COMPLAINTS AND VIOLATIONS SECTION

WHO WE ARE:

The Complaints & Violations Section is currently comprised of a Supervising Building Inspector, field inspectors and an administrative staff. We respond to complaints from various sources including the Community Assistance and Resource Center, the Sacramento County Nuisance Response Team, the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors & other County staff and the general public. In this way, we offer the County of Sacramento and the general public a resource whereby complaints are researched and investigated and violations cited to maintain and improve the quality and safety of construction. We enforce all of the California State Building*, Electrical*, Plumbing* and Mechanical* Codes^, California Administrative Code*^, Sacramento County Administrative Code* and the Sacramento Nuisance Code* which are all a part of the Sacramento County Code*, Chapter (Title) 16* that are pertinent to the construction industry.

SCOPE OF WORK

Types of complaints investigated:

• Work in progress without benefit of permit
   
• Work completed without benefit of permit
  Examples: New bedroom addition, remodel of a restaurant, reroofs & patio covers and garage conversions.
   
• Change in Use or Occupancy without benefit of permit
  Examples: Warehouse to office space, warehouse to church, storage to smog shop and dwelling to commercial use.

To Report a Possible Violation, Please Contact
The County of Sacramento,
Community Assistance and Resource Center
(916) 875-5656

THE PROCESS

When we receive a referral, we check to see if the property owner in fact has a permit. If the situation requires a permit, a property background is generated from the County Assessor’s database to determine the current ownership. An investigation request is given to the field Inspector to visit the site to assess whether a violation exists or not. In the case that a violation does exist a Notice of Violation (NOV) or an Order to Stop Work is issued at the site and/or mailed to the current property owner.

When a Notice of Violation or Stop Work Order is received it is processed as soon as possible. A compliance case is started on each and a parcel tag is placed against the property reflecting the Code Violation cited. In situations requiring more in-depth research, the Records Department researches the historical archives, and /or the Assessor’s Office may be contacted for information on the historical tax records. Other research conducted in the course of violation case processing may include examination of aerial photos contained in the County’s archives or more recent photos within the database. Our Complaints & Violations section interfaces with all relevant County departments in the course of the investigations we conduct.

If a property does not show progress towards compliance within a prescribed period a lien may be placed against the property, which will cloud the title and stop any attempt to refinance or sell the property. If the property is found to still not have a permit or has not removed the violation, a Code Violation Courtesy Notice may be sent, advising the owner of the consequences of failing to address the matter which may include filing against the owner through the Sacramento County Counsel's Office or the District Attorney’s Office or both for legal action.

When the required permit addressing the Violation case is submitted then the case is placed on hold. The parcel tag is removed, the data system is updated to reflect the current status, and the entire file is closed once the permit is Finaled.

* May not be the current adopted code.  There is a lag time between code adoption and the time it takes for the code to go online. 

^ Sacramento County uses the latest California code edition.