Code enforcement violations, or regulatory infractions related to property condition, can bring with them a bundle of fines, legal problems, and challenges when trying to sell. Property values might drop after particular code violations, affecting those storing their wealth in real estate holdings, as these laws dictate what is legal and “correct” in a house.
They mainly break down into four categories: property maintenance, zoning, building and housing, and public nuisance.
There are four types of code violations the way I see it! I discuss them below:
- Property maintenance violations: Don’t keep up your shrubbery? Yup, you’ve got an overloaded attic, so they WON’T LET YOU LIVE HERE.
- Zoning violations: “Zoned” as primarily for the residence, but run a business on the side? They might not exactly “call the cops,” you may run into some other problems.
- Building and housing violations: Does your balcony collapse when you’re looking at a tree? Is there mold, lead, or some other kind of gross substance? Yeah, these kind of things will kind of have to be taken care of.
- Public safety violations: Rats in the yard? No, keep your kids away. There’s a general lack of cleanliness and other equivalent instances where you’re just being a danger to the public, a key danger being when they WILL fall off your decrepit balcony and GET hurt.
You can’t say your brother-in-law is gonna fix everything in a few hours. “I’m working on it!” won’t be enough, either. A small notice doesn’t mean they’re going to let up on you—these buildings bring a lot of bad energy and bad risk, so THEY WILL MEDITATE.
We Buy Houses AS IS, no matter what kind of condition you’re in; there’s no need to do expensive repairs that may bring you up to code standard, we don’t do any of that. We help people sell their house, you get to go on with your life. No more troubles!
What is a Code Enforcement Violation?
When a property owner fails to uphold local building codes, zoning laws, or other government regulations, a code violation occurs. Maintaining a lawn to reasonable aesthetic/safety/health standards is a base-level example of a set of regulations of the latter type; the more advanced the modification, the more likely that it is illegal.
Generically, that “it” is different from city to city makes about as much difference as the fact that it is the local “City Name” Code Enforcement as enforcement answers only to (and is managed by) local city government (as it is the top-level government responsible for civil populations, in the same logic that there is no single over-public environmental-control agency or health department), not state or other; property has a physical location that doesn’t move around, so immune to Jason Bourne-style jurisdiction shopping, and, even if there are minor differences, the principle of ownership is the same across all owners (of the same property type): the location must still be maintained in a manner that is both safe/healthy to occupy or be around and that does not contribute to a visible public nuisance.
Moving the property to another location that makes this difference is nearly always into another municipality—most owners will sit back, let it sit (depending on what “it” is), and let the local government find a reason to condemn it first, if they are really that unhappy or upside-down with the property; but, if the target location is not in another city, the only other option is to sell it and cut ties altogether, if wanted—is also why cities enforce codes: if you own property, you have a legally implied duty to maintain that property per local legal requirements. Faithfully adhering to duty prevents fine incursion, fines incurring negatively impact NEP (same as a rotten property not selling well if the owner hasn’t—and will greatly help if the local government hasn’t—kept the property and legality of the property modifications up to par with the local city’s building code), and faithfulness is a (virtually always positive) measure of quality of the personality, but the owner also successfully realizes this legally implied quality if actually understood (and virtually all likely will), so…
Common Types of Code Enforcement Violations in Washington State
Property maintenance issues are one of the most common types of bylaw violations. It’s easy to spot them—signs of property maintenance issues are in the form of untrimmed trees or lawns, a fallen fence, or an almost-dilapidated property. Ugly as they may be, property maintenance violations are not simply just an eyesore—they can lower the values of neighboring properties, become a safety matter as a haven for illegal activities, or attract pests.
Zoning violations occur when a property operates a business in a residential area or builds a house that is too tall for regulation. Cities and towns zone areas into residential, commercial, industrial, and other types of zones. When a property changes its function or when new zones are added to a city, it may make the zoning codes for the property non-compliant. Code enforcement for these situations is somewhat tricky. While fairly obvious, these are factors that can alter a neighborhood’s fate.
Building and housing violations are also related to safety issues, and they encompass non-compliant efforts to not get renovations approved or not to follow fire safety codes in a living situation. Many officials have lost their job because of this noncompliant violation. This violation is also a serious safety concern, as the consequences of poorly constructed or unmaintained buildings or homes can be lethal.
Public safety hazards are a wide-ranging category. These involve poor lighting system situations, exit signs being placed incorrectly or not intuitively, or hazardous situations that can arise from improper safety equipment or waste disposal methods. Addressing these violations is vital because the standards set by the community have been overridden. Public welfare depends on the correction of public health violations.
