//Quick answer
- Resale: unpermitted water heaters, repipes and sewer work are common inspection flags.
- Insurance: a claim tied to unpermitted work is a harder conversation.
- Safety: the inspection is the only outside check on gas, venting and relief valves.
- Fix: existing unpermitted work can often be brought into compliance with a new permit and inspection.
01Definition
What does unpermitted mean, and what does it not mean?
It means the work was done without the building department's authorization and inspection. It does not mean the work is necessarily bad. It means nobody outside the installer checked it, and there is no record. For a homeowner the practical exposure is on three fronts: resale, insurance and safety.
What are the specific risks?
At resale, a buyer's inspector or the disclosure process surfaces unpermitted work, and the buyer either walks, lowers the offer or asks for it to be permitted retroactively. In an insurance claim, an adjuster may ask for the permit record on the water heater or the piping involved. On safety, an uninspected gas joint, an undersized vent or a relief valve piped to nowhere is a hazard with no one having looked at it.
02When it applies
Can old unpermitted work be corrected?
Often, yes. A new permit can be pulled for existing work and an inspection scheduled; the inspector looks at what can be seen and lists what has to be opened or corrected. The building department for your address sets the process. Done-Rite can evaluate what a previous contractor left and say what it would take.
What about work you are told does not need a permit?
Ask which jurisdiction and which code the person is relying on. If the answer is vague, the honest step is a call to the building department. The shop's standing answer: if you are unsure, it is best to give us a call; there are many things that require a permit that you would not think of.
03What goes wrong
What is the worst case?
A gas or venting mistake. Everything else on this page costs money; that one can cost more. The permit inspection is the only outside check that the appliance is vented and connected the way the code requires, which is why Done-Rite pulls the permit rather than quoting the job without one.
04Proof
- When a job needs a permit, Done-Rite pulls it and schedules the inspection.
- California CSLB C-36 licence #998069. Licensed, bonded and insured, with workers compensation.
- Six plumbers averaging more than 9 years in the trade each, plus a General Manager with 25+ years.
- Independent and family-owned in Orange County since 2014. Not a franchise.
05Action
Do it with the permit, or get the old work looked at
Done-Rite pulls the permit when one is required on every job it does, and can evaluate unpermitted work left by someone else. No trip charge for the visit.
//Please read
Educational guidance, not legal advice. Permit and code requirements are set by the building department with jurisdiction over your address and change on adoption cycles. Confirm current requirements with your city's building department before acting on anything here. Done-Rite pulls the permit when a job requires one.
Authority cited: the California Residential Code as adopted by your city, and California Business and Professions Code section 7030.5 (licence display). Reviewed by Dee Alkouri, General Manager, Done-Rite Plumbing & Rooter. Re-review trigger: any code adoption cycle or a change in Done-Rite's permit practice.
//Keep going
Learn
//Terms used in this guide
Where this applies
Done-Rite runs these calls across Orange County from its shop in Anaheim, CA, with no trip charge in any city it serves.
Common questions
Penalties, if any, are set by each city's building department. Done-Rite does not publish penalty amounts because they vary. The common outcome is a permit pulled after the fact and an inspection.
Done-Rite can evaluate it and tell you what it would take to bring it into compliance. Whether it can be permitted as-is is the building department's call.
