Work Permits

That seems odd that a condo can’t fine for work that wasn’t done without the proper permit. There may have been previous conversations about this, but you know all of us are from different states, so what may be true in your state may not be the case in mine, and vice versa. Read your OWN community documents and see what they say. The CCRs may have a list of areas that are the association’s responsibility vs. the homeowner’s, so that’s what you need to go on.

Next, call your local building department or whoever enforces the building code for your city or county, or check the website (it’s faster). Usually there’s a list of work that requires a permit, penalties for not having the right permit or doing the work without one, and where complaints can be filed. If the work required a permit and was done without it, that shouldn’t preclude the association from filing a complaint with the city or county, especially if the common area was affected by the work.

If that’s the case, the association should be consulting its attorney to see what its legal options are, and then pursue whatever’s appropriate. You could establish some sort of fining policy, but you should know from reading other conversations you’ll need to check the documents to see if it allows fines and maybe state law. Then you’ll need to notify homeowners of the fining schedule, how it will be enforced and appeal rights.

Contractors should already know what work requires a permit, so it’s a matter of determining who’s responsible for getting it. In my area, if the homeowner does the work, he or she must purchase the permit, but if it’s a contractor, he or she should be the one to purchase the permit. In fact, it’s better for the contractor to do it because that can give the homeowner added protections if something goes sideways. The cost is added to the project fee.

You don’t say what sort of work was done in your building (or how you found out about this – are you on the board? Did you talk to the homeowner(s)?) I would think there’s a difference between having one of those seasonal checks (e.g. a HVAC technician checks the air conditioner before summer kicks in) vs. repairing a furnace that doesn’t require the entire unit be replaced, vs. a water heater that does need to be replaced.

Your building department might be able to help in that regard, or you can contact the gas/water/electric company because some work may require their participation (e.g. upgrading an electric circuit panel may require a meter box be replaced, and you’d have to contact the electric company to do that because it usually owns the meter. You’d also have to pay for that, too.)

Getting all of this information may warrant a board policy that requires it be contacted before certain work is done in case there has to be some sort of coordination between the contractor, homeowner and the association in case the work requires access to the common area. You may also want to consult the association’s master insurance policy and attorney to ensure the association’s risk is reduced and building safety is maintained.

Greg

The main concern in a multi unit building is structural building integrity as in structural modifications/replacement not a replacement of an existing feature such as a new toilet though in some states a permit is technically need to replace a toilet.

What is your concern over?

Generally in my jurisdiction a permit is not required to replace items such as HVAC and water heaters. That said, a rule requiring repairs and replacements must be performed by licensed contractors approved by the HOA is not unreasonable provided the HOA is only assuring proper licensing and insurance.

I sure some will disagree, but in multi unit buildings, fire, flooding and carbon monoxide risks are real.

Seeing on the news homes exploding because of gas leaks, I would find a way to have the work reviewed/redone by a licensed contractor.