Statute of limitations on non-permitted renovations.

[Marie Buckingham]

What is the statute of limitations on homes that had their first floor renovated from garage space to living space when the home was built in 1983? I purchased this home and later found out later that there were not a permit pulled for the lower level being finished. And now I want to sell it, and discovered the square footage listed with the county is half what it actually is.  Please provide insight if you kindly would.

[Raymond L Tennal Jr]

@Marie Buckingham 

I can’t speak for your jurisdiction, but I can for Island County, WA. Maybe this will help you.

Over the years working as an architectural designer and now as a structural engineer I have dealt with numerous projects that have been built without permits. I have three examples. In 2008 I had a client that built a deck with out a permit. They built this deck about 5 years before. In doing so, they placed a footing within 2ft of the septic tank. The issue here was the bottom the footing was near the top of the tank and induced additional wall pressure on the tank. If not addressed, it could lead to fracture in the tank and leaking effluent (worse case scenario). We had to install a new footing so that its bearing influence was located below the bottom of the tank.

About two years ago I worked with another client that purchased a farm. One of the pole buildings did not have a permit on file. The building inspector wanted a structural engineer to justify the construction. Now, this was originally built in the mid 1980s. But, without a permit, we had to justify it under the current code (which was the 2015IBC). The construction didn't meet the current code requirements. They had to do about 15k worth of retrofits to make it pass.

The third example is a garage conversion to living space. The original was completed in 2001 but to sell the home and to count the space as living they needed a permit on it. The problem between 2001 and the 2012 code was the changes made to Washington State Energy Code. In this part of Washington state, slab on grade living spaces have to be insulated. This was not the case in 2001. We were able to get it in compliance by adding insulation at the exterior perimeter foundation.

My best piece of advice is open a dialog with the building department. Be courteous and polite (trying to get some brownie points). Explain the issue and let them know you inherited this from the previous owner and you would like to get it in compliance. You may need to hire a building designer or architect to help you prepare the necessary documents for permitting. Likely, you will need to do some additional work to bring it in compliance. At a minimum, you might have to do some minor demolition for inspection purposes. I had a building inspector required that the header to trimmer/king studs be exposed and a portion of the base plate for inspection purposes.

One final thought. I have worked with clients that were, well, asses to the building department, and in doing so, were hosed through fines and delays. On the other hand, I have worked with others that were considerate to the officials and got off with just a slap on the wrist.

If you need any further assistance, please reach out.