Property owners in Broward County can run afoul of the law because of failure to obtain building permits when required. Those who have relocated to Broward County from areas where hurricanes are virtually unknown, or from rural areas, may be unaware of the importance of Building Code compliance, but in this, like other laws, ignorance is no excuse.

Virtually anything in the way of building projects which could involve structural integrity or fire safety, or could in any other way impact health, safety or welfare, will require a Building Permit.

The Florida Building Code, Broward County Edition, states that:

301 PERMITS REQUIRED
(a) It shall be unlawful to construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, remove or demolish any building, structure, or any part thereof; or any equipment, device or facility therein or thereon; or to change the Occupancy of a building from one use Group to another requiring greater strength, means of egress, fire and sanitary provisions; or to change to an unauthorized or prohibited use; or to install or alter any equipment for which provision is made or the installation of which is regulated by this Code; without first having filed application and obtained a permit therefore from the Building Official. A permit shall be deemed issued when signed by the Building Official and impressed with the seal of the governmental agency issuing said permit.

(b) EXCEPTIONS:

(1) All work where exempt from permit shall still be required to comply with the Code.

(2) No permit shall be required, in this or any of the following Sections, for general maintenance or repairs which do not change the Occupancy and the value of which does not exceed eight hundred dollars ($800.00) in labor and material as determined by the Building Official.

(3) No permit shall be required for installations by telephone communication utilities in single family Occupancies, whether detached or townhouse.

Note: Exception (2) is only for maintenance or repair… not for new work of any type.

Also, it is important to remember the rule from Exception (1), that the fact that a permit is not required for minor work does not rule out the requirement that such work be done in such a way that the minimum standards of the Building Code be followed.

In order to clarify its intent, the Building Code goes on to list a number of specific items for which Building Permits are required:

301.1 Permits, to be issued by the Building Official, shall be required for the following operations:

(a) The erection or construction of any building or structure, the adding to, enlarging, repairing, improving, altering, covering or extending of any building or structure.

(b) The moving of any building or structure within, into, through or out of the area of jurisdiction, or the moving of a building or structure on the same lot.

(c) The demolition of any building or structure.

(d) The installation, alteration or repair of any sanitary plumbing, water supply, or gas supply system, as provided in Part XII.

(e) The installation, alteration or repair of any electrical wiring or equipment, as provided in Part XI.

(f) The installation, alteration or major repair of any boiler, pressure vessel, furnace, steam-actuated machinery, or heat producing apparatus, including the piping and appurtenances thereto as provided in Parts VIII and XII.

(g) The erection, remodeling, relocating, repair, altering, or removal of any sign, as provided in Chapter 42.

(h) The erection, alteration or repair of any awning or similar appurtenance, as provided in Chapters 43 and 44.

(i) The storage and use of all volatile flammable liquids, gases and materials, but such permits shall not be issued without the endorsement of the Fire Chief, as provided in Chapter 40.

(j) The application, construction, or repair of any roof covering, as provided in Chapter 34, for work exceeding two roofing squares.

(k) The installation, alteration or repair of any air conditioning or refrigeration apparatus, as provided in Chapter 48.

(l) The installation, alteration, or repair of any apparatus producing air contaminants.

(m) The installation, alteration, or repair of a swimming pool, as provided in Chapter 50.

(n) The installation, alteration, or repair of any structure or facility on private property defined by this or any other regulation as being within the scope of work of an engineering contractor.

(o) The installation of exterior windows and exterior glass doors in new buildings or additions exceeding two stories in height and the installation, alteration or repair of such windows and doors in existing buildings of any height.

(p) The installation, alteration or repair of any curtain wall.

(q) The installation, alteration or repair of any garage door in any existing building.

Another important point to consider is that no permit can be issued unless and until requirements of any other regulatory agencies having jurisdiction are satisfied. A partial list of such agencies is provided in the FBC:

301.2 In addition, the Building Official shall require that the laws, rules and regulations of any other regulatory authority having jurisdiction, and where such laws, rules and regulations are applicable and are known to the Building Official, shall be satisfied before a permit shall be issued. The Building Official shall require such evidence, as in his opinion is reasonable, to show such other approvals. The Building Official shall not thereby be held responsible for enforcement of such other regulations as he is not specifically authorized to enforce. Following are some, but not necessarily all, other agencies having jurisdiction:

(a) The Engineering Department, Fire Department and/or Police Department for the moving of buildings, structures and heavy equipment over, temporary construction over, storage of material on, construction operations over or temporary blocking of streets or other public spaces; and for land clearing adjacent to existing sidewalks; as well as for the discharge of rainwater or other water runoff on streets or other public spaces into the public sewers.

