Guide to Code Violations: How to deal with this headache
When owning a property (land, house, building, apartment, store, etc.) we know there are many factors or elements you should be taking into account at all times. However, there’s one in particular that can never be left behind: Code Violations.
BUT… WHAT IS CODE VIOLATION EXACTLY?
Code violation is defined, as its name explains, as the infringement of a set of rules and neglecting to follow real estate ordinance established by a governing body. Some common examples of code violations in construction include improper framing, inadequate connections between different building materials, electrical errors, improper bathroom ventilations, and many more examples that if you really think about it, can end up being common mistakes in any construction but it can also lead you to a serious amount of trouble.
Now if you’re insecure about certain details in your property and would definitely like to avoid code violation fines, the only solution is to contact experts for help. They will most likely set up a visit with you to check out your property and search for any type of breach in it. If so, they will soon develop a plan of action in which they determine all of the possible repairs that need to be made. On the other hand, if you avoid the fact that you’re violating any code (on purpose or unconsciously) prepare for the consequences.
WHAT TO DO WHEN RECEIVING A CODE VIOLATION NOTICE
When you receive a code violation notice from your local government, you should take that as the final warning you’re looking for and call for help in order to fix every issue they pointed out in the shortest time possible. When not taken care of in time… that’s when the real consequences arrive. You will possibly face: fines and penalties, or even worse… code enforcement officers.
- Serious penalties that will possibly result in really expensive fines
- Criminal prosecution may be pursued
- Order imprisonment for being a neglectful owner
When you get a code violation notice at your property… here’s what you should do:
1) First of all, READ THE NOTICE CAREFULLY . It will specify every mistake found in your property. Believe it or not, common mistakes like insufficient ventilation (kitchen) or code violations in construction (electrical) can lead you to serious trouble. So, if this is the case and code violation notice was sent to your property… DON’T ignore it and act immediately.
2) Act fast! Don’t make code enforcement officers wait for too long when they visit your home as code violation fines are certainly something you wouldn’t want to be paying.
3) If code violations notices were sent to your property, it’s time to fix every mistake and code violation found in any construction element until code enforcement officers return for another checkup.
4) If code violations notices were received by mail or if the code officer did not find any code violations in your property, that means you’re good to go.
About code enforcement officers
In short, code enforcement officers are employees from local government organizations charged with enforcing codes on a daily basis in order to keep the safety of each and every city exposed to code violations under control. If these officials notice code violations in construction… you will certainly face code violation fines and penalties.
Things code enforcement officers must check before you get code violation notices:
1) Code enforcement officers should walk through your property and look for code violations in construction around your house or building. These code enforcement officers will be looking for code violations like insufficient ventilation, improper framing or code violations in construction and code violation fines will definitely be applied if they are found.
2) After the code enforcement officers walk through your property and notice any code violation, a code officer would most likely let you know in one way or another (usually with a code violation notice). They’ll identify the possible code violations that need to be fixed and code violations will have to be fixed in the shortest possible time.
3) If code enforcement officers find code violations or code violation fines are applied, you’ll most likely receive a code violation fine from your local government before it expires (usually about 30-60 days). Unfortunately, this is where code violations fines start to pile up.
How code violations are issued in code violation notices?
In code violation notice form, code enforcement officers will issue code violations for code violations found. If you fail to address the problem within the stated period of time, the code officer will most likely return with another code violation notice and a fine as well.
How code violation fines are determined?
Code violation fines vary from state to state and are usually not too high. If you don’t want to pay code violation notices… address code violations as soon as possible! Code violations can be handled simply by fixing code violation notices and code enforcement officers will check code violations again to see if these fines have been fixed. Keep in mind:
– Code violation fines are not something you should ignore.
– Code enforcement officers can be fined for code violations as well! They are properly trained in order to ensure they’ll do nothing but enforce local codes on a daily basis.
Common Code Violations
When arriving at new zoning, properties, buildings, housing, etc., you should definitely beware of the signs that your property has code violations, this will alert you and will help you solve any issue before having any legal problems and expensive fines.
