My fence was built years ago without a permit. What now?

Work already done without a permit generally has to be permitted after the fact, which can involve drawings and inspections. The fence may instead have to be rebuilt to an approved height and position. The building department with jurisdiction over the property decides which path applies.

Does a new fence in Miami have to be wind-rated?

The Florida Building Code sets wind-load requirements statewide, and Miami-Dade sits in the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone, where products and assemblies need approval for that zone. We build with wind-rated components where the area requires them. The building department confirms what it accepts for your property.

The notice says the pool gate does not latch. Is that a quick fix?

Sometimes it is hardware, sometimes the gate or posts have shifted. Either way, the gate must close and latch so young children cannot reach the water, under Chapter 515, Florida Statutes and the Florida Building Code. Keep the pool closed off until it is corrected.

Will fixing the fence stop the fines?

We cannot speak to fines or liens. Fines, liens, hearings and appeals are decided by the code enforcement board, special magistrate or local government named on your notice. Ask that office what happens once the condition is corrected.

Do you work outside the city of Miami?

Yes. Our Florida Certified Building Contractor licence CBC1267336 is a state certification valid in every Florida county, so we work across Florida, including Miami Beach, Coral Gables, Hialeah, Doral and North Miami. You can verify the licence on the Florida DBPR website.

Fence, wall or pool barrier violation in Miami, FL

A notice about a fence, a wall or a pool barrier usually points at one of a few things: a fence or wall leaning, broken or damaged by a storm, a fence built without a permit, a fence built taller than allowed or in the wrong spot, a pool barrier with gaps in it, or a gate that does not close and latch by itself. Read the notice through, even the small print. Write down the compliance date and any hearing date. Then call the code office named on the notice and ask what they need to see to consider the condition corrected. That office is the only one that can answer questions about your case. If the citation involves the pool barrier, keep children and everyone else away from the water and keep the pool closed off until the barrier and gate work properly again.

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Call us or send your notice details · free estimate

A wooden privacy fence along a Florida backyard with two leaning sections and a new post set in fresh concrete, a screened pool enclosure in the background.

Miami is an incorporated municipality, so code enforcement here is normally run by the municipality itself, though some local governments contract it out — the notice names the office handling your case. Across Florida, code enforcement runs under Chapter 162, Florida Statutes, which lets cities and counties use either a code enforcement board or a special magistrate. The process generally starts with a notice of violation that identifies the problem and gives a reasonable time to correct it. If it is not corrected, the case is set for a hearing, and the board or magistrate issues an order with a compliance date. A fine may be imposed for each day a violation continues past that date, and a certified copy of an order imposing a fine can be recorded in the public records, where it becomes a lien on the property. The exact steps, deadlines and amounts are stated on your notice and vary by city and county.

While your case is open, don't

Do not start permitted work before the permit is issued. Fence, wall and pool barrier work is permitted under the Florida Building Code, and building without the permit the building department requires can add a second problem on top of the first.
Do not let the compliance date or hearing date pass unnoticed. Those dates are written on the notice, and the code office named on it is the place to confirm them and ask what happens next.
Do not tear out an existing fence or wall before the building department weighs in. A fence built without a permit may have to be permitted after the fact or rebuilt to an approved height and position, and the building department decides which.
Do not leave the pool open while the barrier or gate is broken. A pool barrier citation is about keeping young children out of the water, so a gap or a gate that will not latch should be fixed first and the pool kept closed off until then.
Do not guess at the property line. Setbacks and the line itself are checked against a survey, not against where the old posts happened to sit.

