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I don't think that replacements have to be permitted/inspected in my area, but honestly, I'm not sure. We hire a licenced, certified HVAC company to do the work, and assume that they know what they are doing. Same with plumbing and electrical. If a permit/inspection is required, they take care of the whole process.
Did the landlord/maintenance do the install himself, or did an actual HVAC company do it? Usually a reputable company will put a sticker somewhere on the unit. You could call them and ask why they didn't get a permit/inspection. Maybe there is an exemption for some reason that you aren't hearing about.
What I'm saying is that if the LL hired a company to do it, the LL may not even know what is required behind the scenes. It may be the HVAC company who screwed up. If "Maintenance" installed it, they may or may not know what they were doing, and I would want it inspected all the more for that reason.
If it's that important you can always call the city inspector yourself and allow them in. If the installation was done correctly then there's no problem. However, if it was done incorrectly, then the owner and property manger would receive violations on the home and may have to pay a fine. They will also have to pay to do the work over again.
Of course this may **** off the owner and property manager and eventually cause problems between you guys. Ultimately if safety is your concern then you have no choice. Just be prepared for a nasty attitude from the other side.
Kind of weird that a property management doesn't know about the permits needed. Either they haven't had a lot of work done to properties...or they haven't gotten caught...yet!
Of course a lot of PM's use 'maintenance' folks that have no clue. Oh boy, my hubby could tell you horror stories about HVAC stuff he has had to redo & bring up to code, back in the day...
If it was an actual HVAC company that did the furnace replacement, I am surprised they didn't get the required permits/inspections.
thats bull crap Dick.. a permit book is kept up and signed off on .. to replace a furnace requires the city inspector after the work is done period .. .. a "good contractor " would call for an inspector himself and the permit would be signed off on .. especially if it was a gas furnace .. or gas powered boiler system .. this isnt a home owners do it yourself type of job .. the installers are required to be lienced in all states ..
fly by nights are a whole nother story .. Because there is no permit means they ( installers ) werent lienced to begin with ..most likely
OP call the city and ask them to inspect the work .. if its wrong the inspector will red tag the job and give them 3 days to fix it or tear it out and have it re installed by a lienced contractor
Just a few points to clarify...
Both the city and county allow the property owner to pull permits in my jurisdiction... I have installed many gas water heaters and furnaces as well as upgrading Electrical Services... never a problem...
No license required to work on property you own or have an employee do the work... however, proof of a valid Worker's Comp policy is required if the owner does not do the actual work. Just saying this is how it works in my little corner of California.
Also, there are many rural areas with no permit requirements or maybe only for a septic install... A very good friend lives outside Tyler Texas and Septic was the ONLY permit required for building his home in 2002... no electrical or building
My county also allows Apartment Owners to pay a yearly fee that cover many permit issues... although there is an exception for emergency after hours repairs that allows for the permit to be pulled on the next business day.
Heat can be a Emergency Condition and Building Departments are not open 24 hours.
Last edited by Ultrarunner; 01-13-2010 at 02:59 PM..
Kind of weird that a property management doesn't know about the permits needed. Either they haven't had a lot of work done to properties...or they haven't gotten caught...yet!
Of course a lot of PM's use 'maintenance' folks that have no clue. Oh boy, my hubby could tell you horror stories about HVAC stuff he has had to redo & bring up to code, back in the day...
If it was an actual HVAC company that did the furnace replacement, I am surprised they didn't get the required permits/inspections.
Going by the book... some areas require a permit to change out a toilet... mine does!
An elderly neighbor hired a license plumber to install a new low-flow toilet in her 30 year old home... the plumber did the job and she was happy.
The next day she was listening to a radio program on home repair and it said to always call your building department and check before having work done... she called and they sent an inspector out...
