When Do I Need a Building Permit?
The building code states that if you “alter, modify, or repair” your house you must get a permit and pay the required fees. Building permits are one of the few ways Cities are able increase their funding so they want you to get a permit, regardless of whether or not it is necessary. For example, I have already paid $1,093.45 for a small cripple wall retrofit job in Oakland that costs $9,070.00. Oakland and many other jurisdictions require a special inspection for bolts and this will add another $1000.
If I don’t get a permit, can I get in trouble?
The short answer is no. You can only get in trouble if you break the law. There are no laws (building codes) that govern seismic retrofitting so it is not possible to break a law that does not exist. HOWEVER, Chapter 7 of the California Building Code does say that any alteration or repair requires a permit. This means that if you decided to replace a light fixture in your kitchen you would need to get a permit before you replace it. A retrofit is an alteration, so technically they want you to get a permit. My personal belief is that in both these cases the building department just wants your money.
Can A Building Permit Protect Me?
City building inspectors rarely if ever look at the work a retrofit done by your contractor. They must do 10-15 inspections a day and take 1/2 hour for lunch and simply do not have time. Except in San Leandro, they do not carry the appropriate safety equipment. In addition, unappealing crawl spaces like the the one shown below are the rule rather than the exception, and they don’t want to get their clothes dirty. They will usually just want to see a few pictures and even that is the exception rather than the rule. In short, even if you have a permit no one is going to look at your retrofit. There is a State funded program called the Earthquake Brace And Bolt Program that spends millions on retrofits that no one ever checks.
Here are a few examples of interactions with building inspectors from September 1st and October 15th, 2024. This is the rule rather than the exception.
THIS IS WHY INSPECTORS DO NOT WANT TO CRAWL UNDER HOUSES
San Francisco: Does not even require plans. One only needs to say “put in hardware and plywood.” The words seismic or earthquake or retrofit are not allowed. No one at the City will look at what you plan to do or what you have done to see if it will resist an earthquake. In a recent inspection the inspector did not even get out of his truck, and said, “there is no code for me to follow and you have no plans, what am I supposed to do?”
Pleasanton: Homeowner was told by inspector that “We are not allowed to crawl underneath the house. I will just look at pictures.”
Palo Alto: City inspector looked at one photograph. Total time on-site: less than five minutes, including the necessary paperwork for the City.
Berkeley: Did a virtual inspection. Inspector was never on-site
Napa: Inspector arrived and asked “What are we looking at?” I replied with, “All under floor. Grab your knee pads.” He replied, “I’m not crawling underneath the house,” then he requested that I show him pictures. Total time on site less than five minutes, including the necessary paperwork for the City.
Buyer Beware
There is neither special licensing for retrofit contractors nor is there a retrofit building code to follow. From the building department’s point of view, if you want to put in shiny hardware that may or may not help the house resist earthquakes, it is not their place to stop you. It is your house and you can do whatever you want to.
Many building departments do not even allow mentioning the words “retrofit” on permit applications. At the most one can say, “put in shiny hardware,” or “voluntary seismic upgrade,” and some cities, such as San Francisco, won’t even allow that.
When You Sell Your Home
The only time the permit issue comes up is at the time of a sale. You must disclose all work that was done without a permit. Many buyers hire a private home inspector to examine the house. These inspectors know that the permit means nothing. The buyer just wants to know if the job was done right. If so, that is the end of the story.
Therefore, it is important to have all the documentation you can get to show the home inspector and future buyers in the form of photographs and a set of plans that shows exactly what was done and where. Your contractor should provide you with this when the job is complete.
