Miami, FL Holiday Decorations: Holiday Light Rules (2026)

The City of Miami does not regulate the duration, brightness, or schedule of residential seasonal holiday lighting through municipal ordinance. Single-family homeowners in T3 transect zones can display holiday lights without permit or notification. The general property maintenance and blight provisions in Miami Code Chapter 22 (Garbage and Trash) and Chapter 38 (Public Nuisances) can be invoked if a display has been left in a deteriorated, damaged, or dangerous state. The Florida Building Code requires that outdoor electrical circuits powering holiday lights be GFCI-protected and that light strings be listed for outdoor use (UL listing for damp/wet locations). Sound-synchronized displays — increasingly common in suburban Miami — must respect the 11 PM amplified-sound cutoff in Miami Code Chapter 36. The principal restrictions on holiday lights in Miami arise from condo and HOA governing documents: FL §718.113 allows condo associations to regulate exterior unit modifications including permanent light fixtures, and §720.304 allows HOAs similar authority, subject to the FL §163.04 ban on prohibiting solar collectors and the federal Freedom to Display the American Flag Act. Many Miami condo associations restrict balcony lighting to specific dates (typically late November to early January).