Fort Lauderdale, FL Code Violation Reporting: Common Violations (2026)

Section 11-21 sets out the two escalation categories used across Fort Lauderdale code enforcement. A "repeat violation" penalty doubles the amount set for the original violation in Sec. 11-25 for the first repeat, and doubles again for each subsequent repeat, though the maximum penalty for any repeat violation caps at $500 per day beyond the correction deadline in the citation. A "chronic violation," defined in Sec. 11-2 as three violations of the same code section within a six-month period by the same violator or property owner, triggers a mandatory hearing under Sec.

11-25 and is likewise capped at $500 per day beyond the correction deadline. The underlying definitions in Sec. 11-2 also distinguish an "uncontested violation" (one where the civil penalty is paid or no hearing is timely requested) from a "contested violation" (a timely request for a hearing before a special magistrate). Collections on unpaid civil penalties can be referred to a debt collection agency under Sec. 11-22, and Sec. 11-23 makes clear these procedures are supplemental: the city can still pursue other legal remedies for the same underlying Code violation.

Because the escalation scheme applies to violations of any Code provision the city is authorized to enforce, from Minimum Housing Code defects to zoning and nuisance violations, a property with a documented history of the same complaint is treated far more severely than a first-time infraction, which is why the repeat/chronic classification, not the underlying subject matter, drives how aggressively a case is pursued.