Contractor let permits expire without notifying us...
Hi, We paid a contractor and his architect to file permits for us to convert two windows into doors, assumign they would do the work. I was told they were filed last fall. Since we didn’t want to do the renovation in the winter, I waited a few months then in March I asked the contractor for an updated quote and for the permits and did this repeatedly until finally in June he sent me the permits telling me they were approved in March but that they had already expired. He said this was because his insurance expired in June. He told me it would cost $100 to reapply for the permits. I told him he needed to cover this cost since he let 3 months go by without getting me a quote or even letting me know the permits were about to expire. After some wrangling he agreed to do this, but I still haven’t seen the updated permits so obviously I’d like to explore my options of having someone else do the job. My question is what’s the process for renewing the permits myself and am I obligated to use him since he filed the orignal permit? Thanks for your help.
edison
in Permits 12 years and 8 months ago
6
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6 replies
greenmountain | 12 years and 8 months ago
The type of insurance is Workers Compensation. It is required by law for all types of employees, but it is very expensive for contractors. It cost me almost $2,200 just to keep my policy open this year, before paying for even an hour of work. It costs 20% of payroll for each employee, even thought the work they do is rated at only 10%. The rate doubled in 4 years. So the sence of injustice is shared by contractors and clients. I know how to commit insurance fraud and so do many of you, but I don’t. Perhaps your contractor does not want to keep the policy open, because all his work is done by members of a partnership (LLC), for instance. There are many other clients who do not require permits. I think your contractor was reasonably asking you to pay the DOB fee and offering to spend some of his own time to wait on line. I don’t think an expeditor would do it for only $100.
masterbuilder | 12 years and 8 months ago
Every contractor has to renew all permits the same day the new, annual insurance policies kick in. (Having insurance expire with a loss of coverage is something altogether different. No insurance means no permits.)
edison | 12 years and 8 months ago
Thanks!
rodriguezstudio | 12 years and 8 months ago
Basically what Zampano said. Though just because you used the “contactor’s architect” doesn’t mean that the construction permit has to be issued to that specific contractor. That said, permits expire all the time, they have to be renewed, $100 is more than reasonable for this. Hey, at least he isn’t just plowing ahead ilegally without telling you.
edison | 12 years and 8 months ago
Thanks for the input. So what you’re saying is I pretty much have to use the guys who filed the permit, if I switch contractors I’ll have to pay more?
zampano | 12 years and 8 months ago
Permit status can be verified at nyc.gov – DOB BIS gives you the status of the permit. The best option you have is to pay the $100\. The contractor is actually absorbing most of the fees for the permit renewal. It sounds like what happened bewtween last fall and to date could be interpeted by the contractor as you held him up. Don’t ask, but that’s just how they are. If you switch architects, figure that it will cost you thousands.