(b) The Fire Department for the burning of construction or demolition waste or the use or storage of explosives.

(c) The City and/or County Tax assessor and Collector for the moving or demolition of any building or structure.

(d) Broward County Office of Natural Resource Protection and/or Florida Department of Environmental Regulation for (but not limited to):

(1) The adequacy of waste treatment plants receiving waste from industrial, commercial, public or dwelling units.

(2) Waste treatment and disposal systems.

(3) Waste disposal wells.

(4) Waste water collection systems.

(5) Air pollution.

(e) Broward County Health Department, Florida Department of Health and Rehabilitation Services for (but limited to):

(1) Septic tank disposal systems.

(2) Places where food or drink is prepared or served to the public.

(3) Public water supply and supply wells.

(4) Public swimming pools.

(5) Chemical toilets as set forth in Sec. 4603.21.

(6) Trailer park as set forth in Sec. 4619.

(f) The State Hotel Commission for the construction, alteration or addition to multiple-residential rental units or places where food and/or drink is prepared or served to the public.

(g) The U.S. Engineer Corps. for construction of bulkheads or docks adjacent to or extending into navigable waters.

(h) Federal regulations limiting construction during periods of national emergency.

(i) The rules of the State Board of Education of Florida and the regulations of the Florida State Department of Education, School Plant section, pertaining to the public schools. Where such rules and regulations are in conflict with this Code and cannot be satisfied if this Code is applied the Board of Rules and Appeals, upon request, shall consider such specific conflicts and may waive or vary the requirements of this Code to permit public school, or other approved schools, design and construction to be in accordance with the rules and the regulations of these agencies.

(j) The Public Works Department for bulkheads, docks, similar construction or fill along water front property.

(k) The Rules and Regulations of the State Fire Marshal.

(l) The State of Florida Bureau of Elevator Inspection.

The general rule is that one permit is required for each individual construction project. For business locations where such projects are continually on-going, it would generate mountains of paperwork to have separate permits for such work. Under certain circumstances, then, it is possible that other permitting methods can be allowed. These include "Premise Permits" and "Blanket Permits." A premise permit is designed to facilitate permitting for continuous programs of maintenance and facility management. This is addressed in the following FBC section:

301.3
(a) An annual premise permit may be issued for any premise. Such permit shall be in lieu of any other permit required by the Florida Building Code for maintenance of existing facilities, buildings and structures. The word "premise" shall be defined as the buildings, structures and facilities located on one parcel of land all of which are under one ownership or under the control of the same lessee.

(b) Such annual premise permit, if application is made therefore, may be issued where the Building Official finds that the person, firm or corporation having control over or occupying such premises has assigned responsibility for such maintenance work in each trade to maintenance personnel employed by such person, firm or corporation on regular salary basis; and such maintenance personnel are assigned to work directly under the supervision of certified personnel certified in the type of work being performed, such certified maintenance man to be in actual, direct and continuous supervision of all members of any work crew in the trade concerned.

(c) The holders of an annual premise permit shall maintain a log listing all work performed on forms provided by the Building Official under such permit and shall make that log available to the Building Official or his authorized employees upon demand, in order that the work may be inspected as deemed necessary. The holder of the annual premise permit shall be responsible for insuring that all work performed under such permit conforms to the Florida Building Code and if inspection reveals that such work does not so conform, the work will be corrected or removed. The annual premise permit shall be subject to cancellation for violation of the provisions of applicable regulations.

The "Blanket Permit" is designed to cover numerous repetitions of similar work, such as installation of cable television hook-ups, telephone wiring, etc. These requirements are spelled out in the following FBC section:

301.4 ANNUAL BLANKET PERMIT:
(a) Each permit shall encompass work of a similar nature and be of a minor impact such as cable T.V. or telephone wiring.

(b) A blanket permit shall be in lieu of any other permit required by the Florida Building Code for the particular work.

(c) The permit would be for a geographic area such as a municipality.

(d) The Building Official shall require an annual application for blanket permit or renewal with appropriate information such as name of responsible person, address and access phone number.

(e) A periodic notification such as a list or computer printout of names, addresses, dates and description of work shall be required; weekly; bi-weekly or monthly.

(f) Formal inspection requests can be waived, however, the permit holder shall be responsible for conformance to Florida Building Code.

(g) Blanket permit is subject to cancellation for violation of provisions of application.

(h) Annual blanket permits shall be amended to include all applicable revisions approved and included in interim and/or Code amendments.

Note: The difference between a "Premise Permit" and a "Blanket Permit" is that the first is limited to a single property, with one ownership and/or one lessee, while the latter can be issued by a building department to cover all such work under that department's jurisdiction.