Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California
I was in the middle of negotiating the sale of my inherited home when a neighbor decided to remove the roof and ceiling of the cement 1920 garage which has a shared party wall down the center UGH. I called code enforcement. Now, he has a permit. I found out his permit is only to rebuild to today's standards and build a new wall 1 inch next to the shared wall. Help! Can he legally do that? Apparently he can take 2 years and he has started other bldg projects. He is pressuring me to pull it down but I had just finished retrofitting my half of the ceiling w/ a city permit. It's expensive and I can't pull mine down. My redo was grandfathered in. Seriously, after cutting the re -bar and leaving the inside wall exposed for one and a half years he doesn't have to do anything? It's not in a-1 shape and was never meant to be an outside wall.
3 Answers from Attorneys
I'd say probably. A permit is just permission to do something; it is not an order to do the job at all, much less to finish it by a date certain. Nevertheless, failure to complete work and to leave it in a partially-complete state may violate some other code requirement, or may be cause for a suit for private nuisance. I don't see a Zip code on your question, but my suggestion would be to have a local lawyer who does construction-permits type cases come out and take a look at the work and the permit, and give you advice based on local ordinances and experience. The way the situation looks may be a significant factor in determining your rights.
There are actions that can be done to work with and pressure your neighbor. Consult an attorney.
I'd go further than what Mr. Whipple stated and say that a permit is authorization for the City's building inspectors to inspect what the person wanted to build or rebuild.
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