Code Attorney

Came across this article in a google search. I’m having similar issues with a municipality and am looking for case law relating to selective enforcement and prejudice issues. I own all the realestate around the town hall, and have been prevented from openning a business for 10 years, and near bankruptcy. I had permitted all work on the premises and all had been approved, yet they will not issue a change use nor occupancy permit. The entire community is flabbergasted by all this and I am at my witts end. can anyone help direct me to a resolution?

Thanks for the useful info. It’s so interesting

Thanks for this. Renovating our garage, trying to see if permit is required or not.

I built a functional sculpture, composed of pallets to cover my car and motorcycle and to act as a base to the rest of the sculpture which is not complete, There is no electricity or water services to the sculpture, there is no floor or permanent foundation. The tow code enforcer sent a summons to me for erecting a building without obtaining permits. Did I mention the entire sculpture is built out of pallets and other found materials, there could be no plans submitted, the sculpture is primitive but has stood through two heavy winters, I live on a dead end facing a lake with only one neighbor who is proud to have a creative person next door. There is no danger to another person or property besides my own. The building code is written so that anything with a roof is considered a building, and can not be created on any property with out plans and permits, apparently we live in a strict police state and even though we live with the ideal of pursuit of happiness, that includes nailing a few pieces of wood together, you are just out of luck. I go to the local court this Thursday to defend my art. Is there anything I can take with me aid in my cause to keep this sculpture?

sonoma county building permit have screwed me completely. doing it the legal way (obtaining a permit) is a joke and a depravation of property rights. permit department said i could build on my property, so i purchased a metal building 1500sqft for 20k engineering another 8k. i got started on the process of obtaining building a permit to errect this building. to my surprise i was signed off 4 departments before i got to the 5th department i was hulted. i was told i could NOT errect anything on my property after spending close to 30k i was told to throw away the building i purchased. i was furious !!!! i was told that sonoma county RR Rural Residential District Section 26-18-010 (f) prohibited me from errecting any building over 120sqft. now i have a building that cant be arrected and spent 30k down the drain! anyone please provide any help!!

The heart of the matter here is how much authority SHOULD the government have when a property owner wishes to build on his land. People who build without permits often do so out of a Libertarian conviction that what they do with the land they own, to the extent that it does not infringe on the welfare of their neighbors, is their own business and should not come under the review of a government agency. An example of such owner primacy would be building a residential structure to house one’s self and family, and the requisite structures to support family activities, such as a barn. Obviously any lender would have the option to decline to fund any such project should they feel their capital would be at risk. And it would be imprudent to extend this right to build to any endeavor where “public” safety would be an issue, such as a commercial structure or residences built for the express purpose of being resold.

thanks for providing valuable info about the topic. I am a fan within your website. Keep up the great job.

my ex husbnd built and addtion on to my home 9 years ago he did not pull any permits, now that I am divorced and paid him out to keep my home I found this out what can the building dept do to me. The addtion was added to my mobil home I cant remove it because we knocked down wall on the mobile home to make it one big home he built it well and I think to code. I live out in the county, should I inform the tax appairser and the building deptment, I don’t know what to do

@Rebecca
I’m sorry but I can’t provide legal advice on a specific topic.

Is there any state or county in any state where you don’t need a permit?

Is there any state or county in any state where you don’t need a permit? I wonder what the buildings would look like… Creativity gone wild without limits

@Dennis
Dennis, There is something close. The county and state have permits, but Michael Reynolds has fought hard to make some pretty big changes. Check out Earthships.com. Amazingly creative self sustainable buildings built with recycled materials. They are stronger than your typical home and way more efficient.

Their are many counties in many states that do not require a permit. Most being from lower populated states and counties. The county i live in has no codes or permits. But the city i live in does. But does not enforce it really hard unless your doing something crazy. Its common here to add an additon to a room or a deck , a barn or garage and never have to worry about inspection. Unless your builing a new house. There are many benifits of living in the so called country or the south. It is also common practic here to build your own new house and get contractors to sign off on it. That is acceptable in alot of places. Ass long as you do it right and it is inspected by a licensed contractor its fine. Save thousands on electrical and plumbing. Ill be damed if i will live in a place that tells me how big or how tall or what type of house i have to build. Whatever happend to poeple standing up to what they believe in? Its your government. You want to build something on your property and they say no. VOTE THEM OUT! And make it clear why you did . Rules limiting builind on your property should be reserved for private communities only. You know the ones with a gate. One way in one way out. Otherwise its my land leave me the hell alone. I do however think you should show coutesy to your neighbors. Talk to them and try to make sure you wont affect their quality of life by building. Its all about money for most places. Elect officials with your best interest. If they abuse their power replace them. Be heard. I read about the contracter that got mad he didnt get the job and turned the people in. LOL . In small towns that would never happen. Sure go tell on me. But your gonna get your ass whiped and nobody else in the town is gonna hire you after they hear what you did. If you and your community cant stand up together to stop unfair codes. Then maybe you should just move.lol.

