Building permits, zoning and land rules in Broward County, Florida

Yes. Unincorporated Broward County, the Broward Municipal Services District (BMSD), requires building permits for a wide range of construction, including single-family homes¹. Broward County's Building Code Division regulates construction in the BMSD and contract cities under the Florida Building Code⁶. The statewide code applies without separate local adoption, and the edition in effect on the permit-application date governs that work for the life of the permit and its extensions¹⁵. Code enforcement includes mandatory minimum inspections and certificates of occupancy under standards set by the Florida Building Commission¹⁵.

The county's rules apply to unincorporated land. Inside Coconut Creek, the city issues its own building permits¹⁶. We could not confirm who issues building permits in Fort Lauderdale, Coral Springs, Davie, Deerfield Beach, Cooper City or Dania Beach, so ask the city's building office for any parcel inside city limits. Septic stays with the county health department either way⁴.

Broward County Building Code Services, also called the Building Code Division, handles building permits and code enforcement for the BMSD and contract cities¹⁷. Reach the division at 954-765-4400 or visit 2307 West Broward Blvd., Suite 300, Fort Lauderdale¹⁷. Broward's current instructions direct applicants to download the county's permitting packet; during the county website upgrade, ePermits may be unavailable, so forms, submissions and status questions can go to Building Code Services by phone or an office visit¹⁸. The ePermits system supports building permit applications, plan and document uploads, and fee payment, with registration required for a first-time user¹⁸.

Yes, but the responsible zoning office depends on the parcel. Broward County administers Chapter 39 zoning only in the BMSD, while incorporated municipalities apply their own zoning rules^2,3. Cities with their own zoning include Fort Lauderdale⁷, Coral Springs⁸, Davie⁹, Deerfield Beach¹⁹, Coconut Creek²⁰, Cooper City²¹ and Dania Beach²². Broward County Urban Planning Services handles BMSD zoning questions at Zoning@broward.org³.

In the BMSD, Chapter 39 sets minimum floor areas by district: a one-family dwelling needs 1,500 square feet in the RS-2 district and in the Agricultural Estate A-1, General Agricultural A-2 and Rural and Estate districts, and 800 square feet in RS-3 to RS-6, RD-4 to RD-10 and RM-5 to RM-25 districts^12,13. We could not confirm minimum lot size, setbacks, lot coverage or building height, so ask the Zoning Section for the parcel's district and current standards before designing.

Broward also regulates subdivision and platting countywide: the Land Use Plan gives general rules for when platting is required, municipalities can be stricter, and vacating platted easements, travelways or parts of a plat takes a formal application². Published development-permit materials include forms and fees, but they do not establish every building, inspection or utility charge².

A permit is required before anyone constructs, repairs, modifies, abandons or operates a septic system in Broward County, and it comes from the Florida Department of Health in Broward County, inside the BMSD or a city^4,5. The local office is at 2421A SW 6th Ave. in Fort Lauderdale, 954-467-4700²³. The application package is the application form, a site plan, the building floor plan and the fee, and a site evaluation must determine property conditions before approval⁴. The evaluation may be done by the health department for a fee or by a qualified private professional⁴.

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection has overseen the program since July 1, 2021, but county health departments still permit and inspect⁵. Since July 1, 2022, owners, or contractors with owner authorization, may hire a private provider for septic inspections⁵. Operating permits apply only to aerobic treatment units, performance-based systems and commercial, industrial or manufacturing systems, and only where the county uses operating permits; we could not confirm whether Broward does⁵.

Broward's soil survey rates 0% of county soils as free from severe limitations for a conventional drain field, so plan for a site evaluation and possibly an engineered system²⁴. If sewer later becomes available, a working septic system generally must connect within 365 days after written notice, subject to waivers and exceptions²⁵.

We could not confirm that residential RV use or private-land camping is allowed in the BMSD. Florida's permit rules for RV parks and recreational camps govern licensed parks and camps, not a person's occupancy of an RV on a private parcel¹¹. Ask Broward County Urban Planning Services how the parcel's zoning treats the proposed use before buying or moving an RV onsite³. We also could not confirm a separate BMSD tiny-home category, and Chapter 39's minimum floor areas of 800 to 1,500 square feet per one-family dwelling in the districts above mean a very small home may not qualify^12,13. A manufactured or other off-site-built home is permitted as of right where single-family detached homes are allowed, but it must still meet generally applicable zoning, setbacks, permitting, installation, health and utility requirements²⁶. Florida lets a county or municipality, Broward included, adopt an ordinance allowing accessory dwelling units in areas zoned for single-family residential use; we could not confirm that the BMSD has done so²⁷. The practical question is therefore how Broward classifies the unit and whether that use fits the parcel's zoning³.

1. Confirm whether the parcel is in the BMSD, a contract city or another municipality, then identify the correct building and zoning offices^2,6.
2. Ask the responsible zoning office for the allowed use and parcel-specific dimensional standards³.
3. Resolve any subdivision or platting issue, including vacating platted easements, before final design; municipalities may be stricter than the county's Land Use Plan².
4. Download Broward's permitting packet and submit the building application, plans and documents; ePermits may be unavailable during the website upgrade¹⁸.
5. If using septic, submit the application, site plan, floor plan and fee to the Florida Department of Health in Broward County and obtain the site evaluation⁴.
6. Complete the required building inspections and obtain the certificate of occupancy under the applicable commission standards¹⁵.

Start with jurisdiction: BMSD parcels use Broward County zoning, while incorporated parcels may have different municipal rules². Confirm the zoning district, legal access, utilities, flood constraints and whether a proposed split triggers platting before closing; Broward regulates subdivision countywide, and municipalities can be stricter². For septic land, obtain a site evaluation early because 0% of mapped county soils are rated free from severe limitations for a conventional drain field^4,24. For a private well, Florida requires permitting through the responsible water-management district or delegated authority, and Broward's county health department is listed as a delegated permitting authority¹⁴. In Broward, any water well 12 inches in diameter or smaller, including irrigation and monitoring wells, needs a permit from the Florida Department of Health in Broward County²⁸. Typical homeowner insurance is about $6,148 a year, while the effective property-tax rate is about 0.9% and the median annual bill is about $3,610²⁴.