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What Aranagment solves this problem

Jt owns a building.. jt hired a Architect and the City is ready to issue a permit but only to a contractor. Jt wanted to act as an owner/builder. Can jt retain a contractor to acquire the permit and provide management only....and jt act as an owner/builder? What would the contract look like between the contractor and JT ?

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Oct 18, 2019

Generally, owners are entitled to undertake their own construction projects as an owner-builder and avoid some of the licensure issues associated with construction. The CSLB has a great page for owner-builders setting out requirements and limitations here: CSLB Owner-Builder Overview. Admittedly, I don't have a ton of experience with pulling permits for California construction projects - but it appears that most cities have a process for owners to obtain their own building permits. The first step of this process is generally to obtain the relevant owner-builder packet (for example, here's one for Santa Monica, and one for San Mateo). And, it seems like an owner can usually submit that information along with some other required documentation (like an ID and proof of ownership of the project property) and wok toward securing a building permit for their job. As mentioned in your question and the CSLB overview above, an owner may also be able to contract with a licensed contractor who will oversee the project while the owner acts as owner-builder. Though, the builder would likely need to provide some supervisory role on the job rather than being completely hands-off in order to steer clear of license renting issues. I wish I had more information for you! If you let me know where the project would be located/where the permit would be secured, I may be able to find some additional helpful information.

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