of them recorded in the city's 1978 Downtown Survey, among them the 1899 George Edes house on West First Street, with the scroll brackets and carved capitals it still has. The 1984 Morgan Hill earthquake substantially damaged downtown. Trim and porch work on houses like these means copying old profiles rather than buying stock parts.

  • Madrone

    Madrone began as Burnett Township, named by Santa Clara County in 1852, and grew around the 18-Mile House, a Monterey Road stage stop built in 1858 and named, like the valley's other roadhouses, for its distance from San Jose. The railroad later ran right behind its small commercial strip, and the area is now part of Morgan Hill.

  • Jackson Oaks and Holiday Lake Estates

    These planned developments east of town went up on land annexed in the 1960s, after IBM's Cottle Road campus drew white-collar workers who built larger houses. Where a lot holds native oaks, a trunk of just 6 inches makes the tree protected, so heavy pruning around a deck or roofline needs the city's permit before anyone climbs, and any outside change should start with asking whether an association governs the lot.

Getting around

Getting around Morgan Hill on a work day

Monterey Road, the old El Camino Real, is the main street through downtown and carried U.S. 101 until a bypass opened in 1970, so freeway traffic now skirts the center. Chapter 8.28 sets construction hours at 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Friday and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, with no work on Sundays or federal holidays, so a weekend job gets one short day. The Building Division at 17575 Peak Avenue keeps weekday hours of 8 to noon and 1 to 5.

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From the first text to the homeowner's door

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Questions

Working in Morgan Hill: what pros ask

Do I need a Morgan Hill business license for a single job there?

Yes. The city says anyone conducting business within its limits needs a license before starting, and the license applies when you serve a resident or business in Morgan Hill. HdL handles applications online, by phone and by mail. A construction contractor with a state license pays the same flat tax wherever the office is. Licenses run July through June, with penalties once a payment is 30 and 60 days late.

Is a permit needed to replace a water heater in Morgan Hill?

Always, for every replacement. A contractor can apply online through eTRAKiT; anyone else emails the application or brings it to City Hall. For a heat pump conversion, add an electrical load calculation unless the main panel is 200 amps or more, plus the manufacturer's spec sheet. The city links its earthquake bracing guidelines from the same page, so have the strapping right before the inspection.

Can I swap a few rotten deck boards in Morgan Hill without a permit?

Yes, within limits. The building permit exemptions cover replacing damaged deck or patio wood up to 24 square feet with identical members, as long as the guardrails are not being replaced. A detached deck under 200 square feet and no more than 30 inches above grade, not serving a required exit door, is exempt too. Past those limits, apply to the Building Division.

How tall can a backyard fence be in Morgan Hill?

Seven feet along side and rear property lines, and once it passes 6 feet the top foot must be lattice that lets light and air through. Inside the front setback the limit is 3 feet. Fences of 7 feet or less need no building permit and taller ones are not allowed. Chain link, barbed wire and sheet metal are prohibited in residential zones unless the Planning Commission approves.

Does the hot list only text me jobs near Morgan Hill?

No, the texts are not limited to Morgan Hill or to any one city. Each new job that goes on sale is texted with its trade, its area and a link, and the link opens the job and its price before you pay. You pay for the jobs you choose and nothing else, with no subscription, bidding or commission. Reply STOP and the texts end.

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Where these facts come from

Checked against these public sources in October 2026. Rules and fees change: confirm license and permit requirements with the city before work starts.

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