“I would love to get the rebate but I’m also now worried about my liability”

Photo by Olaf Zerbock

“Dear PoPville,

Has anyone ever dealt with a gas appliance installation that did not have a permit pulled?

I had a high efficiency gas furnace installed in my DC rowhouse in December, replacing the same model that had stopped working.

After the install, I discovered there was a dc energy rebate ($700!) that I was eligible for, but it required the DCRA permit id in order to submit.

I’ve called the big company installer at least 8 times, each time they promise they’ll dig through their papers and send me the permit (“It’s not that we didn’t pull the permit, it’s just filed away somewhere.”).

Then I realized on the dcra website I could view all permits pulled for my property, and I’m finding nothing relating to this recent furnace job. I haven’t accused them outright yet, but it seems like they have cut corners by not pulling a permit and don’t want to own up to it.

What’s the easiest way to make this right retroactively? I would love to get the rebate but I’m also now worried about my liability and impact to selling the home. Is it worth worrying about?”