Do City building codes over-ride States codes?

Question

Have lawsuit against Seller of new home who did not disclose that he was not a Licensed Builder. Acccording to State codes, he must have one to do anything over $25,000.00. He claims City codes over ride this...cannot locate City Codes!

The house has several violations & structural defects that are outrageous to repair. We would practically have to rebuild it.

His building permits were also issued in another Licensed Builders Name. All of this was not disclosed prior to purchase. We can't afford an attorney anymore. So I'm trying to find proof of willful abuse, fraud & anything else that will stick.

Answer 1

City or town codes can be more stringent than state or federal codes, but they cannot be more lenient. In other words, the city or town cannot override a state or federal code, but they can add to it and make it even more strict.

Answer 2

No, City building codes cannot override state codes.

And, what's more, laws cannot contradict each other. If it's against federal law, it must be against state law, and therefore, against city code as well.

However, if it's a city code, it doesn't necessarily have to be state code, and if there's no state code, city code takes precedence. This may be somewhat confusing, but let's take wages as an example.

Current Federal Minimum wage is 5.15/hr, I believe. Now, where I live, the minimum wage is 7.93/hr. Because 7.93 is higher than the federal, state code takes precedence because it does not contradict federal law, as 7.93 is greater than 5.15.

I hope that example helps. I'm very tired, and I've been at work for nearly 18 hours now, so my thoughts may come across a bit muddled. If they do, I apologize.

To put this as clearly and concisely as I can, city codes cannot trump state codes if it contradicts it. If it takes the law a step further, that's fine, as long as it meets the minimum set forth by state law.

Answer 3

that's a question for a lawyer