These three show up on nearly every search, and they get conflated constantly. They are not the same thing, they clear in different ways, and they carry different risk. Here is each one, plainly.
Only one of the three is necessarily a debt. An open permit is an unresolved obligation that can cost money to close out, but there may be no balance owed at all.
Open permits
An open permit is work that was authorized but never finalized: no final inspection, no sign-off. Sometimes the work was finished and the paperwork lapsed; sometimes the work genuinely was not completed. Either way, the buyer may have to reopen the permit, schedule an inspection, and pay fees to close it out, which can mean opening a wall to prove work was done to code.
Code violations
A code violation is the municipality flagging something out of compliance: an unpermitted structure, overgrowth, an unsafe condition. The danger is the fine attached to it, which often accrues daily until the violation is cured. A small violation left alone for months can become a large lien purely through accumulated daily penalties.
Utility liens
A utility lien is an unpaid municipal utility balance, typically water, sewer, stormwater, or solid waste. These are usually the most straightforward to resolve because they are a defined dollar amount, but the trap is the final bill that has not been issued yet at the time of the search.
A utility account can show a zero balance on the search date and still produce a final bill after the seller closes the account. A search dated close to closing, or updated just before it, is how that gap gets covered.
Cured by finalizing or reopening the permit and passing inspection. Risk: hidden work and inspection surprises.
Cured by fixing the issue and paying accrued fines. Risk: daily penalties that compound.
Cured by paying the balance. Risk: an un-issued final bill slipping through.
A permit is unfinished work, a violation is an active fine, a utility lien is an unpaid bill. Three different problems.
Why the distinction matters
Each of these clears on a different track and a different timeline, and a good report tells you which is which so you know what you are actually dealing with. Lumping them together as "liens" is how a closing gets surprised late. For how these fit into the full search, see the municipal lien search guide.
No. It is an unresolved obligation, not a recorded or unrecorded debt, but resolving it can cost inspection and permit fees, and ignoring it can turn into a violation.
After closing, the property owner of record, which is the buyer. That is why violations get negotiated or cured before the deed transfers.
Utility balances usually can, since they are a dollar amount. Permits and violations often need inspections or repairs, which take time. That is another reason the search should happen early.