A code enforcement lien was recorded on my property
In most Florida cities, a code enforcement lien starts as a violation that was not corrected by the compliance date: an order imposed a fine, and a certified copy of that order was recorded in the county's official records. If the violation is still open, the fine behind it may still be running. The practical first step is usually the same either way: correct the violation, get it inspected, then go back to the city about the lien.
General information, not legal advice. Your notice and your city's code office have the final word.
Free estimate · 360 Home Improvements, Certified Building Contractor CBC1267336
Before anything else, please don't
- Don't throw away the notice, the order or any letter from the code office. They carry the case number and the dates everything else depends on.
- Don't hire unlicensed help to fix the violation behind the lien. Work that cannot be permitted and inspected may not close the case.
- Don't ignore a hearing notice. The hearing is where the owner can show what has been done.
- Don't assume a sale or a refinance will sort the lien out. Title companies usually ask about recorded liens before a closing.
How a lien usually gets recorded
- The notice of violation went to an old mailing address, a previous owner or a tenant, and the compliance date passed before the owner knew about it.
- The repair was made, but nobody asked the code office to re-inspect, so the case was never closed as in compliance.
- The work was started but not finished by the compliance date in the order, so the fine began.
- The house was bought with an open case, and the recorded lien surfaced later, often during a sale or a refinance.
- The hearing notice was missed, and the order was entered without the owner there to show what had been done.
How we resolve it
- We go through the order and the lien with you. Between them they name the violation, the compliance date and the code office handling the case.
- We inspect the property against the violation as written and explain the work, the permits and the inspections it needs, with a free estimate.
- We pull the permits the work needs, do the work, and pass the final inspection, so there is a record the city can rely on.
- The code office is asked for a compliance re-inspection and the paperwork confirming the property complies.
- With compliance on record, you can ask the city about its lien reduction or mitigation process, or about a release. That process, and its outcome, belong to the city.
Who does the work
360 Home Improvements fixes the violation behind the lien, doing the building work under its Certified Building Contractor license (CBC1267336). Electrical, plumbing and AC work goes to our Florida-licensed subcontractors, who pull that trade's permit. The lien itself is a matter between you and the city.
Certified Building Contractor CBC1267336. Look it up on the Florida DBPR license search.
The Florida angle
Florida's local code enforcement boards and special magistrates work under Chapter 162 of the Florida Statutes: a notice of violation, a reasonable time to correct it, a hearing, then an order. When an order imposes a fine, a certified copy can be recorded in the county's official records, and from then on it is a lien on the property. Each city and county runs its own re-inspection process and its own process for requests about a lien, so the code office named on your paperwork has the details for your case.
About the legal side
This page explains the usual process in general terms. It is not legal advice, and nobody can promise how a city, a code enforcement board or a special magistrate will decide on a fine or a lien. For questions about your case, your rights or a hearing, contact the code enforcement office named on your notice, or a Florida attorney. Our part is the work: fixing the violation, permitting it and getting it inspected.
Free tools for this
- Lien search guideIs there a lien on my property?Pick your county for a step-by-step search of its official records: whose names to search, which documents to look for, how a release shows up, and when a city's lien search letter helps.Open →
- Notice decoderWhat does my notice mean?Tick the words you can see on your letter — notice of violation, compliance date, hearing, order imposing fine, lien — and get each one in plain English, where you likely are on the usual Florida timeline, and a next-steps checklist.Open →
- Deadline checkerHow many days do I have?Enter the date on your notice and the days to correct, or the compliance date, and get the days left, a dated plan to get it corrected in time, a printable copy and a calendar file.Open →
- Proof-of-compliance photo guideWhat photos prove it's fixed?Pick the violation on your notice and get a shot list for before, during and after the work — the wide shot with the house number, the inspector's angles, close-ups, the permit card and the final inspection — plus a printable photo card to hold in the first frame.Open →
- Contractor license guideWhich licensed contractor fixes this?Tick the work your notice calls for — roof, structure, electrical, plumbing, AC, pool, fence or lot clean-up — and see the Florida license that usually does it, the DBPR codes to look for, who pulls each permit, and how to check a license.Open →
Questions people ask
- Can you remove the lien?
- No. We fix the violation the lien came from, pull the permits and get the work inspected. What happens to the lien after that is between you and the city. For legal questions about it, talk to a Florida attorney.
- Will fixing the violation make the lien go away?
- Not by itself, and nobody can promise what a city will decide. Correcting the violation is usually the first thing a city wants to see. After that, ask the code office named on your paperwork about its process for a lien reduction, mitigation or release.
- How do I find out what the lien is for?
- The recorded order names the property, the violation and the code office. Most Florida counties have an official records search by owner name or address, and the code office can tell you whether the case is still open.
- Is the fine still adding up?
- It can be, if the violation is still open. A fine ordered under Chapter 162 can run for each day the violation continues past the compliance date. The code office can tell you where your case stands.
- I bought the house with the lien already on it. What now?
- The repair side is much the same: find the order, fix the violation it names, get the work inspected, then talk to the city. Your title company or a Florida attorney can tell you what the lien means for you.
General information, not legal advice. Your notice and your city's code office have the final word.
Get a free estimate
Tell us what the notice says and where the property is. We look at the violation, explain the work, the permits and the inspections, and give you the price before anything starts.
Keep the notice handy: the case number, the violation cited and the compliance date tell us what the city needs to see.
Find your city
Florida: Jacksonville
Find your county's code office — the office named on your notice is the one to ask about deadlines, hearings, fines and liens.
A different kind of violation?
- Daily fines are adding up
- Work done without a permit
- Open or expired permits
- Overgrown lot, yard or debris
- Roof citation
- Fence, wall or pool barrier citation
- Unsafe structure or building in disrepair
Code Violation Solver is run by 360 Home Improvements. We fix the violation and get it permitted and inspected; closing the case, and anything to do with fines or liens, is up to the city.