Mike Silvers, CPRC, Owner, Silvers Systems Inc. and FRSA Technical Director - July 2026
Florida’s building code is produced and published over a three-year cycle. The upcoming 9th Edition (2026) takes effect on December 31. Draft versions of the new code became available in mid-May on Florida’s Building Code Information System (BCIS). The code development process can be altered at any time by the legislature, which can direct the Florida Building Commission to make code changes at any point in the process. Seldom do these legislative changes impact the code more than one of the most expansive bills passed and signed by the Governor this year. HB 803 became the gathering place for several construction related initiatives this session. I have already written about many of the items in the bill and predict that I will be writing about many more as the bill’s requirements are implemented. Most of that implementation will be done as changes mandated by the legislation are incorporated into the Florida Building Code.
HB 803, an act relating to building permits and inspections, was passed in March after its final reading in the Florida House. It was signed by the Governor in May and became effective July 1. Included in the bill are many significant reforms to building permitting and inspection procedures. I will concentrate on just a few of the changes.
From the bill:
F.S. 553.79 Permits; applications; issuance; inspections. (1) (g)
1. A local government that issues building permits shall exempt an owner of a single-family dwelling
or the owner’s contractor from the requirement to obtain a building permit to perform any work valued
at less than $7,500 on the owner’s property.
2. The exemption under subparagraph 1., does not apply to any of the following:
a. Work on a propertythat is partially or entirely located in a flood hazard area as defined by the Florida Building Code.
b. Any electrical, plumbing, structural, mechanical, or gas work performed on property containing a single-family dwelling.
A construction project may not be divided into more than one project for the purpose of evading the requirements of this paragraph.
3. To qualify for the exemption under subparagraph 1., the owner or the owner’s contractor must submit a written request for exemption
to the local enforcement agency with a copy of the contract or other documentation demonstrating the nature and the value of the work to
be performed.
4. A local government has no legal duty to the owner, contractor, or successors or assigns thereof for exempted work performed under
this paragraph.
During final discussion on an amendment under consideration, Representative Alex Andrade asked Representative Toby Overdorf, the amendment sponsor, the following question. “Based on this amendment is it your understanding that roofing work and roofing repairs would be deemed as structural as defined or understood under the bill?” Representative Overdorf responded: “Roofing would be structural, yes.” Another unrelated question was discussed and then the amendment and the bill were passed unanimously.
Based on the discussion on the House floor and the unanimous vote afterwards, it seems very clear that the intent of the bill was not to allow roofing to be exempt from permitting and inspections even though the bill’s language does not clearly reflect that. How can we help make the intent clear to building owners, contractors and building officials? One possible way to accomplish this will be, when the bill comes to the Florida Building Commission for adoption into the code, to propose language that clearly reflects the legislative intent when the bill was passed. This approach will be difficult for several reasons. It is often frowned upon by some to make any clarifying changes in the statutory language, even though it has been done at times in the past. We would also be moving a position forward that roofing is structural but only in this one instance. Typically, we would prefer this not be a position that is applied to other circumstances.
A few other options will be reviewed if the code language to clarify intent fails to be adopted. We will of course help spread the information about the bill’s intent on the exemption. We will also consider requesting a binding interpretation or a declaratory statement from the Commission. Whether those options succeed or not we should pursue adding the term reroofing to the list of exceptions that apply to the exclusions, thereby making it clear that roof replacement or recovering requires permits and inspections.
One great improvement in the bill from earlier versions does require that in order to qualify for the exemption under subparagraph 1., the owner or the owner’s contractor must submit a written request for exemption to the local enforcement agency with a copy of the contract or other documentation demonstrating the nature and the value of the work to be performed.
From my observations, not since the creation of the Florida Building Code has such a far-reaching dictate been assigned to the Commission. There will surely be some contention as the proposed forms are reviewed and produced.
Putting aside the difficulties in creating a form that will best encompass our dual roofing codes with one standard code for 65 counties and a separate High Velocity Hurricane Zone (HVHZ) code for two counties (Miami-Dade and Broward), the differences between Florida’s 67 counties and approximately 140 city building
departments make the task formidable.
Perhaps that explains the recent decision to hand this task to an advisory group formed by the University of Florida Engineering School of Sustainable Infrastructure and Environment (ESSIE). A report on the subject was presented to and accepted by two of the Commission’s Technical Advisory Committees (TAC) in May. According to the report, the Advisory Group is to include building officials, construction industry organizations and associations, engineers, architects, contractors and electronic permitting program vendors. Questions asked during that meeting concerning how members of the advisory group would be selected were not clearly answered. Since more building permits are pulled for alterations like reroofing, air conditioning, etc. than for new construction, these forms are critical to division two contractors. One can only hope that these contractors are properly represented.
We will monitor the makeup of the group in hopes that it includes the impacted trades and fairly represents all of Florida’s geographical locations. We hope that the Commission and its TACs (including the Roofing TAC) will play an important part in the development of this very important undertaking. We also hope to see the inclusion of a representative group of building officials, both in the size and the location of their departments. One can’t help but think that input from the two groups (contractors and building officials) that actually use the forms would lead to a better permitting process.
The bill creates new timeframes and deadlines for the issuance of permits. One that is the most important to roofing contractors includes the following:
F.S. 553.792 Building permit application to local government.
(1)(a) A local government must approve, approve with conditions, or deny a building permit application after receipt of a completed and sufficient application within the following timeframes, unless the applicant waives such timeframes in writing:
1. Within 5 business days after receiving a complete and sufficient application, for an applicant using a local government plans reviewer to obtain
the following building permits for an existing single-family residential dwelling if the value of the work is less than $15,000: structural, accessory
structure, alarm, electrical, gas, irrigation, landscaping, mechanical, plumbing, or roofing.
Along with many other changes that are too extensive for this article are the way the bill deals with private providers. If you are currently using or planning to use private providers, you need to look closely at those changes. Just recently, this task has been handed over to an advisory group also formed by ESSIE.
For building departments, this bill is loaded with new regulations, requirements, mandates and restrictions and a thorough review of procedures impacted by the bill will be necessary by all building departments.
Florida’s code is often described as the best in the country, if not the world. Overall, our code modification process works very well, allowing licensed professionals who actually interpret and use the code to be those who primarily modify it. FRSA will continue to closely monitor the implementation and interpretation of these extensive new changes and report back to our members and the industry. Stay tuned.
Mike Silvers, CPRC is Owner of Silvers Systems Inc. and is consulting with FRSA as Director of Technical Services. Mike is an FRSA Past President, Life Member and Campanella Award recipient and brings over 50 years of industry knowledge and experience to FRSA’s team.