Jersey City - full bath in finished above ground basement (home, contractor)

[VJ001]

In Jersey City, is it a violation to have a full bath in a finished basement which is 100% above ground and 2 egress? The zoning inspector who inspected my property today said it is a violation but I bought the home with a full bath and I believe, the previous (and the first) owner had submitted the architecture blue print and got the approval to have the full bath.

The inspector was pushing me to convert my it into a duplex instead of a fully finished basement. I feel like he is pushing me to convert so the city can get more property tax. Thoughts?

[Gerania]

I have no idea. Maybe a contractor would know. They're the ones who get the permits.

[jaymoney]

Bathrooms, depends. First thing you should do is call the buildings office and see if your beliefs are actual facts and the plans were submitted and permits were filed.

The second thing you should do is read the Universal Building Code (NJ Department of Community Affairs) and see if you can find applicable code.

[babo111]

Originally Posted by VJ001

In Jersey City, is it a violation to have a full bath in a finished basement which is 100% above ground and 2 egress? The zoning inspector who inspected my property today said it is a violation but I bought the home with a full bath and I believe, the previous (and the first) owner had submitted the architecture blue print and got the approval to have the full bath.

The inspector was pushing me to convert my it into a duplex instead of a fully finished basement. I feel like he is pushing me to convert so the city can get more property tax. Thoughts?

Asking people in forum is not the good way to go about it. Go track the paper trails down, hire professional if needed to take it seriously.

JC is undergoing reval so shouldn't be a surprise that inspectors are going to check stuff out and document it.

[theinsuranceguy201]

I'm no expert but from my knowledge if its 100 percent above ground it doesn't count as a basement. A basement or cellar is defined as a floor that's partially or completely below the ground floor. A floor that's 100 percent would count as a ground floor.