Legal Question

Pretty sure that he can. Almost ALL code enforcement issues exist on private property (ie, you have too many cars on your lawn, you're watering your grass during a drought, you don't have a fence around your swimming pool, etc).

This is a question for Zag, really. Not sure where he is these days, though.

Yeah, he was trying to get the guy on the phone.

I hate this police state we live in. JFC.

He was saying it was for my protection. I was like "thanks so much for your service. I bet you get to board the plane first when you fly."

Also, he was wearing a Bama hat.

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Also, he was wearing a Bama hat.

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A Bama fan with a clear inferiority complex, sounds about right.

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Yeah, he was trying to get the guy on the phone.

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How much you wanna bet the Code Officer was expecting the HVAC guy to have something on him to produce as evidence of his licensure and is now kicking himself for asking since he's got to stand out in the muggy arse weather and wait for this guy to find something?

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So much for the Constitution, I guess.

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Eh, pretty much.

I know you dont want to hear this, but inspectors are a very necessary evil. Unlicensed contractors can be some of the biggest vermin on the planet

Ive seen half million dollar houses built up in kentucky in areas where there was little to no enforcement where the frickhead builder cut corners so bad as not putting headers over patio doors and windows. Six months later a couple has 3k Andersen patio doors that wont close because the house has settled. With no recourse whatsoever, not even civil action

when the sloppy duct work in your crawlspace starts recirculating radon in your house and kills your family while you sleep, you'll see why code enforcement exists, or not, because you'll be dead.

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It still doesn't make sense to me. I made an agreement with this dude to install a unit for X dollars. If he fricks something, or if I didn't do my research on this guy, it's on me.

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Yeah, see.....everybody says that until the shite actually hits the fan. It really is for your protection in that sense.

I just had a guy break a pipe in a wall of a rental home that I own near Athens. I asked him to get a water supply line for a washing machine loose that was corroded onto the faucet. He's a handy man, not licensed to do any plumbing (and as far as I'm concerned, he wasn't doing plumbing). Still, he put too much pressure on the pipe trying to get the supply line off and it actually broke inside the wall. He walked away from the job, didn't say a word to me (claims he never heard the water gushing inside the wall, even though the tenants who did their pre-move-in walk-through later that evening and the property manager clearly heard it). I was 100 miles away in Greenville. Water ran for at least 20 hours. Had to replace and repair sub-flooring, drywall, etc. and that was AFTER having ServPro come in to dry the place out for 4 days.

I'm still waiting on him to pay me back the $3,200 (and I'm not holding my breath).

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unreasonable

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The key is going to be unreasonable. If the HVAC guy is required to have a license on him at all times (And he is) then it is not unreasonable for someone to ask to see it. And, it is for your protection. Anybody can represent themselves as a HVAC expert. If he has no license and does not know what he is doing it could cost you thousands. 10-1 says your guy KNEW he was supposed to have it, and just figured he wouldn't be asked. Probably was never asked before, so he got in the habit of not carrying it with him. Bet he doesn't forget in the future.

But, as for the Constitution you are quoting, nothing was searched or seized, so it really does not apply. Besides this was written to protect against a police action of search and seizure, not against checking for lawfully required licenses and permits.

Sorry. I hope you get it put in in a timely manner.

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But, as for the Constitution you are quoting, nothing was searched or seized, so it really does not apply. Besides this was written to protect against a police action of search and seizure, not against checking for lawfully required licenses and permits.

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Most "lawfully required licenses and permits" are nothing of the sort. Government simply arrogated themselves the power to license activity, both as a social control and a revenue-generating method. And people let them do it. Hell, some of these "lawfully required licenses and permits" - gun permits, for example - are expressly illegal under the supreme law of the land. Hunting/fishing licenses are another example - wildlife is ferae naturae - no one has any right of possession over it unless they catch it; but by licensing hunting and fishing, we've basically returned to the idea of "the King's deer".