In May 2016 I bought a older home that was converted from a single residence to a 4 plex. In September 2017, a tenant I was evicting went to the city and got them to come out and inspect the property.

The city found that the HVAC system wasn't up to code: when the units were built, the ductwork wasn't installed correctly, there was no cold air return in an apartment, basically it was installed illegally.

I'd had a home inspection done before I bought the place and nowhere in the report does it even mention the HVAC is an issue.

My attorney said that Nebraska law's statute of limitations for suing the realtor for nondisclosure, is a year from the time of purchase.

The home inspector contract states they are only liable for the amount of the fee paid to them.

To fix this up to city code is $40,000. I am not sure what to do and wondered if anyone else ran into this, and what solutions they had.

This illustrates why landlords must always do all things correctly. The government will not come after crappy tenants-but they will ride your back.

Return ducts are vital inducted systems.

Just get separate units for each apartment and abandon the existing A/C.

Thank you to everyone who answered this question. We've had companies look at this so far. The first company refused to even bid on the work and referred us to this company as there are so many problems.

1.The ductwork for all apartments was installed wrong and that apartments are sharing the ductwork which means that fire or smoke from one apartment will travel through the ducts from one apartment to another. We were told this will make firt travel faster through the apartment house, if there is one, making this an extreme fire hazard.

2.The AC units are the wrong size. (there are 2 of them, one for apartments 1&4 another for 2 and 3) When we explored doing mini-splits, both companies told us that the existing AC units were too large for just 1 apartment and that the coils in the condenser unit would freeze if they were separated out that way.

3. The no cold air return vents in apartments, which you already know about.

I like vee's idea about the possibilty of some or all things being grandfathered in. This is a great idea. You might talk to a lawyer about this.

Most city inspectors are soul less bullies. Perhaps a deal can be worked out where you'll do some of the work over time. I have return air vents literally cut into the side of the furnace - maybe a simple fix on a unit or two.

At this point a lawyer might be able to fix your situation. Make some calls and find the best one who has dealt with things like this before. Lawyers try and wear a lot of hats and do a marginal job in a lot of areas. Get the one that specializes in whopping the city.

Maybe a trade school would be willing to take this On? Ducts cost a lot less than equipment. Call some supply houses and see who is cheap and good and get some more bids.

Pat,

When was the system installed? Did it have a permit and was it inspected/passed by the city?

I'm all for fire safety. But most of the old homes in the area are probably just like yours. "Up to 2017 code" can be very different from "built to code" at the time.

Is the city demanding you make a change?

Was a Permit pulled for this work in 2012 ?

Was the work performed by a Qualified, Licensed Contractor ?

Is there a City Mechanical (Approved) Sticker on Unit ?

After the dust settles and this issue is taken care of,

give the Tenant(s) Legal Walking Papers.

Pat,

My state's required sales disclosure asks if and improvements were made without a permit. Check your paperwork to consider going back on the seller.

A couple of hotel style in wall units could solve this quickly.

I woukd not even listen to a contractor who gives me such an outrageous bid.

Pat,

My state's required sales disclosure asks if and improvements were made without a permit. Check your paperwork to consider going back on the seller.

A couple of hotel style in wall units could solve this quickly.

I woukd not even listen to a contractor who gives me such an outrageous bid.

Thank you to everyone who offered help and advice. Your support is much appreciated. I wanted to give you an update on what's happening:

I talked to my attorney who asked if the city had agreed that if we had the contractor do the work he'd planned, could we still operate as a 4 plex. I talked to the contractor who said he thought he could get the city to write a letter stating that his plan would meet their requirements for a 4 plex.

He told me he could do the mini splits or separate heating units, but that would require starting over with planning and getting new permission from the city. He said he talked to the city and that this plan wouldn't save us much as most of the cost is in fixing ductwork issues. The city wants the other ductwork not just sealed off, but out of the house so it can't be used again.

The contractor had also told us that the person he was working with in the city planning office told him that as long as we were working with a contractor and moving forward, they'd give us time to fix this. But then we just found out that a notice was put on the front door Friday stating that we had to fix everything by November 1st or the building would be condemned. This is so frustrating: everything but the HVAC is fixed. Everything else was small, and it's all done. We've stayed in touch with the city inspector throughout this process. We've called him once a week and left messages, we've also emailed him once a week with the same information and offered to show him the work that's been done. He's never responded to us.

I left a message with my attorney to let her know what happened, but it's very frustrating and I am not sure what to do. I'm thinking of calling my city councilor and telling them the situation and asking them if they can help, but I don't want to make anything worse than it already is.

Anyone have any ideas?

Your inspector has errors and omissions insurance. I'd pretty quickly have my lawyer turn his attention that way.

It won't help you with you problem but might help you pay to solve it.

If you mini split and remove the existing furnaces and then remove the ductwork that is easily removed and cap the rest where they enter the walls, is that enough to satisfy the city?

As a friend of mine likes to say, "everybody's got a boss". Find out who the inspector's boss is.

Remind the city that condemning the building of the size just takes all that tax money out of their pocket, and that is in their best interest to help you solve this proble; that you did not create and that you had an inspection prior to purchase, which made no mention of these issues.

Pat,

This story has too many "he thinks" and "he saids". Contractors will say anything (lie) to string you along and make themeves look good. I hope I'm wrong. This will all come onto you so YOU need to meet face to face with the inspector.

Their price will also reflect your desparation as the insp bears down.

Get a few HVAC contractors in there for ideas and quotes. Some will have a great relationship with the inspector and gain some favor.