I just got a letter in the mail from the city saying a permit application has expired for my primary residence and I have to pay a fee to reinstate the permit and get an inspection.

I pulled the permit info and it looks like when the house was built in 2014 the builders never got the AC unit inspected after install.  The permit application then expired and the city just noticed now as they are about to roll everything into a new system.  I am the second owner of the house.

I called the city and they said that this issue follows the address and not the owner of the house at the tine so I have to pay the reinstatement fee for the application, then pay for the application, then pay for an inspection.

Does this seem right?  Shouldn't this have been caught when I was closing on the house?

That really sucks. Sorry to hear that. At the end of the day, the city is always right. Maybe you can call and get a second opinion