More cities should take a page from Vegas

[mantis]

The city of Las Vegas has an amnesty program for homeowners that is pretty incredible. It allows owners to report any non-permitted or non-compliant work done within their home, and they can do so without the threat of fines. The homeowners are then able to get everything up to code and to obtain whatever permits they need. This process often takes place prior to the property going up for sale. A homeowner might not realize they've violated certain building codes until they reach that point, so it's nice to see your average citizen having a chance to make it right instead of being hit up for automatic penalties. Encouraging self-disclosure also saves the city money and it promotes safe housing. I think more cities should opt for a homeowners amnesty program. What do you think? Are there downsides that I've failed to consider?

 

[Winny]

The city of Las Vegas has an amnesty program for homeowners that is pretty incredible. It allows owners to report any non-permitted or non-compliant work done within their home, and they can do so without the threat of fines. The homeowners are then able to get everything up to code and to obtain whatever permits they need. This process often takes place prior to the property going up for sale. A homeowner might not realize they've violated certain building codes until they reach that point, so it's nice to see your average citizen having a chance to make it right instead of being hit up for automatic penalties. Encouraging self-disclosure also saves the city money and it promotes safe housing. I think more cities should opt for a homeowners amnesty program. What do you think? Are there downsides that I've failed to consider?

I didn't know that was a thing in Vegas, but I would love to see it implemented in other locations that have strict permitting rules. Everyone makes mistakes, some people will do unpermitted work not thinking and will in turn be in trouble for it later. So it's good having a system that wont penalize you, and will instead guide you to filing the proper permits to make your work in order.

I don't see any downsides to it myself.

 

[Jake]

Yes more cities should adopt a system like what Vegas has going here. I know there are people who will abuse the system, but I'm sure most of them just want to be able to build without issues. I'm glad they don't go the route of charging them a ton or forcing them to remove the work either. Allowing them to get a permit to make the work done legit, would make lives a lot easier for a lot of people.

 

[Nomad]

Not all people are that smart to seek permit before commencing anything, especially elderly people. Therefore, fining people for their ignorance is not a good idea. At least they should have a provision where people could go ahead with paper work without paying fines. I think the policy change in Vegas is really good.

 

[svjiminfxv]

More cities do need to have a system like Vegas. Unpermitted work can become an issue, so having a program like Vegas will stop trouble later down the line.

Overall, I don't see any downsides to this program.