WolfTeam News

In Anchorage, Alaska is any real estate “grandfathered in?”

In real estate sales, most sales have a property inspection. Many times inspections reveal aspects of the property that the owners have lived with, and may have not known about or didn’t consider them to be a problem. 

Can zoning or code issues be grandfathered in?

Sometimes it is a survey ordered as part of the purchase agreement that discovers a problem.

When the buyers inspector comes around citing a code issue and calling for the repair, sellers often cry foul and the question of grandfather rights can come up.

First, what are “grandfather rights?”   The common interpretation of the terms means that “something that was once permitted in the law can continue to be, although the law or rule has changed.“  Generally, new construction must be built with the new code.  Depending on the situation, a grandfather right mean the condition can remain unless the property is sold or over 50% damaged, in which case it would have to be repaired to the new code.

In the case of a property, or property addition,  built without a building permit, our municipal authorities will handle it on a case by case basis.  If the addition or structure was built after zoning was in place, but a permit was not issued, they can require the structure to comply with the code, even if it means removing part of the structure to return to code compliance.  The cost of code compliance is rarely a consideration to the Zoning Enforcement officials. 

If the building or addition was built before zoning was in place, it may fall under grandfather rights since the built before there was a code in place.  However, if the property suffered a fire or other disaster, it would have to be re-built in accordance with the current code.  The Municipality of Anchorage has an interesting web page that speaks to the issue of “non-conforming” or grandfather rights.

There are many cases of code changes inside the home.  If the code is considered “health or safety”there are no “grandfather clauses” I am aware of.  Occasionally the code itself will call for properties after a certain date meet a particular requirement.  Most code infractions are found at the time of sale during the inspection process. 

Many sellers desire to sell “as-is” and not have to make code changes to their property.  One of the difficult aspects to this situation is that most lenders won’t allow a loan to close with life and safely violations.  This means the buyers loan can’t close without the repair being done.  If the seller insists they won’t make the code change, they may lose the buyer.  On later sales they now would have to disclose the code condition to new buyers, possibly deferring the same negotiation to the next transaction.

Examples of code changes that aren’t grandfathered and may be required to meet code for life and safety can include instillation of smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors, bedroom egress window size and height and sometimes even the lack of sheet rock behind old paneling or under the stairs in the case of older split level stairs. Another common example might be GFCI breakers in the kitchen, bathrooms, garage and exterior electrical outlets. 

Codes are often developed as the result of fires, earthquakes and other disasters.  In the case of window heights and the size of the window opening, the code changed several times in the last decade.  It took a fire a the death of it’s occupants before local zoning determined that the code must be adhered to.  There would be no “grandfather clause” for the owners of the property.