You are bidding on a job with plans drawn by the owner. You notice a code violation and the owner declines to remedy and tells you not to worry. What should you do?

You are bidding on a job with plans drawn by the owner. You notice a code violation and the owner declines to remedy and tells you not to worry. What should you do?

• A. Proceed with bid anyway
• B. Notify building department
• C. Withdraw the plan from the client
• D. Decline to bid on the work

Answer: (D)

The main idea is that you should not participate in or financially support work that violates codes or safety standards. If you discover a code violation and the owner refuses to fix it, you cannot reliably guarantee that the work will be legal or safe, and entering into a bid would effectively align you with noncompliant construction. Bidding on plans that don’t meet code exposes you to liability, could jeopardize your license, and may lead to penalties or costly fixes after the fact. The responsible step is to decline to bid on the project until the plans are corrected to meet code requirements and permits can be obtained. If something appears immediately dangerous, contacting the appropriate authorities is reasonable, but the immediate bidding decision should be to withdraw from the project to protect yourself and uphold professional standards.

The main idea is that you should not participate in or financially support work that violates codes or safety standards. If you discover a code violation and the owner refuses to fix it, you cannot reliably guarantee that the work will be legal or safe, and entering into a bid would effectively align you with noncompliant construction. Bidding on plans that don’t meet code exposes you to liability, could jeopardize your license, and may lead to penalties or costly fixes after the fact. The responsible step is to decline to bid on the project until the plans are corrected to meet code requirements and permits can be obtained. If something appears immediately dangerous, contacting the appropriate authorities is reasonable, but the immediate bidding decision should be to withdraw from the project to protect yourself and uphold professional standards.