City staff, realtors seek to reduce surprises for homebuyers by sharing permit search and permit-close procedures

Construction services staff briefed the council on January 28 about steps the city and the Greater Tampa Association of Realtors (GTAR) are taking to reduce situations in which a newly purchased home contains unpermitted work that the buyer discovers afterward. The presentation and public comment clarified city enforcement practice, a new administrative closing policy for older work, and limits set by state law.

At the meeting, JC Hudgison, construction services manager and chief building official, said construction services and code enforcement increasingly encounter property conditions discovered after sale and that educating the realty community is a practical first step. “We went to GTAR. We had about 45, 50 realtors present. We went over how to search for a permit, how to see this information,” Hudgison told the council, describing a January 14 seminar that provided permits look‑up instructions, staff contacts and guidance about “after‑the‑fact” permits.

The training aimed to…