WE/My roomate got a notice about building without a permit. We haven't been building anything,
So we ignored the notice. Then, BAM! We Must tear down the Carport cover which is made
with steal beams 14ft tall and 40ft long. It came with the house when she bought the house.
It turns out that it is no where near code and was not permitted therefore we have to remove it..

SAY WHAT??? That's Crap. It's already there when the house was sold. If there is a problem shouldn't
the city have dealt with that when previous owners constructed it? Definately it should not have
been allowed to sell. The house was sold under the prentenses of being legal.
What do we do?

wrote:
WE/My roomate got a notice about building without a permit. We haven't been building anything,
So we ignored the notice. Then, BAM! We Must tear down the Carport cover which is made
with steal beams 14ft tall and 40ft long. It came with the house when she bought the house.
It turns out that it is no where near code and was not permitted therefore we have to remove it..

SAY WHAT??? That's Crap. It's already there when the house was sold. If there is a problem shouldn't
the city have dealt with that when previous owners constructed it? Definately it should not have
been allowed to sell. The house was sold under the prentenses of being legal.
What do we do?



Contact your realtor and perhaps attorney regarding the disclosure laws
in your state. As for the city's involvement they don't have to deal
with anything until it comes to their attention, be that by complaint or
they happen to see a violation on their own. They will only deal with
the current owner(s).

I suggest you contact the building or code enforcement dept. that sent
the notice and explain the situation to them. See what other options
they offer, such as applying for a permit, bringing the structure to
code, etc. In most cases they will work with the property owner,
however if you give them 'tude they tend to reciprocate sometimes and
can be hard to work with.

Hopefully the carport can be saved.

In article ,
G Henslee wrote:

wrote:
WE/My roomate got a notice about building without a permit. We haven't
been building anything,
So we ignored the notice. Then, BAM! We Must tear down the Carport cover
which is made
with steal beams 14ft tall and 40ft long. It came with the house when she
bought the house.
It turns out that it is no where near code and was not permitted therefore
we have to remove it..

SAY WHAT??? That's Crap. It's already there when the house was sold. If
there is a problem shouldn't
the city have dealt with that when previous owners constructed it?
Definately it should not have
been allowed to sell. The house was sold under the prentenses of being
legal.
What do we do?



Contact your realtor and perhaps attorney regarding the disclosure laws
in your state. As for the city's involvement they don't have to deal
with anything until it comes to their attention, be that by complaint or
they happen to see a violation on their own. They will only deal with
the current owner(s).

I suggest you contact the building or code enforcement dept. that sent
the notice and explain the situation to them. See what other options
they offer, such as applying for a permit, bringing the structure to
code, etc. In most cases they will work with the property owner,
however if you give them 'tude they tend to reciprocate sometimes and
can be hard to work with.

Hopefully the carport can be saved.

I had a cousin in NJ who built an external stair on his house without
the proper permit, due to some confusion. The city required him to tear
it all down and get a permit abd rebuild it. Never underestimate the
cantankerousness of a bureaucrat,

--
Free men own guns, slaves don't
www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/5357/

wrote:

WE/My roomate got a notice about building without a permit. We haven't been building anything,
So we ignored the notice. Then, BAM! We Must tear down the Carport cover which is made
with steal beams 14ft tall and 40ft long. It came with the house when she bought the house.
It turns out that it is no where near code and was not permitted therefore we have to remove it..

SAY WHAT??? That's Crap. It's already there when the house was sold. If there is a problem shouldn't
the city have dealt with that when previous owners constructed it? Definately it should not have
been allowed to sell. The house was sold under the prentenses of being legal.
What do we do?



Generally speaking, once a house is sold, it is
"grandfathered". The city cannot come a tell you that
something needs to be torn down, unless it is a danger to you
or the public. There are thousands of code violations that
exist in every city. They are not being corrected because of
the grandfather clause which must exist in every jurisdiction
due to the ex post facto clause in the US Constitution. The
ex post facto clause states that it is unconstitutional to
pass a law which makes something done in the past illegal.

