Landscaping Rules in Fort Lauderdale, FL (2026)
4 verified landscaping rules for Fort Lauderdale, Florida, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Tree Trimming
On single-family residential property, Florida Statute 163.045 preempts Fort Lauderdale from requiring a permit, fee, or mitigation to prune, trim, or remove a tree when an ISA-certified arborist or licensed landscape architect documents that the tree poses an unacceptable risk; the City's tree-preservation permit rules (ULDR 47-21) still govern non-residential and non-hazard tree work.
Fort Lauderdale Tree Trimming: FL Law Preempts Hazard Cuts
Some RestrictionsFla. Stat. 163.045(2) and (3) (Tree pruning, trimming, or removal on residential property)
A local government may not require a notice, application, approval, permit, fee, or mitigation for the pruning, trimming, or removal of a tree on residential property if the property owner obtains documentation from an arborist certified by the International Society of Arboriculture or a Florida licensed landscape architect that the tree presents an unacceptable risk to persons or property. A l...
Weed Ordinances
Fort Lauderdale Code Section 18-3 defines 'overgrowth' as lawn, grass or weeds in excess of six (6) inches in height, and Section 18-12 declares any overgrowth of lawn, grass, weeds or foliage on a property a public nuisance the owner must abate.
Fort Lauderdale Grass: 6-Inch Overgrowth Is a Nuisance
Heavy RestrictionsFort Lauderdale Code of Ordinances ch. 18, secs. 18-3 (Definitions) and 18-12(a) (Ordinance No. C-09-18)
Overgrowth means lawn, grass or weeds in excess of six (6) inches in height. ... It is declared unlawful and a public nuisance for any owner or occupant of any real property, including any lot, tract or parcel of land, improved or unimproved in this city to maintain such property, including swale areas, sidewalks and waterways abutting such real property, or permit such property to be maintaine...
Water Restrictions
Fort Lauderdale follows the South Florida Water Management District's mandatory year-round landscape irrigation rule, which limits irrigation to set days by address and bans watering between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.; Florida Statute 373.62 separately requires automatic sprinkler systems to have a moisture/rain shut-off device.
Fort Lauderdale Watering: SFWMD Year-Round Day/Time Limits
Some RestrictionsFla. Stat. 373.62(1) (Water conservation; automatic sprinkler systems)
Any person who purchases and installs an automatic landscape irrigation system must properly install, maintain, and operate technology that inhibits or interrupts operation of the system during periods of sufficient moisture.
Native Plants
Fort Lauderdale's water conservation code makes it official city policy to encourage drought-tolerant, native Florida-Friendly landscaping, and it flatly bars any rule that would prohibit a resident from planting one. Code Sec. 28-1B(c)(3) states this in one sentence.
Fort Lauderdale Protects Florida-Friendly Yards
Few RestrictionsFort Lauderdale Code of Ordinances Sec. 28-1B(c)(3) (Ord. No. C-09-13, 6-16-09; Ord. No. C-21-34, 11-16-21)
Florida-Friendly landscape. It is the city's policy to encourage Florida-Friendly Landscapes throughout its service area. Prohibitions on the use of Florida-Friendly Landscapes are contrary to public policy.
Looking for Broward County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Fort Lauderdale city rules.
Landscaping Rules in Broward County →