Built for homeowners & owner-builders
Permit Help for Florida Homeowners
Most homeowners meet us on the worst day: a violation notice on the door, a permit discovered mid-sale, or work a previous owner did that nobody ever permitted. All of it is fixable, and it is almost never as bad as the first phone call feels.
The problem
What actually costs you time
You inherited it
You bought the house. The previous owner enclosed the lanai, or converted the garage, or replaced the roof, and never pulled a permit. It surfaced during an insurance inspection or when you tried to sell. You did not do it, and you still have to resolve it.
The contractor disappeared
A permit was pulled in the contractor's name, the work was half done, and they stopped answering the phone. The building department will not discuss the file with you because you are not the permit holder.
The fines are running
A code enforcement notice came with a compliance date, the date passed, and now daily fines are accruing against your property. Every week of deciding what to do costs money.
Nobody will explain it in plain English
You have called the building department four times and received four different answers, all of them in code section numbers.
What we take off your plate
- A plain-English explanation of what is actually wrong and what it will take
- After-the-fact permits for unpermitted work, including work done by previous owners
- Expired and never-finalized permit close-outs
- Code violation resolution and support with fine mitigation applications
- Owner-builder permit guidance including the affidavit and disclosure walkthrough
- Dealing with the building department so you do not have to
- Untangling permits left open by a contractor who has gone
- Honest advice on when hiring a licensed contractor is the cheaper route
Questions from homeowners & owner-builders
I bought a house with unpermitted work. Is it my problem now?
Generally you are the one who has to resolve it, since permit and code issues follow the property. Florida law does provide certain protections for purchasers who acquired property without knowledge of a violation, and there are statutory routes for closing very old permits. Whether either helps in your case is fact-specific, and worth checking before you assume the worst.
How much will an after-the-fact permit cost?
Two numbers: the jurisdiction's fees, which usually include a penalty multiplier set by local ordinance, and the professional costs of drawings, any required engineering certification, corrective work and our fee. We scope both before you commit to anything.
Will they make me tear out the work?
Usually not, if it can be shown to meet code. Sometimes concealed work has to be exposed for inspection. Occasionally work genuinely has to be corrected. We find out which situation you are in before anyone starts demolition.
Can I just ignore it?
It does not improve with time. Fines accrue, liens attach, insurance claims get denied, and the cost of bringing old work up to current code rises with every code cycle. It also stops your sale.
Do I need anyone else involved?
No. Permit and code compliance matters are administrative, and we cover the entire path in-house — engineering, drafting, filing, private provider review, inspections and close-out. One firm, one point of contact, one invoice.
Services homeowners & owner-builders use most
After-the-Fact & Expired Permits
Work done without a permit. A permit that expired before final inspection. A permit an old contractor opened and walked away …
Learn moreOwner-Builder Permits
Florida law lets a property owner pull a permit for work on their own property without a contractor's license — under specifi…
Learn moreCode Compliance & Violations
A code enforcement case does not pause while you decide what to do about it. In many Florida jurisdictions fines run daily fr…
Learn moreRealtor & Closing Support
The municipal lien search came back with an open permit from 2017. Closing is in eleven days. Everyone is looking at you. Thi…
Learn moreWhat clients say
Contractors, realtors and owners we have unstuck
They handled our after-the-fact permit situation when we thought we were stuck. Two months of dead-end phone calls, and they had it resolved and closed.
We were three days from closing when the title search turned up an open permit from 2019. They got it closed out and the deal went through on time.
Our plans had been sitting in review for seven weeks with no movement. They took over the file, chased the comments, and we had the permit in twelve days.
Get a free quote
Tell us the address and what is happening. We will tell you which jurisdiction controls it and what it takes.
Ready to get your permit moving?
One call tells you which jurisdiction controls your project, what it will take, and what it will cost. Most of the time we can scope it on the phone.