What happens if i didn get a building permit

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Thank you. Why is a building permit required? What Renovations Require a Building Permit? Building Permits "We're proud to be one of Victoria's longest existing and largest servicing building surveyors with extensive metropolitan and rural coverage. After all, it's your house!

And how bad can it be if you got caught, anyway? Ultimately, the choice to get permits is yours. But in this post, I will go over why obtaining the proper permits is beneficial in the long run. I'll also walk you through the likely consequences you'll face if you ignore the rules.

Before I mention the consequences you could face by not getting a permit, let me explain why permits exist. They are there for a reason: safety. When you apply for permits, not only will the permitting authority usually review your plans, but they will send inspectors to make sure everything is done right. A permit not only likely include a review of your design, but it will get you an inspector to check your project for safety during construction.

If you have hired a contractor, these official inspections help ensure that the people doing the work aren't cutting corners when it comes to safety and compliance with local building codes. Permits can sometimes seem like a nuisance. They are an added expense, and applying for permits can sometimes be a long process. I get it. You want to save money and get started on your project right away. However, imagine what construction would look like if we didn't have the safeguards of design review, permitting, and inspections in place, or if building codes weren't enforced.

You can see the results in the news, when a place with lax permitting and design-review standards suffers an earthquake or a fire. Buildings constructed of substandard concrete crumble to the ground, and innocent people are trapped in buildings without proper fire escapes. Even though the permitting process can sometimes seem like a nuisance, it's there to protect us all.

But maybe you think that your own risk is low and that you're going to just trust your handyman who says he can do the work without permits. If you decide to do unpermitted work, be aware of the following potential consequences. As I mentioned above, this is the primary reason the permitting process exists.

Yet it is sometimes difficult to see how doing a small remodel project could really compromise your safety. After all, you're not building a large multi-family building, you're just updating your kitchen or bathroom. True enough. However, the cumulative effects of unpermitted work add up over the years and can pose a very real safety risk to your family.

This is especially true when it comes to electrical work. You really don't want an unqualified person messing with the wiring behind your walls and never having their work inspected. It's easy to see how this could lead to fire or electrocution. If you ever decide to sell your home, you're going to wish you had pulled those permits. Even if you "get away" with not getting a permit when you initially do the work, you never truly get away with it.

Sooner or later, you're going to hit a metaphoric brick wall for that literal brick wall you built without a permit. Let's say, for example, that you want to sell your house. Most buyers will be wary of buying a house if there are renovations done without a permit. If they don't immediately walk away, they are either going to ask you to remedy the situation by going back and pulling the proper permits a costly process , or they will lowball you because most renovations without a permit aren't appraised into your house's value.

Either way, you are going to end up with much less money from the deal than you might have been counting on. As the seller, you will be required to fill out a form on which you must disclose any unpermitted work.

If you neglect to disclose anything, the buyer can later sue you for damages. Maybe you have no plans to sell your house, and you think you don't care about appraisals. Well, think again. If you ever want to refinance your home mortgage, you need to get an appraiser to check your house. And that's when your unpermitted remodel will catch up with you.

Not only will you not get a loan for your house's value because it won't be properly appraised , you may be disqualified completely. If you remodeled without a permit, you might get turned down by the bank.

Finally, if you buy a home with major unpermitted work, and your mortgage lender finds out about it after the deal closes, they could require you to immediately repay your loan.

It's a scenario that doesn't happen often but is a nightmare when it does. Your insurance company might refuse to pay for any damages caused by unpermitted remodeling work. Imagine if your new unpermitted bathroom floods your entire house, causing damages up to thousands of dollars. Or if a faulty stove in the kitchen starts a fire. Likewise, if you build a new addition without a permit, and a visitor slips and falls in that room, your homeowner's policy may not cover your liability.

Let's say you don't need to sell your house, you don't need a loan, and you're lucky enough to have a solid structure even if the company you hired was willing to cut corners.

That's extremely lucky! Lucks tends to run out, though. Your lucky streak will be over when the city finds out. Perhaps your city's assessor will notice an extra bump-out addition when doing your annual property tax assessment. Or your grumpy neighbor will have caught wind of your shady remodeling work and will call the city to report you.

The city can and will fine you for it. And it's not a cheap fine either. If they discover the work after it's completed, they will still fine you and require you to apply for the proper permits. The permitting and inspection process does take time.

However, if you are in a hurry to get your renovations completed, consider this: It's going to take a lot more time if you start your remodel without a permit and the city requires you to stop construction or, worse, open up walls or tear out the new work so it can be properly designed and inspected.

You end up with nothing to show for all the time and money you spent. Talk about bad decisions. I hope it's clear by now what a bad idea it is to remodel your home without a permit. Here are some additional thoughts on how to proceed if you find yourself facing permitting dilemmas. The good news is that you discovered this before you closed on the deal. Depending on how hot your real estate market is, this can give you significant leverage.

The simplest course of action is to walk away from the deal if your home inspection uncovers unpermitted work. If you truly love the home, the price is right, and the work was minor, then you have two choices: 1 ask the seller to go back and get the proper permits before closing; 2 accept the house as-is but negotiate a lower price. Keep in mind that you will be taking on the aggravation and potential fines and permit fees of the unpermitted work yourself.

You will also have to disclose it when you go to sell the home someday, which will lower the selling price of the home.