Anonymous wrote:Honestly if you didn't have a permit...

+1000
If you have a rowhouse, your unpermitted, sloppy deck could pull down everyone's house. Are you digging deep enough and actually pouring concrete and making properly calculated footers? You sound clueless and entitled

Forgot to add, DC inspectors often review differently, so if you do any (even minimal correction) and ask for a new inspection you often can pass.

I have actually been through this process (basement dig out). You need to do the hearing. Bring photos and evidence. Evidence of neighbor harassment is great too. You don’t need a lawyer. Your goal is to get it dismissed or a reduced fine.
Suggest going into the online system and reviewing any records and going to homeowner center to make sure you followed right permitting and inspection process.
In my case we had some unpermitted work and resolved it by paying reduced fine and passing third party inspection. We did not have to tear anything out.

Anonymous wrote:You might have luck with a permit expeditor

Why?
She has a permit? What's to expedite?

Anonymous wrote:Yes, I had a permit and I worked with the home-owners center at DCRA, so I thought I'd done everything I needed to do. I've had two additional contractors look at it and say there's nothing wrong structurally.

Then ignore the neighbor’s toothless legal threats.

Just bribe the inspector and continue working

OP did you end up resolving this?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCRA had an impermissble house removed. Why do you think they would not care about an illegal deck?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2006/05/19/house-in-back-yard-is-declared-impermissible/7caff558-9523-4d34-bf0e-319561562747/

Whoa so she did have to tear down her house in the end?

She ended up with a $1.5 million settlement from DC. The city demolished the house.

The best part of this story is what the archiving system did to the reporter’s byline. I had to read it a couple times to figure it out.