Permitted vs.
unpermitted: the
real cost gap.

What going permitted actually costs

Permit fees, plan check time, and inspections — that's it. For most kitchen and bath remodels, that's a modest add to the project budget and a few weeks (or, on Express Permit scope, same-day) added to the schedule. It is not a fundamentally different construction cost; the walls, plumbing, and electrical get built the same way either way.

What going unpermitted actually risks

California Civil Code Section 1102 requires you to disclose known unpermitted work when you sell. Skip that disclosure and a buyer can sue you for the full cost of fixing it. Even with full disclosure, unpermitted work costs you in ways that compound:

• Lost appraised value. Unpermitted square footage typically doesn't count toward your home's appraised size, which shows up directly in your sale price.
• Title insurance exclusions. Standard policies can exclude coverage related to unpermitted work, which spooks buyers and their lenders.
• Buyer walk-aways. Once an inspection flags it, plenty of buyers simply move on rather than negotiate.
• Retroactive permit costs. Getting legal after the fact runs roughly $500–$2,000 in fees alone, plus whatever repairs the inspection turns up — and full removal of the work, if it comes to that, can run well over $12,000.

Add it up and unpermitted renovations are estimated to knock 5% to 20% off a home's market value — on a $1.5M LA home, that's a potential $75,000 to $300,000 problem born from a decision to save a few thousand dollars and a few weeks on the front end.

The part that surprises people: old work gets held to today's code

Retroactive permitting doesn't grandfather in the code that was current when the work was actually done. As-built plans get reviewed against 2026 building code, which means a kitchen remodeled in 2015 without permits might need real upgrades — not just paperwork — before it can pass final inspection today. The longer unpermitted work sits, the more expensive it usually gets to make right.

Why we don't offer the unpermitted option

We pull permits for anything LA requires a permit for, full stop — not because it's the cheaper path for us, but because it's the only version of the job that doesn't become your liability the day you decide to sell. If a contractor is offering to "save you the permit hassle," they're offering to hand you a bill with someone else's name and a much later due date on it.