125.56 Enforcement and amendment of the Florida Building Code and the Florida Fire Prevention Code; inspection fees; inspectors; etc.—
(1) The board of county commissioners of each of the several counties of the state may enforce the Florida Building Code and the Florida Fire Prevention Code as provided in ss. 553.80, 633.206, and 633.208 and, at its discretion, adopt local technical amendments to the Florida Building Code as provided in s. 553.73(4) and local technical amendments to the Florida Fire Prevention Code as provided in s. 633.202 to provide for the safe construction, erection, alteration, repair, securing, and demolition of any building within its territory outside the corporate limits of any municipality. Upon a determination to consider amending the Florida Building Code or the Florida Fire Prevention Code by a majority of the members of the board of county commissioners of such county, the board shall call a public hearing and comply with the public notice requirements of s. 125.66(2). The board shall hear all interested parties at the public hearing and may then amend the building code or the fire code consistent with the terms and purposes of this act. Upon adoption, an amendment to the code shall be in full force and effect throughout the unincorporated area of such county until otherwise notified by the Florida Building Commission under s. 553.73 or the State Fire Marshal under s. 633.202. This subsection does not prevent the board of county commissioners from repealing such amendment to the building code or the fire code at any regular meeting of such board.
(2) The board of county commissioners of each of the several counties may provide a schedule of reasonable inspection fees in order to defer the costs of inspection and enforcement of the provisions of this act, and of the Florida Building Code and the Florida Fire Prevention Code.
(3) The board of county commissioners of each of the several counties may employ a building code inspector and such other personnel as it deems necessary to carry out the provisions of this act and may pay reasonable salaries for such services.
(4)(a) After adoption of the Florida Building Code by the Florida Building Commission or the Florida Fire Prevention Code by the State Fire Marshal, or amendment of the building code or the fire code as herein provided, it shall be unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation to construct, erect, alter, repair, secure, or demolish any building within the territory embraced by the terms of this act without first obtaining a permit therefor from the appropriate board of county commissioners, or from such persons as may by resolution be directed to issue such permits, upon the payment of such reasonable fees as shall be set forth in the schedule of fees adopted by the board; the board is hereby empowered to revoke any such permit upon a determination by the board that the construction, erection, alteration, repair, securing, or demolition of the building for which the permit was issued is in violation of or not in conformity with the building code or the fire code.
(b) A county that issues building permits shall post each type of building permit application, including a list of all required attachments, drawings, or other requirements for each type of application, on its website. A county must post and update the status of every received application on its website until the issuance of the building permit. Completed applications, including payments, attachments, drawings, or other requirements or parts of the completed permit application, must be able to be submitted electronically to the county building department. Accepted methods of electronic submission include, but are not limited to, e-mail submission of applications in Portable Document Format or submission of applications through an electronic fill-in form available on the building department’s website or through a third-party submission management software. Completed applications, including payments, attachments, drawings, or other requirements or parts of the completed permit application, may also be submitted in person in a nonelectronic format, at the discretion of the building official.
(c) The governing body of a county authorized under this section or s. 553.80 to issue fees shall post its permit and inspection fee schedules and its building permit and inspection utilization report required under s. 553.80(7) on its website.
(d) A county that issues building permits may send a written notice of expiration, by e-mail or United States Postal Service, to the owner of the property and the contractor listed on the permit, no less than 30 days before a building permit is set to expire. The written notice must identify the permit that is set to expire and the date the permit will expire.
(e) A county that issues building permits may charge a person only one search fee, in an amount commensurate with the research and time costs incurred by the county, for identifying building permits for each unit or subunit assigned by the county to a particular tax parcel identification number.
(f) A county that issues building permits must allow requests for inspections to be submitted electronically to the county building department. Acceptable methods of electronic submission include, but are not limited to, e-mail or fill-in form available on the website of the building department or through a third-party submission management software or application that can be downloaded on a mobile device. Requests for inspections may be submitted in a nonelectronic format, at the discretion of the building official.
(g) A county that issues building permits must post its procedures for processing, reviewing, and approving submitted building permit applications on its website.
(5) Any person, firm, or corporation that violates any of the provisions of this section or of the Florida Building Code or the Florida Fire Prevention Code is guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
History.—ss. 1-5, 7, 8, ch. 63-290; s. 3, ch. 71-14; s. 76, ch. 71-136; s. 1, ch. 83-160; s. 5, ch. 90-279; s. 1, ch. 95-310; s. 3, ch. 2000-141; s. 24, ch. 2000-372; s. 34, ch. 2001-186; s. 3, ch. 2001-372; s. 124, ch. 2013-183; s. 38, ch. 2016-129; s. 1, ch. 2019-75; s. 1, ch. 2019-121; s. 8, ch. 2021-201; s. 1, ch. 2021-212; s. 2, ch. 2021-224.