Property Maintenance Issues
Common property maintenance problems include an overgrowth of weeds, trash, and debris. Weeds might thrive in the garden or lawn, depriving other plants of the sustenance they need to survive. It also simply doesn’t look good to approach a home and see the concrete sidewalk, patio, or cracks in the driveway riddled with dandelion stalks.
There might be similar problems with excess trash and debris, which are most certainly disturbing to look at and could pose additional dangers to one’s personal health on top of ruining someone’s day. A dirty home also brings down the rest of the neighborhood, in addition to yours truly home, since local law enforcement (or your home association committee) might have something to say about it.
Uncut grass and overgrown weeds may not horrify every guest, and you would expect just about every guest to refrain from visiting, but it will scare the daylights out of local realtors, and potentially all the tourists they accompany. Every one of these realtors probably deals with a few local homes for sale and rent in the area. You can never be quite sure if you truly know who is going to decide to live in one of these homes until it is sold.
Piles of trash and debris can be harmful or fatal to nearby neighbors and pets, as pests that transmit diseases can be attracted to the garbage pile. Neighbors and informers of the law may know about static piles of trash (or heaps) in the house, on the lawn, or in the streets only when a fly or raccoon has already done so, however.
Dirty homes and neighborhoods worsen the living situations of people in the area. If one home is dirty, it brings down the price for all homes in a zip code. If one zip code is dirty, that brings down its city. The state will promote high prices for homes and rent but could never get away with doing so if the press were to catch wind of a story on how people could buy a house in the state’s city for the price of free! Property owners who maintain their homes can also help create a setting that everyone enjoys more.
Zoning Infractions
Zoning laws have been created by local governments to control how land is used within their area of jurisdiction. The existence of the zoning laws is seen as being crucial if order is to be maintained within an urban planning context.
Thus areas have been defined as being suitable for residential, commercial, or industrial uses. Anyone wishing to use a piece of land for an inappropriate activity must obtain a variation of use permission from the local government or local community. Such variances are normally given only for the duration of the defined inappropriate activity.
The intention of creating zoning laws has been to create an urban environment within which an absence of conflict is maintained. The conflict can be created if (say) an owner/operator of a factory decides to build a house next to a factory site. The factory owner lives quietly in the home but operates, next door, a piece of industrial equipment that when operating does so in an extremely noisy manner.
In the first example, zoning laws apply to the operation of a machine from a zoning perspective, not a noise structure perspective. The city bylaws with respect to the creation of noise apply over the entire city area. The factory described that contains the machine could easily be deemed to be safely operated in the previously described residential area, but it applies only in any industrially zoned area.
Building and Housing Violations
Building codes and housing regulations provide the framework for the construction or alteration or any type of housing. They are designed to protect the safety, health, and general welfare of the people living in these homes. They set the minimum acceptable standards of work with respect to the building trades including; structural, fire safety, plumbing, and electrical (to name a few). This is to ensure that at an absolute minimum the building is safe to live in. But, more importantly, to make sure that we are constantly raising the bar on the standards of workmanship to increase the livability and safety of our homes, businesses, and any other public places.
Once again, you may be saying, “So what?” But here’s the thing; building without a permit can result in some pretty serious consequences. At best, you may have to pay a hefty fine to your local government. Or, you may have to do some major repairs to the home, up to and possibly including, tearing down the home entirely.
From a less severe standpoint, the house could just be dangerous to live in. The person who did the work could have installed an electrical outlet incorrectly. They may have cut away a massive part of a load-bearing wall causing the potential for the home to literally collapse. And there may be a section of missing insulation, therefore pushing all of your conditioned air to the outside.
Public Safety Hazards
Public safety hazards are things that could be dangerous to a community’s public health or safety. Some examples are open wells, where accidental drownings could occur, and hazardous debris (broken glass or sharp metal, etc). These typically come out of neglect, lack of upkeep, or ignorance on what certain objects or conditions could lead to, which is why it is very important that these are taken care of so no they don’t turn into accidents.
The fear of being potentially injured or subject to some harmful condition can deter a group of people who might otherwise use or have a stake in a public lot to leave the area alone, inhibiting their ability to effectively participate or contribute to the community. A simple solution to this is to make voluntary (or political, to implement policies as law) community campaigns that promote public upkeep and maintenance.
There is nothing more important in government and public safety than making sure the community that we are a part of and the facilities that make up that community is safe to use and interact with.
