No. CS/CS/SB 1234
Filed under Development & Land Use.
Building Permits and Inspections; Providing for expiration of certain building permits issued by a county after a specified timeframe; providing that any certified residential manufactured building may not be denied a building permit for placement on specified lots or property associations; prohibiting a local government from adopting or enforcing certain zoning, land use, or development ordinances or regulations; requiring the Florida Building Commission to adopt by rule uniform statewide building permit applications for commercial and residential construction projects; requiring certain persons who perform work on a property to file a notice of permit exemption with the local enforcement agency within a specified timeframe, etc.
Plain English Summary
AI-GENERATEDManufactured and modular homes built off site must be allowed as of right in any zoning district that allows site-built single-family homes, and local governments can no longer regulate them more strictly than site-built homes in the same district.
Local officials lose the power to double-check a private inspector's code-compliance sign-off on their own; they may only review a private provider's paperwork for completeness, and may re-inspect the work itself only if they already know the required inspection was never done.
Homeowners can no longer be required to get a permit for work under $7,500 on their own single-family property, though electrical, plumbing, structural, mechanical, and gas work still needs one regardless of cost.
Building permits for single-family dwellings now expire automatically one year after issuance, or on the effective date of the next Florida Building Code edition if that is later, though a local government may still extend a permit beyond that date.
AIAn offsite-constructed residential dwelling must be permitted as of right in any zoning district that allows single-family detached dwellings. A local government may not zone, regulate, or otherwise treat one differently or more restrictively than a site-built single-family home in the same district.
AIA local government may still apply the same architectural, aesthetic, design, setback, height, or bulk standards it applies to site-built homes, and may adopt a limited list of compatibility standards, such as roof pitch or exterior finish, but any ordinance that excludes these dwellings or treats them differently based on how or where they were built is void and unenforceable.
AIA local building official may not review plans or other documents a private provider has already found compliant with the building code, except for local ordinances, floodplain rules, and other administrative or safety review unrelated to code compliance. The official's own review of the paperwork is now limited to checking it for completeness.
AIA local building official may perform their own inspection of work a private provider certified compliant only if the official has actual knowledge the required inspection was never performed, and must give the private provider written notice of the facts behind that belief before inspecting.
AIA local enforcement agency must cut a commercial project's permit fee by at least 25 percent for partial use of a private provider, or 50 percent for full use of one. An agency that does not give at least that discount forfeits the ability to collect any fee for the project at all.
AIA local government may not require a permit for work under $7,500 on a single-family owner's property, though it may still require one for electrical, plumbing, structural, mechanical, or gas work regardless of cost. A project may not be split up to dodge the threshold, and whoever does the work, other than the owner, must file a notice of exemption within 30 days.
AIA building permit for a single-family dwelling, whether issued by a county or another local government, expires one year after issuance or on the effective date of the next Florida Building Code edition, whichever comes later. A local government may still choose to extend a permit past that date.
AIA local government may not require a homeowner or their contractor to get a permit for a temporary hurricane or flood barrier on a one- or two-family home, as long as a licensed contractor installs it and it meets listed conditions, including a 48-inch height cap. The exemption does not reach barriers needed to keep a community compliant with the National Flood Insurance Program.