Sunday, August 22, 2010
Philadelphia electrical violations transfer with sale
Licensed Philadelphia PA electrician learns undiscovered historic L&I electrical violations pass through sale to new owner.
I just received a call from a property owner in Philadelphia.
He owns a small rental property. His family members live in the building, but he also has non-family tenants. They decided to stop paying their rent, so they filed a complaint with the Department of Licenses and Inspections. [You see, regardless of how long tenants haven't paid rent, an owner can't get an eviction order if the property is in violation of ANY aspect of the building and occupancy codes, including having illegally rented an unlicensed apartment to the tenants!]
What a nightmare!
Anyway, L&I comes and does what they are required to do, by law. Lo and behold there are violations!
The biggest problem? A previous owner had the electrical panels changed and several circuits installed ... but they had the electrical work performed by an unlicensed individual, with no Philadelphia electrical permit and no third-party underwriter's inspection.
It is apparent the materials involved in the work were not available at the time the house was originally built! ... and there is no inspection sticker at the panel location!
It doesn't matter that the work was done before the new owner purchased the property. The obviously illegal wiring has just now been revealed and the building is in violation. The new owner is subject to substantial DAILY fines until a permit is obtained and any defects in the illegal installation are corrected by a Philadelphia licensed electrician.
I just received a call from a property owner in Philadelphia.
He owns a small rental property. His family members live in the building, but he also has non-family tenants. They decided to stop paying their rent, so they filed a complaint with the Department of Licenses and Inspections. [You see, regardless of how long tenants haven't paid rent, an owner can't get an eviction order if the property is in violation of ANY aspect of the building and occupancy codes, including having illegally rented an unlicensed apartment to the tenants!]
What a nightmare!
Anyway, L&I comes and does what they are required to do, by law. Lo and behold there are violations!
The biggest problem? A previous owner had the electrical panels changed and several circuits installed ... but they had the electrical work performed by an unlicensed individual, with no Philadelphia electrical permit and no third-party underwriter's inspection.
It is apparent the materials involved in the work were not available at the time the house was originally built! ... and there is no inspection sticker at the panel location!
It doesn't matter that the work was done before the new owner purchased the property. The obviously illegal wiring has just now been revealed and the building is in violation. The new owner is subject to substantial DAILY fines until a permit is obtained and any defects in the illegal installation are corrected by a Philadelphia licensed electrician.
# posted by Bob @ 9:31 AM 
