One report to code enforcement for construction done without a permit at Meadowbrook Lakes Condominium sparked a game of tattletale between residents, resulting in dozens of more reports.

In the end, the city’s Code Compliance Manager Nicholas Lupo was at the head of a blanket inspection of more than 500 units in the condominium complex mainly occupied by senior citizens.

Since inspections began in early May and ended in October, around one-third of the inspected apartments have been found to be violators, Lupo said.

The city extended its deadline for repairs, but even that period ended Feb. 12.

The most common violations found were changing windows, enclosing patios, changing doors and installing shutters without permits.

“We are not trying to penalize anyone, that’s why we’re not double feeing,” Lupo said. “The bottom line is we have to make sure it is up to code.”

Normally, failing to pull permits results in double feeing, where the base fee and cost for each permit is doubled in addition to the cost of construction and inspections.

The prospect of a doubled fee sent many of the residents to City Hall after code enforcement began mailing letters to residents found to be code violators.

At a November commission meeting, Meadowbrook resident, Chickie Brandimarte questioned why people who bought condos 20 years ago were being fined.

“The city needs to work with the people and show some compassion,” Brandimarte said. “Make it clear to the residents that the city is not out to get them.”

The city chose to only charge the $90 base fee and waived the doubled fees, which leaves residents with the cost of inspection and construction.

If a resident has proof that they paid a licensed contractor who failed to pull permits, the city has made efforts to hold the contractors accountable.

If found, contractors will have to pay all costs related to the code violation.

“They can either pay or lose their license,” Lupo said. “Because they know the rules.”

The city is pursuing two companies to correct permit violations.

For Sally Busce, a householder at Meadowbrook for 30 years, the situation was alarming, but there was a permit for the sliding glass doors she had installed in 2002.

“It‘s frightening to anybody that ever changed their windows or doors,” Busce said.

It wasn’t until a window began to leak that Jennie Demyon became concerned with home repairs. At 87, she has lived at Meadowbrook for 26 years after moving from New Jersey.

“When I had a husband I never had to worry about this stuff,” Demyon said.

After Hurricane Wilma, many of the other tenants in her building were paying $850 for window repairs, Demyon said.

Looking for a deal, she followed suit and shelled out an extra $50 for a permit.

“I didn‘t know too much about this stuff,” Demyon said. “I took the man at his word.”

She later learned that he never got the permit and after the code enforcement’s crackdown she is once again worried about home repairs.

“It‘s affecting most of the people around here very badly,” Demyon said. “I don‘t know where everyone goes from here - I‘m hoping they could be a little lenient.”

Other than waiving the doubled fees, the city agreed to the Feb. 12th extension.

The fine for an enclosed patio came as a shock to Jennie Demyon’s son, Joseph, who moved into the condo above his mother in 1992.

“When I moved in, I was told that it was done during the construction,” he said.

Because he splits his time between New Jersey and South Florida, Joseph Demyon wondered how the city came to the conclusion that his condo was out of compliance.

He hasn’t been in the place since September.

“To my knowledge, they‘ve never even been in the place,” Joseph said. “How can you tell if something is wrong if you never been inside to see?”

“I understand they have to enforce the code, but you can’t go nickel and dime everybody under the sun,” Joseph said. “As of right now we have no other choice but to comply.”