Lee County, FL Building Safety: Building Inspections (2026)

Lee County Land Development Code § 6-111 supplements Florida Building Code Chapter 1, Administration, with local amendments enforced by the Building Official in the Division of Codes and Building Services. 4 sets an inspection pace requirement that does not exist in the base state code: the foundation inspection is deemed the "first inspection" on any building permit, and it must be completed in full within six months of the date the permit issued. From there, every later inspection, framing, mechanical, electrical, plumbing rough-in, whichever trade comes next, must occur within six months of the last inspection that passed.

If that six-month window lapses at any point, the permit is deemed invalid and work must stop until a new permit is obtained and paid for again. Because complex foundations sometimes require staged pours, the code allows partial inspections against the inspector's plans and job-site plans along the way; those partial sign-offs confirm compliance with the approved plans but are not, by themselves, the "first inspection" that starts the clock. The foundation inspection is not complete, and the six-month clock does not start running, until the entire foundation has been inspected and signed off.

The same section amends FBC § 104 to give the Building Official right of entry to inspect any building, structure or premises whenever there is reasonable cause to believe a code violation makes it unsafe, dangerous or hazardous, and it authorizes the Building Official to suspend or revoke a permit that was issued in error, based on incomplete or inaccurate information, or where the actual construction departs from what the plans show. A permit is transferable to a new owner, but only after the Building Official receives actual notice of the transfer.