Construction Without Permit a Per Se Nuisance

County of Sacramento v. NKS Real Estate Holdings
Docket: C100056 (Third Appellate District) March 20, 2026

Defendants constructed an accessory dwelling unit on a property in Fair Oaks, California without obtaining the required building permit from the County of Sacramento. They initially applied for a permit, but their application was incomplete and they failed to make necessary corrections. Despite receiving multiple notices of violation and stop work orders from the County, defendants completed construction and leased the unit to a tenant without ever obtaining a final permit or a certificate of occupancy, nor did the County inspect the unit for code compliance.

The County filed suit in the Superior Court alleging that defendants’ conduct violated state and local building codes and constituted a public nuisance per se under local ordinances. The Superior Court ruled in favor of the County on both causes of action and issued a permanent injunction, finding that building without a permit was a public nuisance per se as declared by County ordinance.
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On appeal, the California Court of Appeal, Third Appellate District, held that the County had the authority and standing to enforce its building and nuisance codes, that its ordinances did not conflict with state law, and that construction without a permit constitutes a nuisance per se as expressly declared by County ordinance