If the Lanai was enclosed with glass they needed to pull a permit at that time. AC may or may not have been part of the permit. Regardless it does take many months for Sumter county appraisers to visit a completed work site and it is very unlikely the visit was associated with a neighbor calling in teh AC job.
Now the bigger question is did the AC job (Split System) need a permit? When we enclosed our lanai in glass included in our plans was to add AC/heat to the new room..but we simply added it to our existing AC/furnace system. To do this we needed a complete AC environmental study submitted to and approved by the county. OUr job was completed in April and we still have not seen an appraqiser but we expect to soon.
I guess your friend quickly realized that with glass and Florida heat yoiu need AC in the lanai area or else the humidity becomes unbearable and you will not be able to use this area and eventually grow mold . Believe me the additional comfort they will gain with both glass and AC will be worth the couple of extra bucks she pays in taxes.
BTW..not letting a county appraiser in to review work completed under a permit is NOT the answer. When you say can they do nothing im not so sure about that. The homeowner is ultimatley responsible for getting all permits (even if the builder or contractor does this for you) and allowing access. If you start fighting the appraiser who is doing his job, they can reallly get sticky in finding you out of compliance and its a road im sure you do not want to go down. Besides if something would ever happen that would result in a fire and the mechanical equipment or electrical connection was not under permit or inspected, you could face MAJOR contested insurance claims. Would someone really want that to save a couple of bucks for property taxes????
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