Old Home - Reissuing C of O

[Ir3th0283]

Good Morning,
There's this lady who is helping her 90 year mother to rehab her 1982 home. Yuma County had requested any form of records to this property. I found out that I hold no records for the property, not even an actual permit nor any form of inspections or Certificate of Occupancy issuance. The property owner's daughter is requesting a C of O because Yuma County is requesting it in order to qualify for the Rehab Program. My Director is only accepting a C of O application and to pay the fee in order to issue the C of O, but I'm a feel a little iffy about this.

Any suggestions?

 

[W3 Planning and Research]

Good Morning,
There's this lady who is helping her 90 year mother to rehab her 1982 home. Yuma County had requested any form of records to this property. I found out that I hold no records for the property, not even an actual permit nor any form of inspections or Certificate of Occupancy issuance. The property owner's daughter is requesting a C of O because Yuma County is requesting it in order to qualify for the Rehab Program. My Director is only accepting a C of O application and to pay the fee in order to issue the C of O, but I'm a feel a little iffy about this.

Any suggestions?

When did your building code go into effect in Yuma County? Most rural counties in Arizona didn't even have building codes until 2000+-. You could use waht is called a "zonign clearance" which just said it met the requirements of the zoning code at that time as there were no other regulatios.

It is entirely possible that the home is a legal non-conforming condition as it relates to the buildign code and simply predated the code. That is where I would start looking and it likely the correct answer at the end of the day.

 

[Ir3th0283]

Good Afternoon David,
Not sure about Yuma County, but when I started working for City of Somerton in mid 2009, the city was using the 2003 IRC/IBC.
I have permit records up to 1993.

 

[W3 Planning and Research]

Good Afternoon David,
Not sure about Yuma County, but when I started working for City of Somerton in mid 2009, the city was using the 2003 IRC/IBC.
I have permit records up to 1993.

Sorry, I missed that. I was thinking that this was Yuma County for some reason. It likely predates building codes. I view it this way, if the jurisdiction cannot provide records to verify one way or the other, then the win goes to the citizen and I would declare it legal non-conforming with regards to the building code.

 

[Cass]

Why are you leaning towards not issuing the Certificate of Occupancy? Are you afraid that the house isn't up to code? Maybe it could be inspected after it's been rehabilitated? I'd say that will part of the rehabilitation process anyway.

 

[W3 Planning and Research]

Why are you leaning towards not issuing the Certificate of Occupancy? Are you afraid that the house isn't up to code? Maybe it could be inspected after it's been rehabilitated? I'd say that will part of the rehabilitation process anyway.

I don't think anyone can in good faith issue a C of O on a 40 year old house. What codes were in place? Inspections? You are attesting that the buildign was built 40 years ago, and met all code requirements at the time of construction, with zero records to back those facts up. Better to take a position that it is legal non-conforming and that the building code was not in place at that time. After the fact C of O's should only be done in exceedingly rare circumstances, and then only with significant engineering and evaluation of the structure. There are better ways to get them qualified for the grants necessary than attesting to the safety and stability of a 40 year old structure.

 

[High Voltage]

Look into the possibility of a grandfather clause. Many counties have this and in the case of many buildings, they are grandfathered into the system in order to get modern things done.

 

[alishna]

Good morning, thanks for sharing this. It sounds like a sensitive situation, especially with no records on file for the property. Since your Director is requesting a C of O application and fee, that may be the only formal path forward, but I’d recommend documenting your concerns in writing so it’s clear why the situation feels unusual. That way, the decision is transparent and you’re covered.

 

[Kimberly L]

Our readily available permit history including inspection history begins in 1961, and we have had a few instances where the home was not final inspected for a C of O. We will not issue a C of O but if needed will have the applicant pay for a Fire Life Safety inspection which states the inspections were and were not final inspected. It also states that this is a visual inspection for minim compliance of smoke/carbon and egress only.