The inspector required the plumber to be there and pull the new toilet to verify the presence of the wax seal... the plumber was livid... he said he waited at the home for 3 hours for the inspector to show... then had to pull the toilet and install a new ring and said the home owner would have to pay his time since his bid said nothing about a permit... I was there when he left.
I've certainly wasted many an hour waiting for inspectors... just glad I wasn't paying someone $85 an hour to wait...
I gotta tell you, a renter that calls the city on work that I have done or for work that I have hired to do, if it needs a permit or not, will not be a renter of mine for long. Rent increase will be coming and if the renter does not go by the "book" they will not see one penny of the security deposit.
Why O Why does a renter want to cause trouble? Give the LL grief and they will receive it too.
If you are so worried about your safety, why are you still in the house? My god lady get the hell out of there, your going to die! Money is no object, your life is in jeopardy.
I'll tell you why, your not worried about your life and you just want to **** off the management company and make thier life hell because you believe they did you wrong. It is so obvious because you didn't post "unsafe furnace and had to leave, how do I get my deposit back" If you are still there, you believe it is safe to be there.
I have met you. You enjoy and thrive on being the person that gets thing "done". The truth is that every store clerk, every LL, every person that has to deal with you, hates you. You are the ultimate trouble maker and you don't even know it. It's time to let it go! Your are wasting your life to be the *****.
Obviously the above poster is a LL who treats his own rental properties like garbage and the people who live in them. I am dealing with this and need no further opinions. Thank you.
Going by the book... some areas require a permit to change out a toilet... mine does!
An elderly neighbor hired a license plumber to install a new low-flow toilet in her 30 year old home... the plumber did the job and she was happy.
The next day she was listening to a radio program on home repair and it said to always call your building department and check before having work done... she called and they sent an inspector out...
The inspector required the plumber to be there and pull the new toilet to verify the presence of the wax seal... the plumber was livid... he said he waited at the home for 3 hours for the inspector to show... then had to pull the toilet and install a new ring and said the home owner would have to pay his time since his bid said nothing about a permit... I was there when he left.
I've certainly wasted many an hour waiting for inspectors... just glad I wasn't paying someone $85 an hour to wait...
Wow! Your neck of the woods requires a permit to change out a toilet and an official inspection to boot? I realize this is a little off topic but maybe if more residents paid attention to what their lawmakers are doing and what laws they're passing, some of this nonsense might be avoided.
It seems that so many ridiculous laws are passed because one incident happens, a few rise up in arms and demand that the laws be changed and those laws get passed because the rest of the population doesn't pay attention and ALLOWS such ridiculous new laws to sail through.
If a licensed contractor screws up then that contractor should be held responsible in civil court. It surely doesn't require from locally elected legislators a time and money-wasting set of hearings to enact new legislation when common sense should prevail and when the only people attending such sessions are usually those who've nothing better to do.
Just as an example, we're all being encouraged to be less wasteful and yet so many HOAs throughout the US deem it unseemly to wash your laundry and then hang it out to dry in your fenced-in private yard. Oh, the sight of your clothes line and your clothes drying out there in the sun is just so NOT acceptable. No, you MUST use your clothes dryer. Never mind the emissions from those dryers and the waste of energy, it just looks TACKY.
Pete Seeger's "Little Boxes" song comes to mind and it's been several decades since he penned and wrote that song which is even more applicable today.
OP, if you're really concerned that the replacement furnace hasn't been properly installed or inspected/certified then why don't you just send your concerns in writing to the management company? Seems to me like much ado about nothing when it's accepted practice to put everything in writing before thinking major retaliatory measures and lawsuits and all else. Cheers!
I gotta tell you, a renter that calls the city on work that I have done or for work that I have hired to do, if it needs a permit or not, will not be a renter of mine for long. Rent increase will be coming and if the renter does not go by the "book" they will not see one penny of the security deposit.
By most Landlord Tenant acts, it would be illegal to withhold a security deposit because the renter called the city. Nor can you terminate the lease only because they called the city.
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