I’m trying to help a friend who’s selling their house. The basement was developed without permits before they bought it and now it is a sticking point when they are going to sell. Two questions:
1) it’s pretty common knowledge to make sure all work was done correctly and permitted, right?
2) has anyone had to get permits after the fact? Looks like just the permits will be around $1K and then any work required to bring it up to code will be on top of that?
Common knowledge permits are needed to develop a basement. However I would say 50 percent of basements currently developed are done without permits.
Permits after the fact happen all the time. I assume it is in Calgary. Now how much work needs to be done depends on the year done and inspectors that come in and of course if it was up to code at the time. Electrical may be the biggest area of cost depending on when it was done.
Last edited by FleuryFan89; 10-11-2020 at 08:48 PM.
Reason: Spelling
Same situation for a friend of mine. The price of the house has to reflect the unpermitted work. If there ever is an insurance claim it would not cover the cost to replace what you had in the basement. In hot markets no one really cares. But it could cost them a discount in a slow market.
Getting permits now really does depend on the inspector. I'm wondering if hiring a larger electrical company to pull the permits might be an effective strategy. Inspectors tend to rubber stamp the work done by reliable companies they know well. They would be able to bring any deficiencies up to code as well.
Also depends on the extent of the build. Did they add windows or anything? Kitchen? All that stuff makes it more complicated.
Your friend will to need to hire a licensed plumber / electrician / mechanical / gas (whichever applies) contractor to apply for the permits. Those are start $116 for each permit. https://www.calgary.ca/pda/pd/home-b...ting-tips.html
Any advice for a developed basement that only has partial permits? Permits pulled for electrical and gas (with signed off inspection) but not plumbing and not for the overall development (building permit?).
Getting the permit is not the problem. It is the inspection that could be dicey. Some municipalities (ex: MH) will make you tear down far enough for the inspector to properly check for electrical compliance.
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Thanks for all the info folks! So yah, it seems like she’s pretty well screwed. The buyer is quoting insurance reasons for requiring the permits, which is fair.
Basement permits
