Hot job leads · Mountain View

Mountain View for pros: weekday-only hours, plan-free permits, heritage trees

Mountain View allows construction only on weekdays, 7 a.m. until 6 p.m., with Saturdays off unless the chief building official approves in writing, so the working week is five days. Building permits must be signed by a California licensed contractor or an owner-builder, and staff confirm the contractor's city business license before issuing one. Six in ten homes are rented, and nearly a third sit in buildings of 20 or more units.

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New job: Doors & Windows in Miramonte/Springer, Mountain View. See the job and the price before you pay: thehandymansflive.com/l/…

New job: Painting near Los Altos. Open the link to see it.

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On the hot list, every new Bay Area job comes to your phone by text, whatever the trade or city, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Jobs in the work and cities you pick here reach you first. A job you have not opened may come once more as a reminder.

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Construction hours
Mon-Fri 7am-6pm; Saturdays only with written approval
Source: library.municode.com: code of ordinances (opens in a new tab)
Business license tax
Set by employee count; licenses expire December 31
Source: library.municode.com: code of ordinances (opens in a new tab)
Median home built
1974 (ACS 2019-2023)
Source: data.census.gov: ACSDT5Y2023 (opens in a new tab)
Renter-occupied
61.2% of occupied homes
Source: data.census.gov: ACSDP5Y2023 (opens in a new tab)

Working legally here

Mountain View's license tax, out-of-town days and the affidavit

Chapter 18 of Mountain View's City Code treats independent contractors, the self-employed and sole proprietors as businesses, and a business with no fixed place in the city owes the license tax once its people work there six or more days in a calendar year. Since October 1, 2019 the tax has been progressive by average employee count, normally the figure you report to the state Employment Development Department, and an out-of-town business pays a quarter of it for 6 to 64 days, half for 65 to 129 and the whole tax from 130. Licenses expire December 31 and renew online. Since 2023 every business that needs a license also files a Wage Theft Affidavit, and operators with five thousand dollars or less of gross receipts in the city are exempt with proof.

Mountain View City Code, Chapter 18 (opens in a new tab)

Permits

Plan-free permits, the 2026 reach code and heritage trees

  • Online permits without a plan set

    For single-family homes and duplexes only, Mountain View issues like-for-like replacements and simple upgrades online through ePermitsMV with no plans: an AC unit, a furnace, a heat pump system, an EV charger, a service panel upgrade, and a heat pump water heater, which must sit in a garage or an enclosed storage area. The route is closed to multifamily buildings, and the AC permit also excludes work in an HOA's common areas. When a panel is replaced, City Code 8.51 sets 200 amps as the floor for a single-family home.

    City of Mountain View Building Division (opens in a new tab)

  • The reach code from January 2026

    Local amendments the City Council approved on September 9, 2025, Ordinance No. 9.2025, apply to building and fire permits submitted from January 1, 2026. They add an AC-to-heat-pump requirement when the air conditioner at an existing single-family home is replaced, and electric-readiness pre-wiring for any remodel or addition that installs gas or propane equipment. Every permit application also comes with a Mountain View Green Building Code worksheet for the project type.

    City of Mountain View Building Division (opens in a new tab)

  • Heritage trees and the 4-foot zone

    Chapter 32 of the City Code protects any tree with a trunk 48 inches or more around at 54 inches above grade, and any oak, redwood or cedar from 12 inches. Removal includes pruning severe enough to harm the tree, and the rules name contractors among the people bound by them. Within 4 feet of a heritage tree's base the ground may not be cut, filled or compacted without approval, which matters for fence posts, paths and deck footings.

    Mountain View City Code, Chapter 32 (opens in a new tab)

The homes

38,770 homes, most of them rented and not detached

In the Census Bureau's 2019-2023 survey, Mountain View has 38,770 housing units and a median build year of 1974. Renters occupy 61.2 percent of occupied homes. Only 27.1 percent of units are detached houses; 13.9 percent are attached townhouse-style homes and 31.8 percent sit in buildings of 20 or more units. Construction since 2010 accounts for 14.9 percent of the stock. The Community Stabilization and Fair Rent Act covers most apartment buildings of three or more units built before February 1, 1995 and holds their landlords to its habitability terms, so a large share of the repair calls here come from a landlord or an association rather than an owner-occupant.