The grandfather clause makes it illegal to enforce new
building codes on older buildings built before the code was
passed. In most instances, when a building is sold, the
grandfather clause takes over and the city cannot come back on
a new owner for work done by someone else.

You may have to fight this if you want to keep it, cause just
because they can't do something, doesn't mean that they won't
try. Usually, a letter from an attorney to the code
enforcement division at the city will make the violation go
away. I have had to do this many times when the city wants to
fix something that has been grandfathered.

Now, if you decide to do some work on that carport, the city
can make you bring it up to code if the work is structural in
nature. If you just want to leave it, they don't have a case.

OTOH, if YOU build something, they CAN make you tear it down
if it is not to code and unpermitted.

--
Robert Allison
Rimshot, Inc.
Georgetown, TX

"Robert Allison" wrote in message
Generally speaking, once a house is sold, it is "grandfathered". The city
cannot come a tell you that something needs to be torn down, unless it is
a danger to you or the public.

Generally speaking, that's BS. Grandfathering means something that was once
permitted but is no longer allowed may continue at it's same use. Maybe it
applies to your locality but certainly not the entire country. Where I work
(in zoning) it doesn't matter who owns the property. However the town(s) by
state statute have a two year statute of limitation. The county has a 10
year statute of limitation. Just a couple months ago we came across a
violation from three years ago. I didn't touch it but the county made the
NEW OWNERS correct it.

As for the OP, it helps to deal with the official politely and rationally.
If there's ways around things, they are more likely to help out. As others
said, call the realtor or an attorney for advice. Realtors in my area are
always checking to see if additions or what not were built with permits
because it has to be stated on the offer that all construction was
permitted.
There might be some type of special exception that could be applied for.
Who knows, find out how long it's been there, maybe it's past your
locality/states statute of limitation.
Sue

Susan (CobbersMom) wrote:

"Robert Allison" wrote in message

Generally speaking, once a house is sold, it is "grandfathered". The city
cannot come a tell you that something needs to be torn down, unless it is
a danger to you or the public.


Generally speaking, that's BS. Grandfathering means something that was once
permitted but is no longer allowed may continue at it's same use. Maybe it
applies to your locality but certainly not the entire country. Where I work
(in zoning) it doesn't matter who owns the property. However the town(s) by
state statute have a two year statute of limitation. The county has a 10
year statute of limitation. Just a couple months ago we came across a
violation from three years ago. I didn't touch it but the county made the
NEW OWNERS correct it.

Yes, like I said, authorities often try to enforce something
that they don't have the authority to do. Most people just
lay down for it, because "you can't fight city hall". Zoning
is totally different from code enforcement. You will never be
able to get a store in a residentially zoned area
grandfathered. You can OTOH have a lot of code violations
that can be kept.

If I had not resisted, I would have been forced to change
several things over the past 35 years that were grandfathered.
However, I resisted and have yet to lose a fight. But then,
this is what I do for a living, and I know what I am talking
about.

If there is an imminent danger to the public, the OP will not
win, but if there isn't, I'll bet he will.

ONE thing that you said is true, each jurisdiction is
different. My experience only applies to the central TX area,
as I have not had to deal with this outside of Austin and the
surrounding 100 mile radius or so.

As for the OP, it helps to deal with the official politely and rationally.
If there's ways around things, they are more likely to help out. As others
said, call the realtor or an attorney for advice. Realtors in my area are
always checking to see if additions or what not were built with permits
because it has to be stated on the offer that all construction was
permitted.

Absolutely. Always be polite. Don't use words like BS and
such. I already suggested a lawyer for a possible letter to
the authority in question. Usually that is all it takes.

There might be some type of special exception that could be applied for.
Who knows, find out how long it's been there, maybe it's past your
locality/states statute of limitation.
Sue




--
Robert Allison
Rimshot, Inc.
Georgetown, TX

What part of the car port is not to code, why can`t the car port be
made to meet code. Talk to them nicely and see an atty. You can get
the permit now and fix what is improper if it is worth it, but find out
your legal rights you may not have to.