Some of the main common code violations include:
- Missing of defective GFCIs (Ground-fault circuit interrupter)
- Handrails without returns
- Improper bathroom venting
- Missing deck flashing
- Misplaced smoke alarms
Missing code violation permits
Improper fire escapes and code violations in construction or code violations fines will definitely be applied under code enforcement officers’ watchful eye. Immediate code violations notices should be sent to your local government as soon as you find something that might pose a safety problem. Code Enforcement Officers must walk through the building, house or property
Code enforcement officers are properly trained and code violation notices should be addressed under code enforcement officer’s direct observation. If code violations notices aren’t fixed or code violation fines won’t be paid, this will definitely lead to code enforcement agencies like SBIC who are solely responsible for code compliance in order to ensure the safety of all buildings around the city and country. Code enforcement agencies are also responsible for issuing code violations notices as well.
The main goal of code violation agencies like building department, zoning laws or other local government related code enforcement agencies is to make sure that you don’t have any kind of unsafe conditions around your property and if you do, they will most likely fix it even at their own cost (if needed).
Code enforcement officers like code compliance inspectors always ensure code violations codes are enforced and code enforcement companies will be responsible for code violation fines as well. Code enforcement agencies, code compliance inspectors or code officers mostly work on a daily basis ensuring code enforcement and code violations notices are addressed in the right way.
Code Compliance is your obligation if you want to follow all state laws, local city laws and federal rules around your property (building codes, zoning laws, housing laws etc.). The main idea is that all persons associated with the purchase of land should make sure they’re following any kind of law including building codes or zoning laws at least until they know what they’re doing. When it comes to construction code violation fines, most states have established code enforcement agencies that code compliance inspectors must follow to issue code violation notices. Most code enforcement officers work on a daily basis ensuring code violations are addressed in the right way.
Here’s the bottom line when it comes to dealing with code enforcement agencies like building code enforcement, zoning codes or other local government related code enforcement offices: you have two options: either solve problems by yourself(which would still lead to expensive fines) or hire a professional company that specializes in fixing code violations as soon as possible (this is where AG Contractors & Design comes in). This way, you’ll get all issues fixed immediately which can save up to thousands of dollars in code violation fines.
Code compliance companies usually specialize on code enforcement issues making sure code violations are fixed in the right way by code officers or code enforcement agencies who make code violations notices. Code enforcement companies don’t get involved with code violations and code violation fines will be issued to your property under code compliance company’s mandate.
VIOLATION WARNINGS
Here are some code violations caution signs to watch out for if you want to make sure code enforcement officers don’t issue code violation notices or code violation fines:
– Is your property in a bad state? – Do you have any code violations? – Do code compliance companies usually visit your property? – Are there any code enforcement agencies that regularly inspect your building (usually at least once a year)? – Is the structure of your house or building properly maintained? – Does crawlspace under the basement require additional support against moisture, mold development and termites etc.?
If code compliance companies usually visit your property on a regular basis, this is a sign that they might issue code violation notices or code violation fines. If code compliance companies or code officers often visit your property, you’re most likely the one code enforcement agency investigating code violations. If code officers always want to inspect code violations on your property, this means they might issue a code violation notice before code enforcement agencies start issuing code violations fines.
If there are any code violations, be sure that these can easily attract code enforcement officers and if you don’t make sure issues are addressed in time. Most code violation notices will have under 90 days from date of issuance to fix them completely and show code compliance companies results to be eligible for a waiver of fine. Most waivers require proof that items have been removed as far as possible, but complete removal isn’t essential to receive a fine waiver. Code fines will be issued based on code violation notice if you don’t show code compliance companies results for code violations in time.
FACTS & STATISTICS OF CODE VIOLATIONS AND FINE
Here are some facts and statistics when it comes to code fines: – Over half of all code violation fines are plumbing code violations and this doesn’t mean that they’re less serious than other code violations like building code or zoning code. The most common code enforcement cases involve code fines for insufficient heat, moldy basements, water leaks etc. – There’s a lot of people who think that if there’s one single problem within the house or property, then it doesn’t require any kind of work to fix it together with other issues, this is a code violation.
This code violation covers everything from code violations in bathrooms, code violations in kitchens or code violations in crawl spaces and attics. – It’s very common to see code fines issued to households where there are no signs of code violations at all. In other words, people think that if they don’t have any problems with their property, then they wouldn’t get any code fines, which is not true at all because code fines can be issued even when there aren’t any issues. Here are some code examples:
Code 100: foundation – foundation wall supports need to be inspected by code enforcement agencies to make sure they’re properly designed and built according to the local building codes which would prevent settlement cracks and possible damage to property under extreme weather conditions like flooding and hurricane.
Code 102: foundation – code violations in foundations can cause problems with code compliance companies because it’s not easy to deliver code enforcement companies proof necessary for code fines waivers. This is why code fines for code violations in foundations are generally higher compared to other code fines for code violations.
