Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: building code violation/liability

Please consider this a partial answer; there may be angles to this that would be known to an expert in construction law that I'm unaware of, and for this reason I suggest you re-ask your question under the heading of construction law.

My contribution to the answer is to note that if your suit were based on a violation of his written contract with you, you'd have two problems. First, the four-year statute of limitations for suits based on a written agreement. Second, to the extent (if any) your contract could be read to be encouraging or authorizing a violation of the permit laws, it could be deemed unenforceable at any time due to having an illegal purpose.

If your suit were based upon a tort such as nigligence in failing to get a permit, or fraud for saying he got a permit, or that one wasn't necessary, the statute of limitations might run from the time you discovered, or with reasonable diligence should have discovered, the fraud or negligence. In that case, possibly you could avoid the limitations problem, but proving fraud or negligence might be difficult if the evidence tends to show the two of you were in a wink-wink deal to save some money by avoiding the time and expense of getting permits and having inspections.

Finally, I don't think you'll get much sympathy from a judge if your entire case is based upon "He shouldn't turn me in because he's equally guilty." Keep in mind that the criminal co-conspirator who turns in his confederates often gets a lighter sentence for cooperating with the prosecution. Your situation isn't the same, but it's sorta similar.