Confirm Not Only Permit Issued But Construction Completed

Question: When we purchased our East Valley home, the Seller’s Property Disclosure Statement (“SPDS”), line 150, said that there was a permit from the City of Chandler for the construction of the 2,000-square-foot detached garage. The SPDS, line 155, said that the detached garage had been “completed.” We want to use this detached garage for our collector cars and for an art studio. We recently learned, however, that although a permit from the City of Chandler was granted to build the detached garage, there was never a certificate of completion for the detached garage from the City of Chandler. For a certificate of completion now for the detached garage, the City of Chandler is requiring that we make significant repairs, e.g., the entire interior of the detached garage needs dry wall, the defective siding needs to be replaced, and the exposed wiring needs to be corrected. Do we have a claim against the seller for the cost of these significant repairs?

Answer: Probably. Even if there had been a permit for the detached garage, apparently there had never been a final inspection and certification of completion from the City of Chandler. Therefore, you should have a claim against your seller for non-disclosure of the lack of approval by the City of Chandler of the completion of the detached garage. The seller should have to pay you for the cost to complete the detached garage.