Code 108: foundation – frost depth at building site should be measured by code compliance officers before construction starts and then checked regularly during construction as well as after construction has been completed so that the footings can’t penetrate frost layer deeper than allowed by local building codes. If there are any code violation notices, this could result in code violation fines of $300-$1,000 per day from date of issuance until work is done and submitted to code enforcement agencies.
Code 109: code violations in foundations – code fines for code violations in foundations can be quite expensive because code enforcement officers usually need to provide code fines waivers and this means code compliance companies also have to invest more money into supporting preparation for code fines procedures.
Code 110: code violations related to foundation walls, including failing spackle or sealant, missing grout and cracking paint should be repaired right away before it gets worse and begins to cause damage inside the building as well as outside of the building. Code violation in foundation walls generally means that there are some issues with the wall’s construction like over-insulation, improper drainage slopes which could lead to drainage problems and roof leaks. Tiles on top of basement floors are not allowed since they’re considered code violations.
Code 128: code enforcement agencies – code enforcement agencies require code compliance companies to be currently licensed by state before they can issue code fines. This is why it’s important to check if the license of a code compliance company has expired because you wouldn’t want to pay fines without results, right? Code fines for code violations are not something that anybody except local building inspectors should deal with so if you don’t want any issues, then hire a professional who knows how code fines work.
Code 130: When code enforcement agencies are notified by citizens about possible construction related issues like inadequate fire protection or excessive moisture conditions which could lead to mold growth in attics, code fines for code violations will be issued to home owners no matter who is at fault. But it’s not as complicated as it sounds because there are some code fines waiver solutions where code fines can be waived under certain conditions:
COMMUNITY COMPLAINTS
When dealing with community complaints code fines can be waived as code violation fines if code compliance company has no previous code violations in the past and code enforcement agency is notified within 3 days after code violation notice has been issued.
CODE COMPLIANCE COMPANY’S CODE VIOLATIONS
If a code compliance company has previous code violations, only some code fines waivers may be possible where code compliance companies would need to provide proof that all issues have been resolved in order for code fines to be waived according to local building codes.
But… How to repair every damage that’s leading to code violations in your home or property? There are many types of common damage that definitely need immediate help or assistance, and clearly there’s no way someone can deal with this on their own (unless they themselves are specialized in code violations, construction, damage control, etc.) otherwise, you should definitely contact a professional team that will surely provide you the support you need and the help you need. When dealing with code violations, trust us, you don’t want to waste time. Every second of every day you let pass by without dealing with this, is a day more in which authorities can, may or will contact you and this will turn into a nightmare. We know and understand, this can be an exhausting process and may look like an expensive process also but believe it or not, you want to pay for the damage control. You want to fix this.
You want to avoid every single step of the code violation process because if you are trying to avoid extensive expenses, you will end up paying a lot more if this turns into a legal problem. You won’t only have to pay for the damage to be fixed, but you will also be facing expensive fines (like we have told you throughout this entire blog) and not only the fines but if this turns out to be a really difficult process or something really serious, you might need to even contact a lawyer to help you solve every possible issue. Conclusion: avoid this.
Have all of these into account and make sure you never miss them. Basically in conclusion, when dealing with code violations you have two options: deal with it or sell your property. Dealing with it means fixing every issue reported and selling your property basically means passing the burden to somebody else. Whichever road to choose to take, hopefully you now know how serious a code violation can get and how ignoring it won’t bring you anything but serious consequences. Please listen to the words we so carefully wrote for you throughout this blog, this is literally a helping hand for you and a guide for you to really and deeply understand the extensive process that can turn out as a result of not being careful enough with code violations. We know you might just want to enjoy your new property or even if it is not new, you might just want to enjoy it, like we all do, and this won’t help you achieve that peace. So in order to avoid every possible stress, headache, anxiety, tension, etc., please take into account every single one of these important key points and if you believe you might be facing some of these issues, please contact a professional team immediately. Don’t wait any longer, if there’s nothing to worry about, you can be in peace that you won’t face any fines or legal problems, and if there are code violations in your property, the team can start solving it right away and in short amount of time, provide you a code-violation-free-property. That’s definitely what we are all wanting and desiring.
If you’re dealing with any of these situations, don’t freak out. Contact AG Contractors & Design and let us take care of your problems! We assure you the best possible outcomes.
