What's an open permit
An open permit can result from:
- Contractor forgetting to request final inspection.
- Work not completed before owner change.
- Failed final inspection not corrected.
- Contractor bankruptcy or disappearance before closure.
Consequences for buyer:
- Municipal fines ($50–$500/day depending on municipality).
- Obligation to demolish or redo if non-compliant.
- Insurance refusal on affected work.
- Refusal of future permits until old ones closed.
- Difficulty reselling — next buyer will find them too.
How to search
- Find the building department of the county or city. Cape Coral is city-level. Naples (unincorporated Collier) is county-level.
- Go to their website and search "permit search" or "public records."
- Enter the address or parcel ID (folio).
- List all historical permits with their status.
- Identify statuses: Issued, Open, In Progress, Failed Inspection = issue; Final, Closed, Approved = OK.
Resources by county
- Miami-Dade: miamidade.gov/permits
- Broward: varies by city. Hollywood, Fort Lauderdale have their own systems.
- Palm Beach: discover.pbcgov.org
- Lee County (Fort Myers, Cape Coral): leegov.com and separate Cape Coral site.
- Collier (Naples, Marco): colliercountyfl.gov
- Sarasota: scgov.net
- Orange (Orlando): ocfl.net
- Hillsborough (Tampa): hillsboroughcounty.org
When the municipality doesn't offer a public portal, ask the listing agent to obtain a permit history report from the building department.
What to do if found
- Identify the nature of the work concerned (roof, electrical, room addition, etc.).
- Evaluate criticality: a water heater replacement permit open 5 years = minor. An unfinished room-addition permit = major.
- Ask the seller to close the permit before closing (final inspection required).
- If seller refuses: escrow holdback (seller leaves an amount in escrow to cover closure cost after transfer).
- If even that refused: withdraw or adjust price significantly.
Protective contract clause
Include in your offer rider:
"Seller represents and warrants that, to the best of Seller's knowledge, there are no open or unresolved building permits affecting the Property. Seller shall, at Seller's expense, cause any open permits to be closed (including obtaining all necessary final inspections and certificates of occupancy) prior to Closing. Buyer's obligation to close is contingent upon all such permits being properly closed."
This clause is standard in several Florida Realtors riders. Explicitly request your Realtor® include it.
Every figure, rate, threshold, and deadline in this guide is drawn from a verifiable primary source listed at the bottom of the page. The article is updated whenever the underlying rules change, with a fresh review date stamped at the top.
Sources and references
All sources were publicly accessible at the last review date. Figures and rules may change; verify the current version before any decision.
- Florida Building Code. floridabuilding.org
- Miami-Dade County Permitting. miamidade.gov/permits
- Florida Statutes Chapter 553 — Building Construction Standards. flsenate.gov
- Florida Realtors — Riders/Addenda for permit clauses. floridarealtors.org
Logical next step
Carefully read the Seller's Property Disclosure to spot what the seller declared.