Detached patio conversions

[eguerrero]

City: Carson; County: Los Angeles; State: CA
The City of Carson passed a new law last year (2000) that requires all structures on a property be up to code before the property can be sold. the structure in question on my property is an old patio that was enclosed and converted into a cottage that is attached to my garage, but not to my house. I do not feel that it is my responsibility to bring this structure up to code for the following two reasons:
1 since this law was not in place when I purchased the property, I was not protected by this law and should therefore be afforded some type of grandfather privilege.
2 the structure is not attached to the main house and is therefore nothing more than a glorified treehouse.
During the 17 years I lived here, this structure was never covered by my house insurance because I new it wasn't permitted (up to code). What recourse do I have?

 

[HomeGuru]

City: Carson; County: Los Angeles; State: CA
The City of Carson passed a new law last year (2000) that requires all structures on a property be up to code before the property can be sold. the structure in question on my property is an old patio that was enclosed and converted into a cottage that is attached to my garage, but not to my house. I do not feel that it is my responsibility to bring this structure up to code for the following two reasons:
1 since this law was not in place when I purchased the property, I was not protected by this law and should therefore be afforded some type of grandfather privilege.
2 the structure is not attached to the main house and is therefore nothing more than a glorified treehouse.
During the 17 years I lived here, this structure was never covered by my house insurance because I new it wasn't permitted (up to code). What recourse do I have?

My response: your interpretation of the new law is incorrect.
When you bought the property, you knew that the subject improvement was illegal becasue there was no building permit on record. Consequently, the Building Dept. did not approve plans and did not do an inspection. Therefore, you accepted the structure in its "as is, as built" condition.
The improvement in question is still illegal and to this day has never been approved by the Building Dept, therefore there is no legal approved structure to grandfather.
You have no rights unless the structure has a permit and is not up to today's building code.
With respect to your glorified tree house statement. that is also incorrect as the UBC (Uniform Building Code), California Code and/or International Building Code specifically references structures of this type even though it is a former patio that was enclosed into an illegal housing unit.
Therefore the improvement in question is in fact governed by the Building Dept. as the AHA (Authority Having Jurisdiction)

Plain and simple, your reasonings to support your case holds no water.