What we do

We read the notice with youWe go through what the citation actually says — height, setback, permit, damage, barrier, gate latch — and look at the fence, wall or pool enclosure on site. The estimate is free.
We check the surveyBefore any rebuild we look at the survey for the property line and the setbacks that apply, so the fence or wall goes back in a position the building department can approve.
We agree the scope and the price in writingYou see what work the violation needs and what it costs before anything starts. Cost depends on the length and height of the fence or wall, the material, the condition of the posts and footings, the survey, and whether a wind-rated or product-approved assembly is required.
We pull the permit under our licenceWhen the work needs a permit we pull it under our Florida Certified Building Contractor licence CBC1267336, including after-the-fact permits for work already in place. Electrical work tied to a gate operator is done by a Florida-licensed subcontractor who pulls that trade's permit.
We do the repair or rebuildWe repair or rebuild the fence or wall to code, close gaps in a pool barrier, and set gates so they close and latch as Chapter 515, Florida Statutes and the Florida Building Code require, using wind-rated components where the area requires them.
We schedule inspections and hand you the paperworkWe schedule the inspections and work to get the permit closed out, then give you the paperwork to show the code office named on your notice.

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.

How it works in Miami

Hurricane season runs June 1 through November 30, and hurricane winds bring fences down. Storm damage left unrepaired is a common source of code enforcement notices afterward. Fence work in Miami is permitted under the Florida Building Code wind requirements, which are strictest in the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone made up of Miami-Dade and Broward counties. Products and assemblies in the HVHZ need approval for that zone, usually a Miami-Dade Notice of Acceptance. Your building department can confirm what it accepts.

Miami's housing stock leans heavily on concrete block and stucco, with a lot of mid-century single-family homes in the older inland neighborhoods and condominiums downtown, in Brickell and along the bay. Older masonry walls and the footings under them take a beating from the wet season. Salt air off Biscayne Bay corrodes gate hardware, hinges, latches and metal fasteners far faster than inland, so near the water stainless and coated hardware is close to mandatory — a corroded self-closing latch is a common reason a pool gate stops latching on its own. Condo associations and gated communities are very common here, so exterior work often needs HOA approval as well as the permit.

Questions people ask

My fence was built years ago without a permit. What now?: Work already done without a permit generally has to be permitted after the fact, which can involve drawings and inspections. The fence may instead have to be rebuilt to an approved height and position. The building department with jurisdiction over the property decides which path applies.
Does a new fence in Miami have to be wind-rated?: The Florida Building Code sets wind-load requirements statewide, and Miami-Dade sits in the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone, where products and assemblies need approval for that zone. We build with wind-rated components where the area requires them. The building department confirms what it accepts for your property.
The notice says the pool gate does not latch. Is that a quick fix?: Sometimes it is hardware, sometimes the gate or posts have shifted. Either way, the gate must close and latch so young children cannot reach the water, under Chapter 515, Florida Statutes and the Florida Building Code. Keep the pool closed off until it is corrected.
Will fixing the fence stop the fines?: We cannot speak to fines or liens. Fines, liens, hearings and appeals are decided by the code enforcement board, special magistrate or local government named on your notice. Ask that office what happens once the condition is corrected.
Do you work outside the city of Miami?: Yes. Our Florida Certified Building Contractor licence CBC1267336 is a state certification valid in every Florida county, so we work across Florida, including Miami Beach, Coral Gables, Hialeah, Doral and North Miami. You can verify the licence on the Florida DBPR website.

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.

Send us the notice

The estimate is free: we read the notice with you, look at the fence, wall or pool barrier, and agree the price in writing before any work starts — call (954) 906-7864 or send a request through the form on this site. Questions about your own case — the deadline, the hearing, fines or a lien — go to the code enforcement office named on your notice, and legal questions go to a Florida attorney.

Call now · (954) 906-7864

Request a free estimate

Tell us what the notice says and where the property is. We'll look at what the violation needs and agree the price with you before any work starts.

NamePhoneEmailProperty address (the property on the notice)CityZIP code (Florida)What does the notice say?Compliance date (if the notice gives one)Hearing date (if any)Anything else (optional)I agree that 360 Home Improvements may contact me about this request by phone call, text message and email at the number and email I gave, including with automated technology and an AI assistant. Consent is not a condition of any purchase. Message and data rates may apply; reply STOP to opt out of texts.

We use your details only for this request. Not legal advice; for legal questions about your case, contact the code office named on your notice or a Florida attorney. See the privacy page.

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Code Violation Solver is run by 360 Home Improvements, a licensed Florida contractor. We fix the condition behind the violation; the code office named on your notice decides the case.