Bying a place without proper permits.

[Sean19]

Can the City of San Diego send someone into a home if there is a bedroom conversion and someone reports it?

What extra precautions would you take with a home that has had unpermitted work done? Have an electrician check for fire hazards in the electrical system?

Is there any recourse once you have bought the home if there is a serious problem?

[FlyerInHi]

Yes the city can force you to provide access and inspection. If you don’t, they will sue and you’re liable for legal cost.

The city will likely order you to correct the violation. That means submitting a plan, getting a permit, paying the fees, doing the work, then scheduling the inspection.

You can permit something built without a permit. They may ask that you remove drywall to show something built or wired to code. If the conversion is not allowed by zoning, you have to remove it. But you still have to submit plan, get demo permit, pay fees, hire contractor, schedule inspection, etc before you get certificate of completion.

With a single family home, you can do “owner built” meaning you don’t need to hire a licensed contractor. Cannot do so in condos or commercial.

The inspector will bill over $300/hr for violation investigation. I expect correcting a violation will cost you more than $2,000 in fees, not including any work. If you need to draw a plan, you may need to hire someone.

I normally like government, but the local building regime is truely a racket. Salaries and pensions are funded by revenue so the local authorities have incentives to jack up the fees.

Depending on the location, your can easily pay $0.75/sf and up on fees/permits/entitlements to build a house.

[Sean19]

Thanks FlyerInHi, I am seeing a lot of shoddy work in Chula Vista homes that I am trying to buy.

[Author]

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