Before You Build in Fort Lauderdale, FL: Permit & Rule Checklist (2026)

Fort Lauderdale regulates retaining walls under the ULDR and the Florida Building Code. Retaining walls over 4 feet in height require building permits with sealed engineering drawings. The city's flat topography and high water table create unique foundation challenges.

A building permit is required to erect, alter, or replace a fence or wall in Fort Lauderdale, obtained through the Development Services Department's LauderBuild portal, and the fence must also comply with the zoning standards of ULDR Section 47-19.5 (height, setback, transparency, finish, and sight triangle).

Fort Lauderdale requires fences to be built on the owner's property. Florida's fence law does not mandate cost-sharing between neighbors.

Under Fort Lauderdale ULDR Section 47-19.5, fence, wall, and hedge heights are governed by Table 1: in residential districts fences and walls run from 2.5 feet up to 6.5 feet (chain link up to 6.5 feet), and across residential and non-residential districts fences, walls, and hedges may reach up to 10 feet, with all heights measured from grade.

Fort Lauderdale enforces pool barrier requirements under the Florida Building Code and the Residential Swimming Pool Safety Act (Florida Statutes Chapter 515). All residential pools must have barriers at least 48 inches tall with self-closing, self-latching gates.

All swimming pools and spas in Fort Lauderdale must be completely enclosed by an open-mesh screen enclosure or a fence or wall at least five feet high under ULDR Section 47-19.2, and every new residential pool must also meet the Florida Residential Swimming Pool Safety Act's four-foot barrier standard in Florida Statutes Section 515.29.

Under Fort Lauderdale Code of Ordinances Chapter 18, it is a public nuisance to maintain a swimming pool, spa, or hot tub with non-working equipment, stagnant water, accumulated garbage or solid waste, or water so cloudy the deepest point is not clearly visible, and owners can be cited and ordered to abate the condition.

Above-ground pools in Fort Lauderdale are still pools under city and state law: Florida Statutes Section 515.29 lets the pool structure itself serve as the barrier only if it is at least four feet high and any ladder or steps can be secured, locked, or removed, while ULDR Section 47-19.2 still requires a five-foot enclosure and a building permit applies.

Building a residential swimming pool, spa, or hot tub in Fort Lauderdale requires a building permit through the Development Services Department, and the pool cannot pass final inspection until it has at least one pool safety feature required by Florida Statutes Section 515.27, such as a compliant barrier, safety cover, exit alarms, or self-latching doors.

Hot tubs and spas in Fort Lauderdale are treated as swimming pools: they are subject to the same five-foot enclosure under ULDR Section 47-19.2, the same Chapter 18 nuisance and maintenance rules, and the Florida Statutes Chapter 515 barrier and safety-feature requirements when the water is more than 24 inches deep.

Fort Lauderdale permits an accessory dwelling (granny flat) only as an accessory to a single-family home in specified residential districts (RS-8, RD-15, RM-15 and others), capped at one bedroom/one bath or an efficiency and no larger than 600 square feet or 49% of the principal home, whichever is less.

Converting a garage to living space in Fort Lauderdale is reviewed under the ULDR accessory-dwelling standards and the parking rules of Section 47-20; lost required off-street parking generally must be replaced elsewhere on the lot, and corner-lot garages must keep an 18-foot setback for driveway stacking.

A small detached storage shed of 120 square feet or less is exempt from a Florida Building Code permit, but Fort Lauderdale's ULDR still bars accessory structures from required yards, caps residential accessory-structure height at 24 feet, and all sheds must meet Florida's high-velocity hurricane-zone wind and anchoring standards.

Fort Lauderdale does not have a specific tiny home ordinance. Accessory dwellings are limited to 600 sq ft or 49% of the principal structure under ULDR Section 47-19.2. Tiny homes on wheels are classified as recreational vehicles and subject to RV parking restrictions.

Fort Lauderdale regulates carports under ULDR Section 47-19.2 as accessory structures to single-family dwellings. Carports may extend into a required front yard with a minimum front yard setback of 15 feet from the front property line.

An outdoor fire pit is treated as a recreational open-burning device. Florida rule 62-256.700, F.A.C., allows attended fires in an 'outdoor fireplace, or other contained outdoor heating or cooking device' burning clean wood, and Broward County requires fire-authority approval. Fire pits and ground fires are not permitted on the City Beach or in City parks without authorization.

Fort Lauderdale's open burning is governed primarily by Broward County and Florida rules. Residential burning of yard trash and household paper is prohibited in Broward County, and most other open burning requires fire-authority approval and large setbacks. State rule 62-256.700, F.A.C., further limits what may be burned.

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 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 has tree protection regulations that may require a permit for removing certain trees. The city values its tropical canopy for environmental and aesthetic benefits.