Who Is Liable for Unpermitted Work in California?

10 min read · Last reviewed April 2026

The Property Owner's Responsibility

California cities and counties enforce building codes against the property owner. If the city discovers unpermitted work on your property, you — not the contractor — will receive the violation notice. You are responsible for bringing the property into compliance, regardless of who performed the work or when it was done.

This means that even if you bought the property with unpermitted work already in place, the city will look to you to resolve the issue. However, having responsibility to the city does not mean you cannot recover your costs from the party who actually caused the problem.

Contractor Liability

Licensed contractors in California are required to obtain all necessary permits before beginning work. A contractor who performs work without required permits may be liable for:

• Breach of contract: Most construction contracts implicitly or explicitly require code compliance
• Negligence: Failure to pull permits falls below the professional standard of care
• Violation of BPC §7090: California's contractor licensing statutes require permit compliance
• BPC §7031 claims: An unlicensed contractor forfeits all right to payment and must return everything paid
• Consumer protection violations: Performing work without permits may constitute an unfair business practice under Business and Professions Code §17200

Seller Liability

California's Transfer Disclosure Statement (TDS) requires sellers to disclose known material facts about the property, including known unpermitted work. Under Civil Code §1102 et seq., a seller who knows about unpermitted work and fails to disclose it to the buyer may be liable for:

• The cost of obtaining permits and bringing work up to code
• Diminished property value
• In some cases, rescission (unwinding) of the sale
• Attorney's fees if the purchase agreement provides for them

Real Estate Agent Liability

Real estate agents in California have a duty to conduct a reasonably competent visual inspection of the property. If an agent knew or should have known about unpermitted work and failed to disclose it, the agent may be independently liable to the buyer.

Previous Owner Liability

If the unpermitted work was done by a previous owner, your options depend on when you discovered the problem and whether disclosure obligations were met at the time of sale. Statute of limitations issues become critical in these cases.