Home inspectors - Are they suppose to catch city code violations?

[escanlan]

Originally Posted by Salem Aathur

We recently moved to FL and just bought a house in Weston. We already realised our realtor cheated us big time, by "working" with other realtors. She pushed us into this deal by saying the other house we really like is "under contract" and this is the only option we have etc. After we signed the contract for this house we came to know that the house we really wanted was still available. Coincidently the owners of the house we bought are also realtors. So we suspect they "worked" it out.
It has been 5 months now and we realize that the home inspection was not done properly too. The realtor brought the home inspector (it was a mistake from our side to allow accept her recommendation on this). The house has mismatched A/C unit, new condensor outside (the previous owners changed it right before they put it in the market) and a very old airhandler inside. As I am getting quotes from different A/C companies to change the air handler, I am being told that the configuration we have now is breaking the city code and we need to change the whole system(the brand new system outside and the condensor inside). We feel the home inspectors cheated by not telling us that the house had something that is violating the city code. The previous owner(who is a realtor too) is working in a reputed construction company too. So there is no way he didn't know that either. What is the best way to make a complaint about this. Especially the Home inspection company?

A typical home inspection is not intended to be a "Code Inspection" as only a local municipal Building Inspector can perform a "Code Inspection". Having said that though many inspection references do originate from various building codes. However to provide any reasonable answer you need to be more specific as to how is this HVAC combination supposedly "breaking the city code"?

What you need to do before you spend a lot of money on lawyers and legal battles is to have the supposed professional giving you this information place it in writing with the specific "city code" reference and on that company's invoice, letterhead, etc. Then with that I would take it to the local City Building Inspectors, or Code Enforcement, and ask them if it is correct. If the professional telling you that this configuration is "breaking the city code" will not put his assessment in writing then I would highly recommend that you go to another professional as that alone should tell you that the "supposed" professional isn't very professional!

[Dragonmam]

escanlan, you want the OP to get it in writing that he has a code violation on his property and then deliver this information to the code enforcement department to make sure it is correct? If it is in fact a violation, they will not hesitate to pay the property a visit and write out a notice of violation. Cities are desperate for revenue and many have gone on searches for code violators as a means to raise revenue. You are basically advising him to turn himself in. He will then be under a deadline to correct the situation which, depending on the remedy, could be quite expensive, or face steep fines for every day that the notice goes uncorrected. It may be something he will have to budget for until he can take care of it, until then he needs to keep his mouth shut.

[escanlan]

Originally Posted by Dragonmam

escanlan, you want the OP to get it in writing that he has a code violation on his property and then deliver this information to the code enforcement department to make sure it is correct? If it is in fact a violation, they will not hesitate to pay the property a visit and write out a notice of violation. Cities are desperate for revenue and many have gone on searches for code violators as a means to raise revenue. You are basically advising him to turn himself in. He will then be under a deadline to correct the situation which, depending on the remedy, could be quite expensive, or face steep fines for every day that the notice goes uncorrected. It may be something he will have to budget for until he can take care of it, until then he needs to keep his mouth shut.

From your previous post:

Originally Posted by Dragonmam

As far as I know, it is not a code violation to have a mismatched air handler and condenser, it's just not as efficient.

Is it a building code violation as defined by the local Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ)? We don't know as we do not know the entire situation. The OP is preparing to replace the interior air handler unit for another unspecified reason. The replacement of a major part of a system is typically a permitted item by the local AHJ. I say typically as there are some that might not require it but those are few and far between. What we do know is that the OP is most likely going to have to obtain a permit to properly (properly as in the local rules by the AHJ) replace the interior air handler/evaporative cooler coil (hereafter called just "air handler" as the OP states). If there is a building code violation now then the local AHJ is going to note it anyhow when the permit is pulled and the system inspected by the AHJ before the permit is finalized (closed).

So how does the OP benefit from what I have suggested?

1. It is unfortunate but some less than ethical and honest contractors (in all trades) will attempt to use the "Code Violation" scare tactic in order to sell, up-sell, rip-off consumers. If this is a true code violation then the HVAC contractor claiming this will not hesitate, nor have any reason to hesitate, to place that in writing on the estimate sheet. This is one large part of the OP's ammunition if they choose to chase after someone for the error. If it is not a building code violation then the HVAC contractor will refuse to place that on an estimate and the OP can be assured they don't want to deal with that HVAC contractor. In fact I would hope the OP contacts the AHJ to determine if HVAC contractors are required to be registered with the local municipality to perform work in it. If so then the OP should file a complaint with the local municipality about an HVAC contractor acting unethically and dishonestly. That will help assure that contractor can not register to work legally in that municipality.
2. If an annotation is provided on the HVAC contractor's estimate then the OP should take this down to the AHJ (or preferably email it so they get a written response) for confirmation of the claim. That is the second round of ammunition the OP has to now chase someone down for an error or disclosure issue.

If the OP intends to properly permit any replacement work, as required by the AHJ, then they have nothing to fear from the AHJ. If the combination is against the building codes and is a significant safety violation then yes they might be required to replace it all if a new interior air handler unit can not be found to properly match the exterior condenser unit. However if it is that much of a safety hazard then wouldn't you replace it as well? If the OP is forced to replace the entire system they have even a higher claim against who ever they decide to pursue it against.


The only way the OP is going to cause themselves additional trouble is if the entire problem is not identified (see the information above) and they attempt to perform a replacement without a proper permit if required by the AHJ. At that point the OP can forget about trying to pursue any legal remedy as they now have violated the law which will not look very good during an arbitration, mediation, or lawsuit.


If the OP chooses to pursue the non-permitted method to correct this and something occurs later, or they try to sell the house later, then the entire situation can surface again. This time it will be on the OP's dime and not someone who might have deceived or missed something.