Why do I need a permit and who can pull a permit?

Permits help you.

Pre Ian, we would get calls from our community asking for help. Their insurance company was looking at raising rates or even dropping them if they didn’t have a new roof. While this was updated in Florida legislation special session many still had the angst of trying to get a new roof before their insurance company would drop them.

This was the most common request. But, our community started seeing other issues. A homeowner had a new door, or new windows installed but their insurance company wouldn’t give them a discount for the hurricane protection.

Post Ian, we are now hearing that insurance companies will pay prorating the age of the items you lost.
So, an example is you replaced a water heater a year ago, but there wasn’t a permit pulled. Your insurance company will look and see the last time a permit was pulled and will prorate the payment based on the old unit.

Permits can be pulled by the owner, but be careful. This permit allows for you to do the work. If you pull an owner builder permit you cannot hire a company to do the work. And if you do pull the permit, you are not able to sell your home within 365 days of the issue of the permit.

Permits are inspected by a licensed inspector in the city or county. They are stating the project was completed to the Florida Building Code. And, when you have damage, this permit can help let them know the value of the project for insurance purposes.

These are not local companies rules, or even our local building department’ regulations.
These are state laws to protect you. It can be frustrating to some, but the rules are put into place for your protection.

And we are here to help make sure you hire the right companies for any of your home needs.