Tamarac, FL Building Safety: Building Permits (2026)

Section 5-26, adopted under chapter 2000-141, Laws of Florida, and last amended in 2003, makes the Florida Building Code, as amended, the city's building code, automatically incorporating every state and local amendment as it is adopted, so builders and permit applicants must track the current statewide edition rather than a frozen local text. Permit fees are set by resolution of the city commission and automatically escalate each October 1 by the greater of 3 percent or the June Consumer Price Index, under § 5-1, with a two-year staff review of labor and material costs; plan-processing fees are non-refundable, but other permit fees can be refunded within 30 days of issuance or credited toward another permit within 90 days after a cancelled permit under § 5-1(c).

Before the city will issue a permit for new construction or an addition, alteration, or repair under § 5-28(a), the applicant must submit a registered land surveyor's certificate and duplicate site plan showing property corner stakes, lot lines, dimensions, existing structures, rights-of-way, sidewalks, and easements, plus the first-floor elevation relative to mean sea level for new construction; the building official can waive the survey only for minor work clearly within the setback lines where property stakes already exist. After the foundation or slab is poured, § 5-28(b) requires a second surveyor's certification of the as-built foundation location and elevation, confirming all setbacks are met, before construction can continue.

Certificates of occupancy carry their own separate fee schedule on file with the city clerk under § 5-27, and § 5-29 additionally requires new-home builders to post insurance or a bond of at least $1,500.00 per unit to cover post-occupancy construction defects before a certificate of occupancy issues, unless the buyer already has state-approved warranty insurance or the home is owner-built for personal, two-year occupancy.