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HB 803 - Building Permits and Inspections
On May 7, 2026, Governor DeSantis signed House Bill 803 into law. Effective July 1, 2026, the provisions related to the Florida Building Code (FBC), building permit requirements, and requirements related to inspections and private providers, are as follows:
- Provides for a one-year expiration for building permits for single-family dwellings.
- Provides building permit requirements for placement of manufactured housing in certain locations, including mobile home lots and single-family zoning districts.
- Requires the Florida Building Commission to develop uniform commercial and residential building permit applications to be used statewide by July 1, 2027, that are, to the extent possible, capable of integrating with existing building permit software systems and accounts for local amendments to the FBC.
- Provides limitations for the calculation of local government building inspection fees.
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Requires local governments, except in flood hazard areas, to exempt from building permitting:
- Work on single-family residential property valued at $7,500 or less, excluding any electrical, plumbing, structural, mechanical, or gas work; and
- The installation of temporary residential hurricane and flood walls meeting specified standards.
- Requires issuance of a building permit for a retaining wall spanning more than one lot or parcel for the project as a whole.
- Restricts local government glazing requirements for new commercial or mixed-use projects.
- Requires a five-day response timeframe for permit applications for work valued at less than $15,000.
- Prohibits homeowners’ associations from requiring the issuance of a building permit as a prerequisite for review of construction on a parcel.
As it relates to building code inspection and private provider services, the bill:
- Requires the Department of Management Services to enter into state term contracts with vendors to provide building code inspection services.
- Authorizes persons who meet minimum requirements to perform building inspection and plans examination services for 1 year following state of emergency declarations.
- Requires a local government, rather than optionally allowing it, to establish a registration system for private providers and private provider firms operating in the local government’s jurisdiction.
- Requires local governments to reduce commercial construction permit fees by specified percentages.
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Substantially revises requirements related to private provider services, including:
- Limitations on local government authority related to supervision and application reviews.
- Requirements related to notifications related to applications and corrective actions.
- Revisions of local government fee calculations when private provider services are used.
The full text of the law is available for review HERE.
Updates to the Florida Building Commission’s rulemaking can be found on the Building Code Information System (BCIS), or you can subscribe to the BCIS mailing list to get the latest updates on the rulemaking process straight to your inbox!
HB 1175 - Safety Design Standards for Office Surgery Suites
On May 22, 2026, Governor DeSantis signed House Bill 1175 into law. Effective July 1, 2027, newly created section 553.884, F.S., requires the Florida Building Commission and the State Fire Marshal to adopt specialized safety design standards that allow office surgery suites to provide services or treatments simultaneously for up to six patients on an outpatient basis. Such services or treatments include:
- Treatment for patients that renders the patients incapable of taking action for self-preservation under emergency conditions without the assistance of others.
- Anesthesia that renders the patients incapable of taking action for self-preservation under emergency conditions without the assistance of others.
- Treatment for patients who, due to the nature of their injury or illness, are incapable of taking action for self-preservation under emergency conditions without the assistance of others.
However, the standards must be an alternative to existing ambulatory health care occupancy standards and defines “office surgery suite” as the portion of a physician’s office where surgery is performed.
The full text of the law is available for review HERE.
Updates to the Florida Building Commission’s rulemaking can be found on the Building Code Information System (BCIS), or you can subscribe to the BCIS mailing list to get the latest updates on the rulemaking process straight to your inbox!
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