Unpermitted additions can cause a property owner lots of problems:
1. The city can come through and demand the addition be demolished and the structure be returned to its permitted size – that’s at the property owner’s expense.
2. As an alternative, and solely at the city’s discretion, they can choose to issue permits in exchange for the appropriate fees and inspections and a pentaly surcharge. In order for that to happen the structure would have had to been built to code and it would have to withstand whatever inspection process, including drilling holes to check for slab depth, framing spacing, electrical conduit, etc. Some cities will not do this, others will.
3. Most lenders will not lend on building area that is known to be unpermitted, because…
4. Insurance companies will generally not insure unpermitted building area, and in some cases will not insure structures with unpermitted building area. Substandard construction can lead to damage to the permitted structure to which they are attached.
Bottom line is than in this region it’s not smart to mess around with properties that have unpermitted additions. If a buyer suspects the permits may be lacking they absolutely should make the sale contingent on the seller providing them.
In some cases, the structures may have been built prior to the dates the city or county has permits on file. Those structures can generally be considered permissible. For instance, the City of San Diego generally does not keep their permits files prior to 1955 handy and they wouldn’t get excited about structures and additions built prior to that time.