No Permit for New Shower

[Shawn Burns]

Hello BP,

So about a year ago I had a licensed and insured plumber install a shower in my basement, making the half bath into a full. I was clueless about permits at the time but now I have confirmed that one was never pulled for that job. Now that condo is fully rented.

What are the down sides of not pulling a permit? Is that usually a contractors job or mine? And am I venerable legally since the unit is rented out now? Would you guys pull the permit now or wait until you wanted to sell it?

All advice and input welcome! Thanks!

[Brit F.]

@Shawn Burns, yes the contractor should have pulled a permit originally for that type of change.  At this point, you might as well wait.  If there's an issue with the plumbing that requires repair, pull a permit then.  If that happens and if you want the original plumber to come back, invite them to do the permit + repair for free.  If they refuse, let them know you plan to file a complaint with the appropriate state agency.  If you have to pay another plumber to fix it, depending on how much trouble you want to go through, you could go to small claims court to recover the repair cost from the original plumber.  Or, just call it a learning moment and move on.

When it's time to sell (I'm not sure if this approach could work in CT), but you might be able to disclose that it was repaired without permits, and let the buyer choose to take the risk or not.  Then again, if the plumbing is working well, and if the inspection doesn't turn up anything, the buyer may not ask about it.  It really depends what the disclosure requirements are when you go to sell.