Tamarac, FL Rental Inspections: Inspection Programs (2026)

Chapter 5, Article X of the Tamarac Code, adopted under Ord. No. 2011-09, gives the city's enforcing agency broad inspection power over rental housing stock. Sec. 5-211(a) authorizes inspections of dwellings, dwelling units, hotels, rooming houses, and adjacent premises including vacant lots to determine physical condition, and Sec. 5-211(b) lets inspecting officers enter, examine, and survey structures at reasonable hours to check compliance with the minimum standards set out in Sec. 5-206, which covers space, light, ventilation, sanitary facilities, and general maintenance. If a person with authority over the property will not consent to an inspection, Sec.

5-211(c) requires the city to offer to reschedule within ten days; continued refusal without just cause becomes probable cause for the city to seek an inspection warrant under F.S. §§ 933.20 through 933.30, though owner-occupied family residences are exempt from that warrant statute. For structures that appear abandoned or vacant with an owner who cannot be reached, Sec. 5-211(d) and (e) let an inspector enter an open, unsecured portion directly, or seek a warrant to enter a locked one. Inspectors must carry and show official identification under Sec.

5-211(f). If an inspection turns up a violation, Sec. 5-212 requires the enforcing officer to document it and report to the director, who may then issue a notice of violation and order to show cause, followed by a hearing before the special magistrate under Sec. 5-213 if the owner objects within the timeframes set there. The city also trains and certifies its own minimum housing inspectors under Sec. 5-219, and Sec. 5-220 makes any violation of the article punishable by law, with each day of a continuing violation a separate offense.