Unpermitted work: what to do about it

First, find out what's on record

Before deciding anything, check what permits the property already has. Most building departments keep a searchable record by address, and many put it online. Ask for the permit history for your address — it comes back as a list of permits pulled, with dates and what each covered.

Two things to watch for. A permit that was pulled but never finalled is open, which is a different problem from no permit at all: the work was authorized but never passed its last inspection. And work done before your city required a permit for it may be legal as-is, which is why the year matters.

What a retroactive permit is

Most cities let you apply for a permit after the work is done. You'll see it called a retroactive permit, an after-the-fact permit, or a legalization permit depending on where you are. The idea is the same: the city inspects what exists, and if it meets code, it issues the permit and closes the matter.

Three things usually differ from a normal permit:

• The fee is higher. Many cities charge a multiple of the standard fee — double is common — as an investigation fee.
• Concealed work has to be opened. An inspector can't approve wiring behind finished drywall. Expect to expose some of it.
• You may need drawings after the fact. For structural work, a city can ask for a licensed engineer's letter confirming what was built is sound.

Whether your city offers this, and what it charges, is a local question. Your city's page on this site links to the ordinance section and the department to ask.

What happens if you do nothing

Realistically, nothing happens for a while. Cities are not driving around looking for unpermitted decks. The problem surfaces at specific moments, and those moments are worth knowing:

1. You sell. The buyer's inspector notices work that doesn't match the permit record, or the appraiser counts square footage the county doesn't have on file.
2. A neighbor complains. This is the most common trigger for enforcement. A complaint brings an inspector out, and a stop-work order or correction notice follows.
3. You file an insurance claim. If unpermitted work contributed to the loss, an insurer can dispute the claim.
4. You pull a permit for something else. Plan review looks at the whole property, and unpermitted work sitting in plain sight tends to come up.

Selling a house with unpermitted work

This is the situation people ask about most, so here is the honest version.

You can sell a house with unpermitted work. What you generally cannot do is hide it — most states require the seller to disclose known material facts about the property, and unpermitted work is usually one of them. Disclosure rules vary by state, and this is a point worth checking with your agent or a real estate attorney rather than guessing.

The practical effects fall into three buckets:

• Financing. Some lenders will not finance a home with open or missing permits on significant work, which narrows your buyer pool.
• Appraisal. Unpermitted square footage often doesn't count toward the appraised value, even though it cost you money to build.
• Negotiation. A buyer who finds it will ask for a price reduction, an escrow holdback, or that you legalize it before closing.

Legalizing before listing is usually the cheaper path when the work is likely to pass inspection. When it clearly won't — a conversion that violates setbacks, say — the alternatives are removing it or pricing it in.

Buying a house with unpermitted work

Ask for the permit history yourself rather than relying on the disclosure. Compare it against what you can see: a finished basement, an enclosed patio, a garage that became a bedroom, a shed on a slab. Mismatches are worth pricing.

Before you commit, find out from the building department whether the work can be legalized. Work that merely lacks a permit is usually fixable. Work that violates a setback, a lot-coverage limit or an occupancy rule may not be — and then the cost isn't a permit fee, it's demolition.

A sensible order of operations

1. Pull the permit history for the address.
2. Work out whether the project needed a permit at all — some doesn't. Your city's page gives the cutoff for common projects.
3. Call the building department and describe the situation without naming the address if you'd rather stay anonymous at this stage. Ask whether they issue after-the-fact permits and what the fee multiplier is.
4. Get a contractor or engineer to look at whether the work would pass inspection as built, before you invite an inspector.
5. Apply, expose what needs exposing, and get it inspected.

One thing worth saying plainly: cities generally want the work legalized, not punished. Departments deal with this constantly and most have a routine path for it. The financial risk usually comes from waiting until a sale forces the issue, not from making the call.

Start with your city

Fees, whether retroactive permits exist, and the penalty language are all local. Look up your city to see what its code says and who to call.

Find your city