Why did a code enforcement lien show up during my title search?

Many owners first learn of it at a sale or a refinance, sometimes years after the original notice. The notice may have gone to a previous owner, or the case may have moved on without the current owner noticing. The lien is recorded against the property, which is why it appears in the search.

How a lien ends up on the record

What you can check yourself

• Get a copy of the recorded orderAsk the title company for the recording details, or look in the county's public records. The order names the property, the violation and the compliance date.
• Read what was citedFind the specific condition in the order, such as work without a permit, an open permit, debris, a fence or a roof. Then compare it with what you see on the property today.
• Check permit statusAn open or expired permit stays on the property record until it is properly closed out. Your local building department can tell you the status of any permit on the property.
• Note the datesWrite down the compliance date and any hearing dates shown on the order or notice. Then contact the code enforcement office named on it.

What we will do

• Identify the violationWe work out the violation behind the lien from the recorded order and the property record, so the work matches what was actually cited.
• Correct the cited conditionWe do the repair, clean-up or construction the violation needs. Electrical, plumbing and air-conditioning work is done by our Florida-licensed subcontractors, who pull that trade's permit.
• Pull the permitWhere the fix needs a permit, we pull it under our Florida Certified Building Contractor licence, CBC1267336. That includes after-the-fact permits, which can involve drawings, inspections and opening finished surfaces.
• Schedule inspections and close out the permitWe schedule the inspections and work to get the permit closed out with the building department.
• Give you the paperworkYou receive paperwork to take to the code office named on the order, to show the property now complies. What that office does with it is its decision.

Work by 360 Home Improvements, Florida Certified Building Contractor CBC1267336. Electrical, plumbing and AC work goes to our Florida-licensed subcontractors, who pull that trade's permit.

Related questions

Can a lien appear even if I never got a notice?

It can. Notices go to the owner of record at the time, and a recorded order often comes to light only when a title search is run. Ask the code enforcement office named on the order how the case was handled.

Will fixing the violation clear the lien?

Repairing the property addresses the condition that was cited. It does not by itself settle a lien. What is owed, and whether any process exists to ask about it, is decided by the board, magistrate or local government named on the order.

Does the violation have to be fixed before a sale or refinance?

That depends on the buyer, the lender and the title company, and on what the local code office says. Ask them directly, and ask a Florida attorney about any legal question.

What if the lien is tied to an open permit or work done without one?

Work done without a permit generally has to be permitted after the fact, and an open or expired permit stays on the record until it is closed out. We can pull the permit, schedule inspections and work to close it out.

This page is general information about Florida code enforcement, not legal advice. For questions about your own case (deadlines, hearing dates, fines or liens), contact the code enforcement office named on your notice, or a Florida attorney.

Keep reading

• The violationA lien was recorded on my property
• AnswerWhat is the difference between a code violation notice and a recorded enforcement order?
• AnswerWhat does it mean when a code enforcement lien is recorded on my property?
• AnswerWhat is an unsafe structure order in Florida?
• Every code violation question we have answered