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. Whether the fence is approved where it stands or has to be rebuilt to the allowed height and position is for the building department to decide. We can pull the after-the-fact permit under our licence and do the work once that is clear.

The notice gives me a deadline. Can you finish before it?

We do not promise completion times, and we will not tell you a date we cannot stand behind. We start with the free estimate and move as the permit and inspection steps allow. Any question about the deadline itself goes to the code office named on your notice.

A storm took down part of my fence. Does Orlando require a permit to put it back?

Section 105.1 of the Florida Building Code requires a permit for most construction, alteration and repair, and permits are issued by the building department with jurisdiction over the property. Fence work is permitted under the Florida Building Code wind requirements. We confirm with the building department what applies before anything goes up.

What does a pool barrier citation usually involve?

Chapter 515, Florida Statutes, together with the Florida Building Code, requires a barrier around a residential swimming pool, with gates and doors designed to keep young children from reaching the water. Gaps and gates that do not self-close and self-latch are common findings. The local building department inspects the barrier and can confirm the specific requirements for your pool.

Can you get my fine or lien taken care of?

No. We are a contractor, not a law firm: we do not represent owners at hearings and we do not negotiate fines or liens. Those are decided by the code enforcement board, special magistrate or local government named on your notice; legal questions go to a Florida attorney.

Do you work outside the city of Orlando?

Yes. Our Florida Certified Building Contractor licence CBC1267336 is a state certification valid in every Florida county, including Winter Park, Maitland, Apopka, Ocoee, Winter Garden and Kissimmee. You can verify it on the Florida DBPR website.

Fence, wall or pool barrier violation in Orlando, FL

A notice about a fence, a wall or a pool barrier usually describes one condition: a fence leaning, broken or knocked down by a storm, a fence or wall built without a permit or outside the allowed height or position, a pool barrier with a gap, or a gate that does not close and latch by itself. Read the notice first. Write down the compliance date and any hearing date it gives you. Then call the code office named on the notice with any question about your own case — deadlines, hearing dates, fines or liens are theirs to answer, not ours. If the citation involves the pool barrier, keep children 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.

Orlando is an incorporated municipality, so code enforcement is normally run by the municipality itself, though some local governments contract it out; the notice you received names the office handling your case. In Florida, code enforcement is handled locally under Chapter 162, Florida Statutes, which lets cities and counties use a code enforcement board or a special magistrate. The process generally starts with a notice of violation giving a reasonable time to correct the problem. 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. Exact steps and amounts vary, so confirm them with the office on your notice.

While your case is open, don't

Do not let the dates slip by unnoticed. The compliance date and any hearing date on the notice stand as written, so put them on a calendar and contact the code office named on the notice if anything about them is unclear.
Do not start permitted work before the permit is issued. Section 105.1 of the Florida Building Code requires a permit for most construction, alteration and repair, and work started without one often has to be permitted after the fact.
Do not tear out an existing fence or wall yet. The building department decides whether a fence built without a permit is permitted after the fact or rebuilt to the approved height and position, and removing it first can make that harder to sort out.
Do not leave the pool reachable. A broken latch or a gap in the barrier is the part to address first, because Chapter 515, Florida Statutes, and the Florida Building Code are about keeping young children from reaching the water.
Do not take on structural repairs yourself. A damaged wall, a storm-hit fence line or an unsafe structure is work for a licensed contractor, not a weekend repair.

What we do

We read the notice with youWe go through what the citation actually describes — damage, height, setback, a missing permit, a gate that will not self-latch — and look at the property. The estimate is free.
We check the property line and setbacksWhere the citation turns on position or height, a survey is used to confirm the line and the setbacks before anything is built or moved.
We agree the scope and price in writingBefore work starts, you know what the violation needs and what it costs. Nothing begins on a handshake.
We pull the permit under our licenceWhere the work needs a permit, we pull it under our Florida Certified Building Contractor licence CBC1267336, including after-the-fact permits when the building department requires one.
We do the repair or rebuildFence or wall repaired or rebuilt to code, pool barrier brought into line with Chapter 515 and the Florida Building Code, gates that close and latch on their own, and wind-rated components where the area requires them.
We handle inspections and 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 Orlando

Orlando sits inland in Central Florida, so salt spray is not the problem here — humidity, UV and heavy rain are. Daily afternoon thunderstorms from June through September and hurricane season from June 1 through November 30 bring damaging wind, wind-driven rain and spin-up tornadoes well inland, which is why fence lines go down and gate hardware and lock cylinders corrode and seize. Fence work is permitted under the Florida Building Code wind requirements; those are strictest in the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone of Broward and Miami-Dade, and elsewhere in the state products typically carry Florida Product Approval or a local approval. Your building department can confirm what it accepts.

Housing here runs from 1920s–1950s bungalows near downtown through large 1970s–2000s subdivisions and ongoing new construction on the south and east sides, with concrete block and stucco walls and slab-on-grade foundations the norm. Older streets near Lake Eola Heights, Colonialtown and College Park often have older fence lines and detached garages; the newer tracts around Lake Nona, Conway and MetroWest were built in near-identical waves, so fences, gates and pool barriers tend to age out around the same time. HOA-governed and gated communities are very common in subdivisions built after about 1985, and storm damage left unrepaired after hurricane season is a common source of notices across Orlando.

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. Whether the fence is approved where it stands or has to be rebuilt to the allowed height and position is for the building department to decide. We can pull the after-the-fact permit under our licence and do the work once that is clear.
The notice gives me a deadline. Can you finish before it?: We do not promise completion times, and we will not tell you a date we cannot stand behind. We start with the free estimate and move as the permit and inspection steps allow. Any question about the deadline itself goes to the code office named on your notice.
A storm took down part of my fence. Does Orlando require a permit to put it back?: Section 105.1 of the Florida Building Code requires a permit for most construction, alteration and repair, and permits are issued by the building department with jurisdiction over the property. Fence work is permitted under the Florida Building Code wind requirements. We confirm with the building department what applies before anything goes up.
What does a pool barrier citation usually involve?: Chapter 515, Florida Statutes, together with the Florida Building Code, requires a barrier around a residential swimming pool, with gates and doors designed to keep young children from reaching the water. Gaps and gates that do not self-close and self-latch are common findings. The local building department inspects the barrier and can confirm the specific requirements for your pool.
Can you get my fine or lien taken care of?: No. We are a contractor, not a law firm: we do not represent owners at hearings and we do not negotiate fines or liens. Those are decided by the code enforcement board, special magistrate or local government named on your notice; legal questions go to a Florida attorney.
Do you work outside the city of Orlando?: Yes. Our Florida Certified Building Contractor licence CBC1267336 is a state certification valid in every Florida county, including Winter Park, Maitland, Apopka, Ocoee, Winter Garden and Kissimmee. You can verify it 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, tell you what the work involves and agree the price in writing before anything starts. Call (954) 906-7864 or send a request through the form on this site — and take questions about the case itself, the deadline, the hearing or any fine to the code office named on your notice.

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.