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One of my neighbors called code enforcement stating that my single family home was turned into an illegal multifamily home. They came to investigate and found nothing. Now I would like a copy of the report made on my home but they are telling me there is no such thing. Obviously they must have something on record?
Who said it was a neighbor that called code enforcement? Here in Brookhaven, a local woman received a letter from the Town about her illegal apartment. She had no such thing. It turned out that an incorrect code had been entered for the garbage collection portion of her taxes. She spent quite a lot of time fighting it. Her biggest mistake was naively letting them in to prove there wasn't an apartment. They turned up other deficiencies.
One of my neighbors called code enforcement stating that my single family home was turned into an illegal multifamily home. They came to investigate and found nothing. Now I would like a copy of the report made on my home but they are telling me there is no such thing. Obviously they must have something on record?
Lynn
In my experience, you will never find a copy of the "complaint" or find out who made it.
Best you can do is be proactive... if they claim there was a complaint, have them produce it _before_ you let them investigate. It might not work, and it may tick them off, so do so at your own risk. While they should have to prove something before taxing it, it is likely they will simply enter the information and force you to prove they were wrong.
One of my neighbors called code enforcement stating that my single family home was turned into an illegal multifamily home. They came to investigate and found nothing. Now I would like a copy of the report made on my home but they are telling me there is no such thing. Obviously they must have something on record?
Lynn
It really depends on where you live. A lot of these places really don't keep records, but merely send someone out to respond based on a phone call. I'd let it go, unless you're looking to sue your neighbor for harassment.
I live in the town of Islip. Am the third owner , the first owners built 2 [front and back] dormers . 2 bedrooms and a full bath. All legal. So one day after being in our house for like 4/5 years 2 T.O.I. inspectors show up and tell me a neighbor complained about having an illegal basement apartment. I asked them to show me there Ids the Male said Sir, you do not have to let us in, the female [ no diss ment] said unless you have something to hide. Now just a side note to make it interesting at the top of the stairs which can be seen from the front door are two Black Great Danes the male @ 217 lbs and female @ 162 lbs. And there not happy.
Cut to the chase I let them , lead them down to the basement 1/2 is just storage the other a laundry room . The female even looked behind the Furnace to see if there was a bed. [I asked why] And Asked me to open the cedar closet. WTF ??
Figured we were done, but the lady says I need to see what is up stairs and look around the back of the house. I said go up stairs if you want. Now the Danes are in full protection mode. She says you have to lock them up and do they have a Lic.
At that point I told them they were done. And no you can't go in my back yard , look over the fence if you like. The guy was very apoplectic . They left. No wait not done yet a week latter Animal control [aka dog catcher] shows up when my wife is outside with the Danes laying on the grass. She [ dog catcher] standing in the road says we have a complaint about "A" not 2 vicious Un-licensed dog. Wife says feel free to check, there tags are on there collars. Dog catcher says "animals" like that should be Muzzled when outside. That ended . Wait gets better. 2 weeks latter another Inspector shows up. The Danes are at my side IDs himself, says the same thing as the first 2 . I said we have Already been inspected, but you can come in and look at the basement if you like. He said can you but away the dogs. I said they won't bother you. Nervously he looked in the basement . Apologized , said he was sorry, just doing his job and will not that our home was inspected twice.
The grand ending about 2 weeks latter , another bang on the door. Wife answers the door [I,m in the back yard with the Danes] another flipping inspector . But this time he knows my wife who also works for Islip. Said even though we were red flagged [ meaning a false complaint] he was told to re-inspect and asked if there were really two giant vicious dogs . So She let them in. After a coffee and a chat all ended well. While no one would tell us who started this. He did say All it takes is a call or 2 from a pay phone. Moral to the story NEVER let anyone in unless they have a warrent
Moral to the story NEVER let anyone in unless they have a warrent
Bingo. That's exactly right.
When they want to find something, they will, If they can't they will look for something else. Still can't find anything? They will make something up.
Best advice is from "Family Guy." Just stand in the doorway and say "No. Sorry. Superman no home."
The only get even you will ever have is to become "that person." Years ago I had my small horse trailer parked in front of my home for about a week (two back to back weekend events and I had to clean the tackroom out mid-week). It is legal for a trailer to be parked in front of my home as long as it is attached to a vehicle.
Towards the end of the week I disconnected to go get gas. It's a PITA maneuvering through a gas station with a trailer.
In the space of 30 minutes, I got a $250 ticket. It didn't happen by chance (code enforcement is NEVER in my area). Someone dropped a dime.
Since then, I have called code enforcement probably two dozen times. One neighbor had two commercial (disconnected) trailers parked in front of their house for two months. Never got a ticket. Plenty of other code violations in the area, and I am sure the person who phoned my in is one of them. If you live in a glass house...
I've also come to realize that calls to code enforcement usually do nothing. If you want to know who called on you, look to a neighbor who has friends at the town. Code enforcement comes quickly when you know someone.
This sounds like 1930s Germany. I had an experience with Cablevision where they demanded access to see if there was an apartment split off from my cable service. When I refused, he threatened to remove the wire from the pole to my house. I said go ahead, and that he and his bosses can take turns sticking that wire up each other's asses. The town people, they were always nice to me.
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While they should have to prove something before taxing it, it is likely they will simply enter the information and force you to prove they were wrong.
