Sell a House With Code Violations in Florida

Code enforcement issues create problems a normal buyer cannot easily absorb. Open permits and recorded violation liens cloud the title, so a title company cannot deliver clean ownership until they are resolved, and financed buyers’ lenders will not close on a non-compliant property.

Because we buy for cash and take on the compliance work ourselves, none of that blocks the sale. We factor the known issues into the offer and inherit the responsibility for clearing them.

Most Florida cities and counties enforce codes through a code enforcement board or special magistrate under Chapter 162 of the Florida Statutes. Section 162.09 generally caps fines at $250 per day for a first violation and $500 per day for a repeat violation, though counties and cities with 50,000 or more residents may adopt higher limits by ordinance. A certified copy of an order imposing a fine can be recorded, and once recorded it becomes a lien against the property. There is a difference between an open violation, an accruing fine, and a recorded lien; the title company’s municipal lien search shows which ones apply.

Many local governments will consider a fine reduction or lien mitigation once the violation is corrected, and that request is usually made to the same board or office that imposed the fine. Results vary by jurisdiction, so we do not promise a reduction, but we factor the realistic payoff into the offer.

In Miami-Dade and Broward counties, older buildings are subject to a recertification or safety-inspection program, now starting at 30 or 25 years and repeated after (it is still often called the “40-year” inspection), and both counties have unsafe-structures processes for buildings found dangerous. Condominium buildings three or more stories tall are also subject to Florida’s statewide milestone-inspection law. A house or building that is behind on recertification, or under an unsafe-structure case, can be hard to finance, which is another reason owners sell as-is.

Unpermitted additions, enclosed garages, and DIY work are common in older Florida homes, and they surface at the worst possible time — during a sale — when the municipality demands they be permitted retroactively or torn out. Meanwhile, active violations may be adding fines every single day.

We handle both. We deal with the unpermitted work after closing and, by buying quickly, put an end to the daily fine accruals that make holding the property so costly.