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Inherited Someone Else's Unpermitted Bathroom? Here's What It Means for You, and How to Fix It.
It usually surfaces at the worst time: during a sale, an insurance claim, or when we open a wall. The good news is Florida law protects buyers more than most people think. The problem still stays with the house until someone fixes it.
Licensed & Insured · Every Permit Pulled · Serving Sarasota County Since 2018
Quick Answer
Am I responsible for a previous owner's unpermitted work?
Generally not personally. Since 2019, Florida Statute §553.79 bars building departments from penalizing a buyer for permits a previous owner left open and didn't disclose. But unpermitted bathroom work stays attached to the property: it can complicate insurance claims, show up in a buyer's lien search, and must be permitted or corrected before it's fully resolved.
The Liability Question
Why Does Unpermitted Bathroom Work Stay With the Property?
Because the building department's records are tied to the parcel, not the person. Florida gave buyers real protection in 2019: under §553.79, a local building department can't deny you a new permit, cite you, or charge you fees just because a previous owner left an open permit you didn't know about. Enforcement stays with the original permit holder and contractor.
That protection has limits. It covers permits the seller left open without telling you, for an arm's-length buyer. It doesn't make the work itself safe or legal. If code enforcement had already cited the property and recorded a fine, Florida Statute §162.09 makes that recorded order a lien against the land. And an insurance adjuster looking at a leak from a shower that never had a pan inspection may ask hard questions no matter who built it.
So the honest answer is: you're usually not in trouble, but the house is carrying a problem, and the longer it sits, the more likely it surfaces at a bad moment.
What We Find
What Does Unpermitted Work Look Like in Sarasota Bathrooms?
These are the patterns we see most often when we open up bathrooms in older Sarasota homes and quick-flip houses.
A bathroom in a former lanai or garage
Very common in 1950s-1970s ranch homes. The Florida room got enclosed, then a half bath got added, often tied into the drain line without a vent and sometimes without a permit for either step.
A tiled shower with no real pan
Tile over drywall or green board, no liner, no flood test. It looks fine for a few years, then the subfloor or the CBS wall behind it starts to rot or grow mold. Here's how a shower should be waterproofed.
Moved fixtures with no trail
A patch in the terrazzo where the toilet used to be, or a vanity on a wall with no vent pipe above it. Moving a drain even a few inches is a plumbing permit.
Electrical shortcuts
No GFCI protection near water, an exhaust fan vented into the attic instead of outside (a mold problem in our humidity), or lights wired off an extension of another circuit.
Worried about work you can't see?
We'll pull the permit history for your address and look at the bathroom before you decide anything.
Know Which Problem You Have
Open Permits, Expired Permits, and No Permit: What's the Difference?
| Situation | What it means | Usual fix |
|---|---|---|
| Open permit | A permit was issued but never got its final inspection | Schedule the missing inspection, or reopen and finish it |
| Expired permit | Work stalled long enough that the permit lapsed | Renew or re-permit, then inspect. Permits over 6 years old can sometimes be closed if there's no apparent safety hazard (§553.79) |
| Never permitted | The work happened with no permit at all | After-the-fact permit with inspections, or remove and redo it under a new permit |
Open permits are the ones that stall Sarasota closings most often, because title companies routinely search for them. They're also usually the easiest to fix. Never-permitted work is harder, because an inspector can't sign off on what they can't see. That often means opening a wall or floor.
Cleaning It Up
How Do You Fix Work That Was Never Permitted?
Pull the Permit History
Search your address on the City of Sarasota or Sarasota County permit portal, or ask us to. Note any open, expired, or missing permits.
Inspect What's There
We check the shower pan, drain and vent, wiring, and ventilation, and tell you whether it's worth saving or not.
Permit It or Redo It
Sound work gets an after-the-fact permit and inspections. Bad work gets replaced under a new permit, often as part of a remodel you were planning anyway.
Close It Out
Final inspection passed, permit closed, and the paperwork goes in your file for your insurer and your future buyer.
