Kamal The Builders 'Building without a Permit'

This is Kamal The Builder, how are you? We’ve posted several videos about protecting yourself which is an important part of your construction project. In this video we are going to discuss Building without a Permit. Should you build without a permit?

No, you should not build without a permit, check your city rules within reason there’s certain things you can do without a permit, but in general as you do a construction project, remodel or build an ADU, you should not be building without a permit. Here are some reasons why you should always have a valid city permit.

If the city catches you without a permit. For example, a city inspector could be driving through your neighborhood and comes across your project and say “What’s going on here, I don’t remember this job, let me stop by and check for a permit. By law, we need to have the permit card, the plans on the premises. If the city catches you here is what could happen. They could issue a stop order and stop all the work on your project and they can issue a fine. They may also ask you to take the structure down and rebuild with permits.
So you tried to save some money and end up delaying your project, pay fines, and even rebuilding from scratch. It also cost you more money. It’s not smart to build without a permit. Get the right permits, keep your project safe, stay out of trouble and save yourself time and money.
Let’s say you’ve built without a permit and you got away with it. Now its time for you to refinance or sell the property and you now have to declare that you build a certain structure without a permit. The square footage of that structure may not count towards a complete square footage. So your property may not appraise for the full amount.
If you are selling, this may turn off potential buyers. They don’t want to take on any risks and find a different property.
Another issue is, what if the property was on fire, or there are damages of other kinds. Water damage for example. Then you file a claim on your insurance company. The insurance company will send an inspector an adjuster and look into what was the root cause of the damage. If they found that shabby work was done, or it was unpermitted work that caused the fire. You may get denied the claim. All of a sudden you have to fix the problem yourself and it could be many thousands, hundreds of thousands of dollars of damage. So stay away from that situation and get a work permitted before you get started and work with a licensed general contractor. You’ll have the right set of inspections, the work will be permitted and the insurance company will cover you fully!

So the most important thing is to keep your project legit from the beginning. Build with permits, hire a licensed contractor, have a record of all your inspections and make sure its all legit, and educate yourself on your city’s permit processes. We have a different video we shot about how to work with your city here: You can also ask your contractor for all written copies of permits, plans and inpections. All these steps keep you out of trouble in case you run into any issues with your project.

And of course, you can always contact us and we would be happy to help you!


Hopefully you found this useful, if you like this video, click “Like” and share it with anyone you know who will find value. My name is Kamal the Builder, and we build your dreams throughout the Silicon Valley.

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You may also enjoy my previous videos:

Planning an ADU:

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Building Your Dreams!
Kamal Hyder
Breakthrough Builders
info@breakthroughbuilders.com

Cell: 408-582-2066
Facebook, twitter, and instagram @Kamalthebuilder

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