This minor problem can cause a glitch in a mortgage loan if not cured in timely fashion. Securing a change in the certificate of occupancy may require the services of an attorney who specializes in real estate. Things to watch out for You may be shown a certificate of occupancy. Detached garages can pose special problems. If a premises has a detached garage, a separate certificate of occupancy almost always is required.
Some cities require an inspection upon the sale of any residential property.
City inspectors from the building and safety department then check out the building for any illegal construction work such as the addition of an extra bathroom or new lighting. If original permits and plans have been lost, as sometimes happens, a C.O. from a particular date may be the only way of convincing the city agency not to require the work be brought up to current code standards. Sometimes, a certificate of occupancy will show a garage or other structure, as will the survey and the survey reading. In such an event, typically, the certificate of occupancy should have been properly amended. The building inspector is not obliged to utilize the code provisions in force at the time that the structure was erected, but rather the then-current codes, which may require expenditure of a substantial amount of money and effort in bringing the building up to code.