U.S. Census Bureau (opens in a new tab)
Mountain View City Hall
Mountain View City Hall. Photo: Aleh Haiko, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Part by part

Mountain View districts and the jobs in them

  • Central neighborhoods

    The General Plan counts the low- and medium-intensity streets around downtown among Mountain View's oldest neighborhoods. A citywide survey is reviewing every property built in the 1970s or earlier for historic significance, and its list of eligible properties is public, so check that list and the current register before quoting exterior work on an older house here.

  • Miramonte/Springer

    The city's southwest corner is mostly single-family housing on tree-lined streets, with medium-density homes clustered on its north side, higher-intensity housing along the south side of El Camino Real, and El Camino Hospital. The General Plan sets out to keep that lower-intensity character, so most calls here are for detached houses: yards, fences, kitchens and baths.

  • Grant/Sylvan Park

    The southeast corner is also mostly single-family homes, with higher-intensity housing at its east and north ends and open space along Stevens Creek. Around El Camino Real the plan describes a mix of retail, light industrial, office and mobile home park uses, so manufactured-home repairs sit alongside house calls.

  • Downtown Castro Street

    Downtown is the blocks around Castro Street, which the General Plan calls the city's main street, with uses spreading along West Evelyn Avenue and Villa Street beside the rail corridor and the Caltrain and light rail Transit Center. The city is studying five Castro Street commercial buildings for the National Register. Shop and office work can use Express Permits, open to tenant improvements up to 5,000 square feet for retail, office, personal service and medical businesses.

Getting around

Freeways, street work and truck routes

The General Plan lists Highways 101, 237 and 85, Central Expressway and El Camino Real as the city's major roads. City Code 8.06.05 sets a weekday-only window that opens at 7 and closes at 6 and counts deliveries of materials as construction, so a 6:30 a.m. supply drop breaks the rule. Work in a street or sidewalk is limited to 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays, with the Public Works inspector notified at least two business days before it starts, and construction trucks use the routes the Traffic Division has mapped, with more limits in Chapter 19.

How hot leads work

From the first text to the homeowner's door

  1. Confirm your mobile

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  2. A text for each new job

    It names the trade and the area, with a link to the job. Texts go out from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

  3. See it before you pay

    The link shows the job and the price. Skip any job you do not want.

  4. Pay, then call the homeowner

    After you pay you get the homeowner's name, number and address. Price and timing are between you.

Questions

Working in Mountain View: what pros ask

Can I take a Saturday job in Mountain View?

Only with prior written approval from the chief building official. City Code 8.06.05 lets construction run Monday through Friday between 7 in the morning and 6 in the evening and bars Saturdays, Sundays and recognized holidays otherwise; the city's holiday list includes the Friday after Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve. Emergency repairs may go ahead at any hour, but one done after hours must be reported to the police department and the building division by the next business day.

Do I need a Mountain View business license for a few days of work?

Once your people work in the city six or more days in a calendar year, yes, and independent contractors and sole proprietors count as businesses under Chapter 18. An out-of-town business pays a quarter of the employee-based tax for 6 to 64 days. Licenses expire December 31, and since 2023 each one also needs a Wage Theft Affidavit. Gross receipts in the city of five thousand dollars or less are exempt with documentation.

Does replacing kitchen cabinets need a permit in Mountain View?

Yes. Mountain View's page of permit-exempt projects covers painting, tiling, cabinets and countertops in general, but it says kitchen and bathroom cabinet replacements require a permit. The same list exempts wood fences 7 feet or lower that meet zoning, and detached decks of 200 square feet or less, 30 inches or less above grade, that do not serve a required exit door.

Can a customer's old air conditioner be swapped like for like in Mountain View?

Not simply like for like any more. Under the reach code in effect from January 1, 2026, replacing the AC at an existing single-family home brings the city's AC-to-heat-pump requirement. The online AC permit also has zoning terms: the outdoor unit sits at least 3 feet from side and rear property lines, out of the front yard, and no louder than 55 dBA by day and 50 dBA at night under City Code 21.26.

How do hot-list texts work for handyman work in Mountain View?

A text comes for each new job when it goes on sale, giving the trade, the area and a link. Behind the link are the job details and the price, visible before any payment. Buying is per job and up to you, with nothing to subscribe to, nothing to bid on and no commission, and a reply of STOP ends it.

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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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