Buying or Selling
What If You're Buying or Selling a Sarasota Home With Unpermitted Work?
If you're buying
Ask for the permit history during your inspection period, and compare it with what you see. A newly redone bathroom with no permit on record is a question to ask the seller in writing. We're happy to look at a bathroom before you close and give you a real repair number to negotiate with.
If you're selling
Florida sellers generally have to disclose known defects that materially affect a home's value. Closing out old permits before listing is usually faster and cheaper than negotiating over them with a buyer's attorney in the middle of a closing. Talk to your agent or a real estate attorney about your disclosure.
Buyers moving to Sarasota from out of state tend to bring thorough inspectors and cautious lenders. In our experience, unpermitted bathroom work is one of the most common items that comes up in inspection-period negotiations. It's rarely a deal-breaker when it's handled early.
Where We See It
Where Is Unpermitted Work Most Common in Sarasota?
Every neighborhood has some. These are the patterns that show up again and again, by area.
Enclosed lanais and Florida rooms
Gulf Gate, The Meadows, South Sarasota
1970s-1980s homes where the screened lanai got enclosed and a half bath was added off the back. The room may be permitted and the bathroom not, or neither. See Gulf Gate and The Meadows.
Investor flips
Gillespie Park, Arlington Park, North Sarasota
Quick cosmetic rehabs over the last decade: new tile and a new vanity covering galvanized supply lines, cast-iron drains, and a shower with no real pan. Looks new, tests old. See Gillespie Park and Arlington Park.
Decades of layered repairs
Laurel Park, Rosemary District, Indian Beach
1940s-1960s homes with 70+ years of owners. Plaster patches, a toilet moved during the 1980s, wiring added in the 1990s, and nothing on file for most of it. See Laurel Park and Rosemary District.
Older homes in flood zones
Siesta Key, Longboat Key, Bird Key
Unpermitted improvements matter more here, because flood-zone rules track what's been spent on a building. Undocumented past remodels can complicate the "50% rule" math on your next project. See Siesta Key and Longboat Key.
Questions We Get
Unpermitted Work and Open Permit Questions
You generally aren't personally penalized for it. Florida Statute §553.79 bars building departments from citing or charging a buyer for permits a previous owner left open and didn't disclose. But the work stays with the property until it's permitted or corrected, and it can affect insurance claims and your eventual sale. The fix is usually an after-the-fact permit or redoing the work under a new permit.
Yes. The City of Sarasota and Sarasota County both allow permits for work already done, but the inspector has to be able to verify it. That often means opening part of a wall or floor so they can see the plumbing, venting, wiring, or shower pan. If the work doesn't meet code, it has to be corrected.
It can. If a leak or failure traces back to work that was never permitted or inspected, the insurer may question the claim. Policies differ, so read yours and talk to your agent. Permitting or redoing the work removes that question.
Search your address on the City of Sarasota permitting portal if you're inside City limits, or Sarasota County's online permitting system if you're in unincorporated County. The results show permits by status. We can also pull it for you before we quote any work.
Sometimes. Since 2019, Florida law lets building departments close residential permits that have been open for more than six years if there's no apparent safety hazard. Newer ones usually need the missing inspection or a new permit to close them.
This page is general information based on Florida statutes and our experience, not legal advice. For disclosure, lien, or title questions, talk to a Florida real estate attorney.
Found unpermitted bathroom work? Get a straight answer on whether to permit it or redo it.
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You're here
Unpermitted Work From a Previous Owner
Open permits, liens, resale, and how to fix it.
What Doesn't Need a Permit
Cosmetic work, the gray areas, and the six-inch rule.
Ready to Start?
Let's Talk About
Your Bathroom.
When it comes to bathroom remodeling Sarasota homeowners deserve straight answers, licensed work, and a crew that pulls every permit and finishes what they start.
Free in-home consultation. No commitment. We'll look at your space, tell you what we see, including what's behind the walls if it matters, and give you a realistic picture of scope and cost before you decide anything.
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