San Mateo Code Enforcement Gone Wild: $27,000 and $147,000 in investigation fees for remodelled kitchens and bathroom v

San Mateo Code Enforcement Gone Wild: $27,000 and $147,000 in investigation fees for replaced kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities

Do you know that if you replace your garbage disposal and a light fixture without a permit you are now liable for a permit fee of at least $300 plus $3000 in investigation fees? That replacing some 100 ft of linoleum in the kitchen requires a building permit?
According to Miles Hancock, San Mateo County building official, replacing linoleum is “a major safety issue” for which you must get a permit or risk a $3000 investigation fee.
San Mateo County building ordinance that became effective in 2014 goes above and beyond the call of California code and gives any Code Enforcement officer the right to come to your house without a warrant (not letting him in promptly is a misdemeanor) and cite you for a violation requiring you to pay the permit fee plus investigation fees of up to 10 times the permit fee. According to Hancock, the investigation fee cannot be waived and applies strictly to each major violation, such as linoleum replacement.
Sounds absurd? Sadly, two property owners in North Fair Oaks area found themselves to be the unsuspecting targets of the county’s new aggressive policies. One owner had replaced kitchen cabinets, some sinks, some garbage disposals, a few bathroom vanities and two lights in his 9 studio units over the last 5-6 years. The investigation fee assessed in 2017 is $27,000.00. Similarly, another owner, two blocks away, had bought a 48 unit property that came with recently updated cabinets, some updated vanities, and a couple of newer entry doors. Code enforcement came knocking in late 2016. According to Hancock, he intends to collect the code violation investigation fees of $147,000.00 on that building. Neither investigation found any health or safety issues inside any of the cited units.
“I am devastated,” said one tenant, “my landlord said that he will have to pass on the fees to the tenants in the form of a rent increase, I cannot afford that.” Many of the area tenants are long time residents and have enjoyed lower than market rate rents.
Over the last 2 years, code enforcement has become a major revenue raising tool of the county. The locally mandated fines bear no relation to the investigation costs as required by California law. In San Mateo county, a building officer has more power than police. The building officer needs no search warrant, no probable cause, and not even an allegation of a safety violation to get inside your house. Is it 1984? No, it is 2017 in San Mateo county.

Join us in the fight, please email Maria Rutenburg
mrutenburg@gmail.com