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This is just one of many such stories over the years about extra living space being built in the backyard, whether standalone or a garage conversion or a treehouse or an added second story, etc. In some cities, the bureaucrats have gone to extraordinary lengths to make such living space additions as burdensome, as expensive, and in some cases as illegal as possible. Should you encounter a property with the possibility that such extra living space might have been added in the hopes the local bureaucracy wouldn’t notice or would look the other way, or possibly in open defiance of obsessive regulators, you might find it worthwhile to check out the legal and permit history of such additions — BEFORE taking on the deal.–Dee
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Rafael, I generally take a rather generic approach to finding out “anything.” In the case of legal and permit history, I’d first run an online search to see if there was any news coverage of such disputes from the relevant city — to give me some idea if there were specifics to be aware of. Then I’d simply phone the city’s administrative office and go into my “Who should I speak with to find out this ______?” routine. That question is highly recycleable as I get passed from person to person until I get a useful “hit.”In the case of a city, their relevant department might be called something like “Construction and Permits” or any of a dozen other names, and it may or may not be hidden inside some other division. Instead of wasting much time trying to guess, let them tell you the where and who.
–Dee
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