Hi, my name is Don and my Niece, and her husband are waiting to move into their first newly built house. Their contractor packed up and left them a note saying their new house is finished. Code Enforcement stopped by asking questions and left some sort of violation.

Caller: “What can they do to move in as their apartment lease is up in a few days? They are a young married couple, and this is their first house.”

Sir, does your niece have a formal contract with General Contractor? Did your niece obtain a copy of the permits and any City inspection reports?

What is the address of their property?

From looking at the information online at the City, the General Contractor has not completed all the inspections, HVAC and electrical trade contractors need to call for their final inspections as well. And it appears that a sidewalk permit was never pulled.

Caller: “Can you help my niece and her husband coordinate final inspections with the City?”

Sir, we can coordinate inspections, but the General Contractor has the responsibility to address any rejection comments and deficiencies. Also, since the house is basically completed, the City’s plumbing and electrical Inspectors will ask to open one or more of the walls since the online system indicate a failed inspection due to insufficient insulation and there appears to be no inspection prior to closing walls.

Caller: “Can my niece move into new house?”

Sir, we are unable to advise you on your niece moving into house, but know two things, 1) there is a safety risk with house having known issues; and 2) that without passing final inspection, a Certificate of Compliance will not be issued.

The General Contractor has a fiduciary responsibility to honor formal contract and your best direction is searching for the Contractor as this eliminates having your niece to incur additional and unnecessary costs to engage another General Contractor and trades to call for inspection, complete punch list items i.e. make repairs and properly close out.

Has your niece paid the General Contractor? Caller: “Yes, Contractor has been paid in full.”

If you are truly unable to locate General Contractor, below are 7 steps to close our permits and obtain Certificate of Compliance.

• Request a formal letter from property owner saying the prior General Contractor left without finishing project and like to have new General Contractor to take over building permits
• Present that letter to the jurisdiction
• Complete proper jurisdiction documents
• Follow up and respond to any City request for information i.e. RFI’s
• Call City to schedule final inspections including trades coordinating their inspections
• Address punch list items and call for final inspection to close-out permits
• Obtain City final inspection approval and file Certificate of Compliance

In Conclusion

General Contractors walk off and leave Customers standing flat-footed for all kinds of reasons. Does it make it right? It is truly unprofessional, especially after being paid in full for project. If you have stepped into another General Contractor’s unfinished business, follow the 7 steps above to move toward closing out permits properly. If you are dumbfounded on how to move forward when stepping into a similar scenario, you can call 1.844.PERMIT.4 for help.

At PermitUsNow, we are committed to pulling permits for our Architect, Contractor, and Project Owner clients without delay, eliminating their frustrations with the permitting process. Plus, we make it easy for you to work with us. Simply: 1) Email us your plans, 2) Follow up on our feedback for any missing items, and 3) Let us get your permitting done for you. So, send us your plans today and we’ll free you up to focus on doing what you love – building your customers’ dreams. #BuildSafe