Homeowner wiring in NJ

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JohnE

JohnE

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Location
Milford, MA
Can any of you New Jersey guys tell me if a homeowner is allowed in NJ to obtain a permit and perform their own wiring. Owner occupied, 1 family. And if yes, can individual townships legally disallow it?

I ask because I thought I read here on the forum that you can, but my brother-in-law says that his town does not allow it.

Thanks in advance,

John
 
Yes, it is permitted. As far as I know some townships try to keep you from obtaining a permit but legally they cannot. What is the permit for?
 
j_erickson said:
Trevor, thanks. It would be for renovating a kitchen.
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Although I would rather hear that this work will be done by a licensed contractor, ;) I'm completely against certain townships trying to enact their own rules. The permit can be obtained as an exempt contractor (the homeowner). He should fight them. Tell him good luck with the project.
 
John,

I just want to add to Trevor's response. Homeowners may obtain permits to do work on their own 1-family (and I believe 2-family) houses. Unless there's a specific ordinance in a township that prevents a homeowner from doing his own work, the state of NJ allows this. When you get into multi-family houses and small commercial establishments that's where the problems arise. Owners (in general) believe that as long as they own the property they can do what they wish. Under no circumstances can non-licensed electricians here in NJ do commercial work.

Getting back to the subject though and a funny story, I met an inspector on a job yesterday that apologized for being late. The reason he was late was because he had been to a new residence where an electrical contractor had installed a 200 amp service but the homeowner had done all the internal wiring (to save money I guess). There were so many code violations that he told the customer to get a pad walk around with him and write down all the violations. The homeowner asked why he was in violation.....he followed all the instructions in "The Book". When the inspector asked "what book" the homeowner replied "The Basics of Home Wiring" that he purchased in one of the big box stores !!!

Make sure the person you're referring to knows what he/she is doing before they start out. The inspector has the right to have them rip out the wiring if it is unsafe or not done to the letter of the code.
 
Goldstar,

Thanks. My brother in law does know what he's doing for the most part, but will call me several times a day to ask some detailed question. He's helped me do some wiring in the past. There is no local ordinance, but the inspector there refuses to issue a permit to ho. So guess what. Job's being done without permit. It's not a big enough issue for my brother in law to fight the fight. Officials are playing dirty, and so now so is my BIL.

John
 
Make sure he's discrete about what's going on both inside and outside his house (i.e no dumpsters in front of his house, contractors' trucks outside, etc). Some towns, like Fort Lee, have inspectors that just ride around the township looking for contractors' trucks parked in driveways. They'll actually stop their cars and go up and ring the doorbell to ask if the contractor is doing any work that requires a permit. If you're just changing out a light fixture - no problem. If you're renovating a kitchen, the consequences can become more than a slap on the wrist.
 
Here in my area of NY, they cannot stop a homeowner (owner occupied) of a single family residence from getting an electrical permit, but they require an exam first. Essentially, you have to be an electrician (or similar knowledge) to pass.
 
j_erickson said:
Goldstar,

Thanks. My brother in law does know what he's doing for the most part, but will call me several times a day to ask some detailed question. He's helped me do some wiring in the past. There is no local ordinance, but the inspector there refuses to issue a permit to ho. So guess what. Job's being done without permit. It's not a big enough issue for my brother in law to fight the fight. Officials are playing dirty, and so now so is my BIL.

John
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Too bad he does not have the desire to fight the intrusion of big government. But many people are in the same boat. It is tough to want to fight the good fight over minor issues like this. It is easier to just do it without bothering to get a permit. And quite understandable.

They follow up on every permit so they can raise your assessment. You can bet your assessment will go up the next year after any permit is issued.

I was stupid enough to pay the 50 cents to get a fence permit once. Even though I would not normally have been scheduled for reassessment the next year, guess who got reassessed? Want to bet what direction property taxes went? All over a few hundred dollars worth of fencing materials.
 
I was stupid enough to pay the 50 cents to get a fence permit once. Even though I would not normally have been scheduled for reassessment the next year, guess who got reassessed? Want to bet what direction property taxes went? All over a few hundred dollars worth of fencing materials.
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But how do you expect to get all the great services you get from our wonderful government employees if they don't take in enough money to pay decent wages to their employees? :rolleyes:
 
Thanks for all the replies.

It really bugs me when an inspector refuses to follow the rules adopted. Whether it's "making up" codes, enforcing personal ideas, or in the permitting process. Maybe they should spend more time fighting the guys doing jobs without a permit, than fighting those who are trying to do the right thing.
 
petersonra said:
They follow up on every permit so they can raise your assessment. You can bet your assessment will go up the next year after any permit is issued.
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That's not exactly true...

After completeing your project AND calling for a final, within 30 days file a [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]Form E/A-1[/SIZE][/FONT]

The E/A-1 gives you a 5 year hold on the tax increase.
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]5 Year Property Tax Abatements and Exemptions[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]Under the 5-Year Abatement and Exemption Law, an ordinance may provide for abatement and/or exemption for new construction of dwellings, conversion or conversion alteration into dwelling use, and improvement to an existing dwelling.[/SIZE][/FONT]
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It is important to note:
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]"....an ordinance may provide ..."
[/SIZE][/FONT]...which means NOT all towns participate in this program?[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]
[/SIZE][/FONT]
The "trick" is:
NEVER CALL FOR A FINAL ;)
...and I know people that never call, they plan to call for this final before they sell their property - completely avoiding ANY new assessment and passing the increase onto the new HO.


petersonra,
did they ever actually come out and inspect the fence job?
I know in my town they do NOT. The permit issued is not a building permit, but a zoning permit.
 
While reading the posts, i was supprised that, the idea of getting a permit will increase your tax, is still the battle cry, for not getting permits, the cost of not permitting, can be a lot higher, then just a small increase in tax for a short period of time, in jersey the counties, have tax re-evaluation every 5 years, and that is when they look at the neighborhood, and value on market price of property sold, and no matter how much work you did, or din't do your going up, and so are the tax rates.

Back in the 50's and 60's, permits did increase the assesment, and back then there was no re assesment every 5 years, so you paid a penalty for improviments.
 
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