Does a rental need to be up to code?

[Colter Orr]

My husband and I are looking at purchasing our first rental property.  The property is listed as a single family home with a separate entrance to a mother-in-law apartment in the basement.  The seller is planning on putting a egress window in the basement as part of our buy-sell agreement.  However on going over the revised by-sell agreement today the seller disclosed that the egress window is being placed without a city permit to avoid cost of such permit and to avoid having a city inspector come to the residence and check to see if the residence is up to code?  Any thoughts on this?  Does a rental property need to be up to code?  

[Mike McCarthy]

Permits and inspections are always a pain, but they are there to protect you (and others). Will the window be installed correctly? Is the header large enough? Is the egress size large enough?

I would push for a permit/inspection. Even if you negotiate paying for the permits (find out how much they cost).

You can also walk into the local building department and ask 'anonymously' to find out if they are required. It seems that this is something they'd want to inspect, but maybe it's not a huge deal for them.