We have just built an addition to the house without a building permit. Do you know what the consequences are?
Question:I live in the state of VA, and the addition to the house was really just enclosing in the porch and adding flooring, electricity, and airconditioning. We do not know if it meets city safety requirements either.
Answers:
Have you been caught? I would never suggest that someone bypass the permit process from the start, but if you have already done it, a bit too late. At this point, I don't think I would run to city hall.
The consequences really depend upon your city building inspection department (or whatever it is called there).
You could be facing a fine. In addition, you will have to show that what you built meets the code requirements. Usually, this would mean you will have to have an architect come in and look at what you have done and draw plans reflecting your changes. These plans will have to be reviewed and approved. If they are not approved, changes will need to be made.
If anything is changed on your plans, you will have to make the corresponding modifications to your construction. You may also have to remove drywall, flooring, insulation, etc so an inspector can do the inspections that would have been done as construction was ongoing. You will have to fix any problems here as well.
The most extreme case would involve undoing everything you did along with a fine.
The other side of extreme, you may just have to pay for a permit along with a penalty. Some smaller cities do not do much in the way of inspection. They really just want to collect the permit fee. If you hear from others that this is the case in your area, you should run to city hall, pay up and be done.
you must tear it down and get a permit and build it back...your a dumb a s s that is if it dont burn down your stupid
Well, if your city finds out they could assess fines and make you get an inspection and a permit. If they don't find out now, they will if and when you sell your home and you will have to get a permit then before you will be able to sell your home.
You can always call your city offices and find out what they consider an addition. It may not be considered an addition at all. Just depends on your state. You may even be able to look it up online.
I know here, anything that is under 10'X10' isn't considered an addition. So you can build a 9'11 1/2"X9'11 1/2" structure and it isn't considered an addition. We are thinking of building a shed on our property, right next to the house, so we checked into it.
baby butch your an ***.
step 1 - find out what needs a permit according to square feet, and the particular problem of enclosing a preexisting structure added to the house.
step 2 - If your addition is permissible, apply for the permit.
step 3 - if the permit needs zoning changes or other stuff, you may need to jump through hoops, but the city will generally work with you rather than against you as they benefit from the additional property value.
step 4 see if your contractor (if you had one) should have filed for a permit. You can dodge around on that issue, as long as you come out looking stupid but honest, not clever but caught.
Just hope no1 finds out. I live in FL and we were going to add windows to your patio which already has walls just screens (so pretty much exchange the screens for glass. It already had electricity, tile floors and air conditioning but when we tried to get a permit they said that the drainage field was big enough 2 do that because we could add 4 more ppl to live there with that space. They said if we did it neways and they found out, they make you tear it down and fine you like $500. They dont fine you if you decide to keep, they fine you until u tear it down.
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