Homestead, FL Rental Inspections: Tenant Complaint Process (2026)

Section 15-28 gives the director of code enforcement, or a designated inspector, authority to inspect dwellings, dwelling units, rooming houses, rooming units, hotels and hotel units to check compliance with the city's minimum housing standards in Chapter 15. Inspections happen at any reasonable time, or immediately in an emergency threatening public health or safety. Outside an emergency, the director must first request permission from whoever lawfully occupies or has legal possession of the unit. A tenant or landlord who refuses consent forces the city to a second step: the director applies to the county or circuit court for a search warrant, which must meet the standard set in Camara v.

S. Supreme Court case governing administrative housing inspections. Once the housing survey authorized under Sec. 15-27 or an inspection under Sec. 15-28 turns up a violation, Sec. 15-30 requires the inspector to serve written notice on the owner, agent, operator or occupant identifying the code section violated and giving a reasonable compliance deadline. Sec. 15-34 obligates the director to reinspect at the end of that period, and if the property still fails, Sec. 15-36 requires the notice to be recorded so it binds any future buyer or lessee under Sec. 15-37. Refusing entry under a validly issued warrant is itself a separate violation of the housing code.