South Florida permit and compliance, explained.
Field-informed guides on the permit, violation, and compliance questions our clients ask most. Written by specialists, sourced from actual Miami-Dade and Broward case work — not regurgitated from a search results page.
Municipal Guides
Permit rules, requirements, and processes broken down by Miami-Dade and Broward municipality.
Miami-Dade building recertification: a full walkthrough (formerly the 40-year recertification)
Everything Miami-Dade property owners need to know about building recertification under Section 8-11(f) — 30 years inland, 25 years for qualifying coastal buildings, and every 10 years thereafter. Inspection scope, common findings, cure periods, and the unsafe-structure escalation.
Miami-Dade fence permit guide: sizes, setbacks, materials, and what triggers a violation
Everything Miami-Dade homeowners need to know before installing or replacing a fence — height limits, setback rules, material restrictions, HOA review, and after-the-fact pathways.
Which side of the fence faces out? The Miami-Dade 'finished side' rule explained
Miami-Dade County Code Section 33-11(b)(2) requires the finished side of a fence to face neighbors and the street — not into your own yard. What the code says, what counts as 'finished,' and the shared-property-line workaround.
Sight triangle rules on Miami-Dade corner lots: the 2.5-foot height limit explained
Section 33-11(c) limits fence, wall, and hedge height to 2.5 feet within the safe sight distance triangle on corner lots. Includes the actual measurement table for local, collector, and arterial streets.
Miami-Dade pool safety barrier requirements: what Section 33-12 actually requires
Section 33-12 governs pool barriers — height, materials, gate specifications, permits, and the rule that no pool can be filled with water until the barrier is inspected and approved.
Miami-Dade pergola permit guide: size, setbacks, lot coverage, and the rules nobody warns you about
Section 33-20 governs pergolas in Miami-Dade. The 100 sq ft threshold, the rear yard coverage limits by district (as low as 2% in EU-2), the 55-foot front setback, and the HVHZ wind-load requirements every pergola needs.
The 100 square foot pergola threshold in Miami-Dade: why size determines everything
A 99 sq ft pergola and a 101 sq ft pergola are governed by completely different setback rules under Section 33-20(l). One of the most consequential lines in the accessory structure code, explained.
The pergola neighbor-consent affidavit: how to reduce your Miami-Dade setback from 5 feet to 2 feet
Section 33-20(l)(5) allows pergola setbacks to be reduced from 5 ft to 2 ft with a signed affidavit from the abutting neighbor. How the affidavit works, when it makes sense, and what it means for future homeowners.
Violations
How code-enforcement actually works in South Florida — fines, cure periods, liens, and the resolution paths that actually move the needle.
Can code enforcement actually fine you? How daily penalties accrue and how mitigation works
Daily fine rates, cure periods, the lien process, mitigation reductions (often 70-95% off accumulated assessments), and what to do at each phase.
Working without a permit in South Florida: fines, double fees, and the path to legalization
The three reasons unpermitted work matters, the after-the-fact pathway that legalizes it, and the "double fee" rule that doubles the permit cost once an NOV is issued.
Mini splits and AC replacements: the HVAC permit trap catching South Florida homeowners
Mini split installs and central AC condenser or air handler replacements are two of the most frequent unpermitted-work violations in Miami-Dade and Broward. What the code requires, why the permit gets skipped, and the after-the-fact mechanical permit that closes it out.
Just because your neighbor has one doesn't mean it's legal — the neighborhood-precedent trap
Homeowners routinely build terraces, fences, attached pergolas, and detached structures based on what they see nearby. Five reasons the neighborhood-precedent test fails, the structure categories where it catches homeowners most often, and what actually determines what you can build on your property.
Property Intelligence
How to research, understand, and improve your property's compliance record — and what professional tools like MyHausFax™ add.
How to check the permit history on your Miami-Dade property (free public-records method)
Step-by-step guide to pulling every permit ever issued on your Miami-Dade or Broward property using free public databases — and the limitations of doing it yourself.
How to find open code violations on a Miami-Dade or Broward property
Step-by-step guide to checking whether a property has active code-enforcement violations, recorded liens, or pending hearings — using free public databases.
Contractor Education
Operational guides for contractors and builders working through the South Florida permit process.
Why permit applications get rejected — the 8 most common reasons in South Florida
The eight rejection patterns we see most across Miami-Dade and Broward building departments, what each one specifically means, and the cleanest way to avoid it in first submittal.
How to respond to plan-reviewer corrections without burning a revision cycle
The operational discipline that separates one-cycle responses from multi-cycle ones — how to read comments, when to push back, and how to package the re-submission.
Legislation
Coverage of state and municipal legislation affecting permits and property compliance in South Florida.
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