I am still seeing uncompleted work by contractor and no permit.
The owners are not asking or being told they need one. Accountability is needed in both areas. Owner and Contractors
Always, accountability is important on both sides of any contracted work. The person looking for a low price with no interest in a licensed professional accomplishing the work might end up in trouble. A permit protects the property owner, since the licensed professional is held accountable by the state and the local building department. That is why permits are important, and they need to be obtained by the contractor doing the work. This is the first step in hiring a contractor. (Otherwise, beware of what might become a sad story).
The only reason to do work without permits is to cut corners. Not having permits puts everyone at risk. All the subcontractors working on the job and the owner are at risk. Protect yourself and do it right. Hire a professional.
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Some don’t want the hassle and delay of having inspections. This is actually against the law in the state of California and you can lose your license if a permit is required and not pulled. I have run across home owners who don’t want them because then their property gets reassessed and their property tax can go up. Either way you are doing a disservice to your client by not getting one
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Zoiya, I agree that sometimes inspections can cause delays. Personally, I have found that inspection departments have become increasingly easier to obtain inspections without delays because of the use of online permitting almost everywhere in my area. Inspections are quickly and easily requested online. I also find inspectors responding more promptly than ever before. You make a good point that some homeowners want to avoid pointing out to tax assessors an improvement being made to their property
some city and state have different guide line for job permits,
its all ways good to check the contractor and the city .
if the city require permit you have to pull permit !!! if contractor telling you that you dont need that can be a red flag !!!
license contractor have to pull permit if required by the city that the law !!
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Because they probably can’t get a permit because they aren’t able. I just met a lady who hired a contractor who was licensed for residential work to do a commercial project. Long story short, she had to file for bankruptcy because the residential GC couldn’t get a commercial permit, so he worked without one. After spending over $100k on her job, she was unable to get a certificate of occupancy, thus couldn’t open her business.
The bigger question is why aren’t more contractors educated their clients about the risk they expose themselves to by hiring unlicensed people to do their work? There’s no reason for someone who is able to pull a permit to not do it, other than maybe to foolishly save a few pennies.
For all those who look for low bid when choosing a GC, remember that if there’s a crook in the mix, he will be the cheapest. He’ll also have references - who are probably family members. If you want to check someone out, call their suppliers on published phone numbers. They know how he does business and if he’s established.
Some contractors like to cut corners either for there own benefit or at the request of the owners. You need to consider that if a contractor is willing to forego pulling a permit that he is required to pull, what else Is he willing to cut corners on such as material, quality of work, codes, insurance etc. Unfortunately in every business you have bad actors but there are also a lot of good contractors as well. Just vet your contractors as best as you can and ask as many questions that you need to until you feel comfortable.