Fining us after 20+ years, busilding permits (CA)?

[roxastar04]

California-

We received a letter in the mail from our city, they said that we need to get a permit for a carport that was built before we bought the house in 1986. What can we do, after 20+ years this carport has been here, and now they want to fine us for not having a building permit. Is there somesort of law, like statue of limitations or the fact that we did not build the carport, but bought the property as is?

Thanks for any help.
(sorry for my spelling in the title)

Roxa

[IsabellaSoriano]

Originally Posted by roxastar04

California-

We received a letter in the mail from our city, they said that we need to get a permit for a carport that was built before we bought the house in 1986. What can we do, after 20+ years this carport has been here, and now they want to fine us for not having a building permit. Is there somesort of law, like statue of limitations or the fact that we did not build the carport, but bought the property as is?

Thanks for any help.
(sorry for my spelling in the title)

Roxa

honestly, these are things that are supposed to be checked out before purchasing a home. so, as the owners of the house, you are responsible for building permits, and such. as it seems, the fines that come along with it.

[rhinocl]

Try and find your title insurance policy. If this type of thing is not listed as an exception you might be able to collect from them by filing a claim.

[justalayman]

Originally Posted by rhinocl

Try and find your title insurance policy. If this type of thing is not listed as an exception you might be able to collect from them by filing a claim.

a title insurance policy does not cover illegal buildings. The title insurance policy is based on coverage for actions of record. Since there was no record of the action of the building, the insurance company will not do anything.

What can we do, after 20+ years this carport has been here, and now they want to fine us for not having a building permit

.you can pay the fine and move on with life or, very likely, they can require the building to be razed.

What this gets down to is the person you bought the building from is liable if he added the carport without a permit. You may still have an action against him if the lack of a permit was not disclosed to you and was legally required to be. There may be a statute of limitations preventing any action you may have but inversely, the limitation may have been tolled if this was a latent defect.

Depending on how much this is worth to you or what the fine is, you might consult with a local attorney to determine if you have an action against the person that sold the house to you.

as to a SoL preventing the city from enforcing the action? Most likely not. At best, if they were aware of the situation and failed to take action for some time, you may have some sort of defense but in most cases, no, there would be no SoL applicable.