1. What is Civil Penalty?
Civil penalties are assessed for carrying out construction work without a valid permit. Building Code § 26-212.1 imposes a civil penalty whenever work which requires a permit pursuant to section § 26-207 or § 27-147 is done without a permit. No permit can be issued for this work until the civil penalties have been paid. The fees are assessed in addition to the fees required for filing for the work or obtaining a permit.
The civil penalty and permit fees are payable by the “owner of the buildings on which such work is performed.” New owners who have purchased a property with an existing civil penalty are responsible for the payment of that penalty.

2 How much are the civil penalty?

For 1 and 2 family houses: the penalty for a Work Without a Permit Violation is now four (4) times the amount of the permit filing fee, with the minimum increased to $500.
For all other work performed without a permit: the penalty is now fourteen (14) times the amount of the permit filing fee, with the minimum increased to $5000.