My son who was only 25 years old at the time , was asked to tear down 2 , 12×12 decks and then the homeowner asked him if he could build he a small set of steps going to the front door and a similar set out back. She also noticed he messed up one of the steps and asked him to add a 6 x6 deck beside it. From my understanding these designs alone would fail inspection. He did not know to obtain a building permit and I am think he might have been intentionally set up . He says he did what the homeowner asked him to do and they paid him . Who’s is liable for this construction ?

@GA42DAY
While I can’t give legal advice for specific cases, most building codes hold both the builder and the homeowner liable for violations of the building code such a performing work without a permit. Even when there is a contract between the parties specifying who should get the permit, both remain responsible for making sure a permit is obtained.

@Linda Pieczynski
thanks , he has what look like a bill of reciept . It states the hours he worked and the duties he preformed. I would have him argue that he was her employer because she knew he did not have workmans comp , business liscense and other requirements needed . I just feel he might have been taken advantage of. I told him not to do it again. I also heard that in some states its illegal so sue for more than what a job is worth. He told her if the steps he built were in a new residental house on the market the inspector would not like it, but she said they would live with it .

If the worst is expected to happen. I may talk to a lawyer to see if he can file a law suit against the county under the new ” PLAIN WRITING ACT “signed by Obama administration this year . I went through the web page that stated requirement of what type of structures need a building permit. It does not state clearly in Plain writing that a deck needs to be inspected! To me all of the information was jeberish. It really makes you think and wonder what is being said. So if a dog house is considered a structure do I need to have the inspectors approval before I let me dog sleep in it at night ? What about a doll house ? Do I need to have the countys permission so barbie and ken can move in it ? Its a structure . Am I right or wrong .

my sons an idiot ! I can see a problem about not inspecting a 2 story deck or something like that with a roof over it . But damn I got to loose sleep at night over a 6×6 deck . It was not even the size of a kitchen table, and a couple of steps like 4ft off the ground …

Building permit requirements are very specific as to what kinds of structures require permits. There are a number of exclusions for structures based on size and use. Consult your local building code for the exceptions

Height variance.

I am an owner of the 120 years old Victorian house. Sometime ago (and I don’t have a record of it) hight pitch roof was burned down and was replaced with flat roof. We have purchased this property already in such condition. I have reserached the library records and found pictures of original roof, house is on Historic register. We wnat to restor the roof, but city makes me to go for a height variance since it is a view sensitive area. Of course there are peope who object.

do I have any grounds?

Thank you

My husband decided to add to our utility room and attached it to our home and also added a second floor to it. I know you all must get this a lot that he did not think to get a permit due to the fact that he was attaching it to our home it had light and a bathroom already. Unfortunately the city came and denied him a variance. We have invested around $18,000.00 and need to know if there is anything else legally that we can do to keep our addition. We are willing to pay a penalty for lack of permit if needed.Our neighbors were upset because the city stop us.our home is situated in a colonia and in reality I am not harming anyone at all. the zoning commmitte all agreed okay but then one over turn everyone decision and they all followed but even they felt that it was okay with the exception of one. Please advice although a little to late but anything that might help me salvage these expenses.

There is an article on LovelandPolitics.com about this happening in Loveland, Colorado. The developer decided togoahead without permits and was prosecuted.

What town?

@Diana Trevino
Unfortunately for you, the town has every right to demand the removal of the illegal structure. In my book, the Building Process Simplified, I write about the unforeseen consequences of violating the building code law by not submitting plans and getting permits. It can be an incredibly expensive mistake, costing a person not only the money he spent on building the illegal structure but also in legal fees and fines. It’s never wise to try and save money on permit fees when this is the natural consequence of such a decision.

Hello,
I recently purchased a foreclosure – single family home – and of course there was a truth in housing report given to me prior to putting in an offer. There were multiple bidders and I was the…*lucky* winner. We closed on the home in July of this year and have been busy restoring it. The building inspector came in to look at the roughed in bathrooms and had a serious chip on her shoulder because, apparently, the previous owner pulled permits to do work on the home and never allowed them back to check on and approve his work (neighbors tell me he died in an accident, which is probably why). The building inspector didn’t just look at the work we were doing, but also every single room in the house, pointing out problems, angrily. She said that the back porch cannot be repaired at all because she *assumes* the previous owner built it without a permit (she has no proof, she is just assuming because the other additions were built in 2006 and this porch is not listed on there. I would never guess the porch is that new, it looks original to the home, which was built in 1912 and is in need of repairs). She said we have the option of A) tearing it down B) leaving it as-is (leaky roof and all!) or C) obtaining variances and drawing up plans, etc, hoping the city will give us the go-ahead. While I’m fine with and plan on making the structure more sound as well as aesthetically pleasing, I am flabbergasted that I’m being told I need a variance on an existing structure – merely because the inspector *assumes* that it was built without a permit. Any advice here is greatly appreciated, I have been nothing but compliant with the city inspectors with regards to obtaining permits and allowing them in to inspect and have done everything to the letter, but this is going into the 6 figures area due to government interference and I am so frustrated and overwhelmed. Thank you!

I also meant to add that the truth in housing report said absolutely NOTHING about the porch, it needing repairs, a variance, or anything. We did have an inspection and of course the inspector has no idea if something was built with a permit or if a structure requires a variance. I would think this would be on the truth in housing report?