Consequences of Ignoring Code Enforcement Violations
When a person fails to comply with local regulations or fails to pay fines and fees, a number of important legal issues come up.
For one, not being in compliance usually means the city or county will issue a citation for those violations. Once those citations are issued, fines start to rack up. The amount of those fines will vary from one place to another and will also depend on what kind of violation a person has. But the more you get and the longer they go unpaid, the more they rack up.
The second, and perhaps much bigger issue for a lot of people, is the fact that very often, if you don’t pay your fines, that city or county will also place a lien on the property in the amount of the unpaid fines. So, not only do you need to worry about racking up fines, but if you don’t pay those fines, a lien will also be put on your property.
Lastly, the other major result of both of those things (having to pay fines and having a lien on your property) is that the property’s value and marketability take a big hit. When a property has liens on it, this significantly diminishes the property’s value and marketability. A lot of people that might otherwise have been interested in the property will immediately turn it down because of the outstanding issues with the property and a lot of people simply do not want to assume the risk of having to take on a property with a lot of legal issues to clean up. There’s really nothing a person can do about this except to pay off those fines and move to become into compliance with local ordinances and regulations.
How to Address Code Enforcement Violations
Confronting property owners accused of violating code have several options to gain a positive outcome. Begin by visually and mentally understanding the stated problem. A proactive approach will offer a chance to first comprehend the issues at hand fully. The scope of the problem might be both mechanical and structural based on building codes, zoning, or innocuous health and safety laws.
A call to the local building official should be used to clarify that the violation was correctly cited, or to start a discussion on the issue. This call initiates an “I care, want to comply, and resolve the issue” attitude.
This is also when to establish a cordial rapport with the building official. While you might not like his/her compliance requirement, having a high-profile conversation identifies progress. Retaining the same inspector working the case before a discussion is also useful. When the inspector prefers to resolve an “either/or” issue, retaining him throughout the enforcement process should finish the job better. A plan will develop through effective communication. The approach is toward achieving the desired compliance result.
Resolution might mean hiring licensed contractors to demonstrate a legal or mechanical problem exists. Or, that you seek professional advice to locate and claim variances, exemptions, zoning conditions that apply to this specific dwelling unit. Obtaining proper permits required to demonstrate mechanical integrity has been installed is required. A defensive attitude or public position challenges authority as community members were enlisted to join you in the protest. At least, declaring a logical position on enforcement appeared reasonable.
Selling Properties with Code Violations
Homeowners who want to sell their properties contend with a host of issues if their buildings have code enforcement violations, which can range from small unpermitted renovations to unsafe buildings that the local municipality wants to see demolished. These homeowners may struggle to find a buyer because most buyers don’t want to purchase someone else’s issues. The local municipality and other authorities will press the homeowner to comply. This pressure may escalate, and the homeowner may issues additional monetary penalties in the form of fines, eventually being forced to go to court and forcing the homeowner to fight a losing battle costing tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars all the way. You can avoid these worst-case scenarios by selling to the business partner of We Buy Houses As Is. We buy houses for cash. As professional buyers, we bring peace, quiet, and clarity to the homeowner experiencing a tough predicament. Many homeowners want to sell their home because they have something else going on in their life, whether it be a failing job, a quickly changing family situation, or the general need to move on. Choosing to sell “as is” also gives property owners the ability to skip the legal and logistical nuances of selling a traditional property, leaving more time to focus on what truly brings joy.
For any property owner, understanding and addressing code enforcement violations should be a high priority. These violations can result from many circumstances: perhaps someone neglected maintenance, a landlord or investor ignored zoning laws, or a homeowner completed a project without pulling the necessary permits.
Whatever the case, violations can carry enormous fines and civil penalties, and potentially cause one to lose their property indefinitely. Thus, being aware of the zoning laws, building codes, etc. in the areas that you live, rent, or sell properties can be sound advice for maintaining property values and fostering a more attractive, safe-to-live environment.
This ties back into real estate because it’s also about community — you should want to be involved in your local communities and pride yourself in staying resourceful and up-to-date on local discourse. Regularly inspecting and performing preventative maintenance tasks on your properties — your job is to catch issues before they become code violations. If DIY property management isn’t for you, you do have other options!
Consult with We Buy Houses As Is and get the help you need to avoid these circumstances. We can buy selling properties and repair property damage reliably and as quickly as humanly possible. Avoid paying the unnecessary toll, the chaos and disorder, and the eviction or foreclosure nightmares.