Florida allows covered factory-built homes where detached houses are permitted

Counties and cities must allow covered factory-built homes in zoning districts that allow detached single-family houses. The zoning rule covers manufactured buildings intended for single-family use and manufactured homes built partly or fully offsite that are treated as real property. Local design, size, and placement rules must apply equally to homes built on site. Local governments may set compatibility standards for the listed architectural features. Certified manufactured buildings cannot be denied placement permits in mobile home parks, recreational vehicle parks, and mobile home condominiums, cooperatives, or subdivisions. Placement on a mobile home lot requires the park owner’s prior written approval. Covered units on mobile home lots are taxed as mobile homes and are subject to payments to the Florida Mobile Home Relocation Fund. These provisions took effect July 1, 2026.

Local governments must grant covered permit exemptions and issue one permit for a qualifying retaining wall that crosses multiple lots. The exemptions name single-family homeowners and their contractors. Barrier installation sites also include two-family homes and townhouses. The single-permit wall rule covers all three housing types. The small-project exemption excludes electrical, plumbing, structural, mechanical, and gas work. A project cannot be split to avoid permit requirements. Temporary storm barriers must prevent storm surge or floodwater from entering a structure or property. They must be installed by a licensed contractor, meet local land-use and drainage rules, and neither support a building’s weight nor serve as living space. Both exemptions exclude property partly or entirely in a flood hazard area. Both require a written request with documents describing the work; small-project requests must also show its value. Local governments have no legal duty to owners, contractors, or their successors for work covered by these exemptions. These provisions took effect July 1, 2026.

Local governments must follow fee reductions, review deadlines, and oversight limits when owners hire private building reviewers or inspectors. This applies to owners hiring licensed private building professionals. Counties, cities, school districts, and independent special districts may also hire private firms or qualified inspectors for projects they own. Contractors need the owner’s explicit written permission to hire a private provider and must submit that permission to the building official. Officials cannot demand the service contract as a permit condition. Local governments cannot charge for reviews or inspections handled privately or impose punitive administrative fees. Permit fees must reflect local costs. Commercial projects receive at least a 25% reduction of the fee portion for the privately handled service. Using private providers for all required reviews and inspections requires at least a 50% reduction of the amount otherwise charged for those services. An agency that misses those commercial fee reductions loses the right to collect any project fees. The state surcharge is calculated using the reduced permit fee. These reductions do not cover what owners pay private providers directly. These provisions took effect July 1, 2026.

The Florida Building Commission must adopt statewide permit forms, and local officials must follow home-project deadlines, inspection fee limits, and building-design restrictions. These rules cover state permit forms, local permit decisions and fees, single-family permits, and specified commercial building designs. Local officials must decide complete applications for listed work on existing single-family homes worth less than $15,000 within five business days when a local government reviews the plans. Applicants may waive the deadline in writing. Inspection fees cannot depend on a project’s total price or exceed the local agency’s actual inspection costs. Single-family home permits expire one year after issuance or when the next Florida Building Code edition takes effect, whichever is later. Local governments may extend them. For covered new commercial or mixed-use construction and restoration, local governments cannot require glass or similar window materials across more than 15% of the entrance-side wall’s first 10 feet above the ground floor. Individually listed contributing buildings in National Register historic districts are excepted. The law took effect July 1, 2026. The Florida Building Commission must adopt statewide commercial and residential permit applications by July 1, 2027.

Florida’s Department of Management Services must maintain building inspection contracts, and eligible inspectors and plans examiners may work under local officials during declared emergencies. The staffing authority covers the listed building inspection and plans examination specialties during a governor-declared natural, manmade, or technological emergency. A worker must have a state purchasing contract, qualify for the work in a state with a mutual aid agreement, or have held a valid license for the work in any state for the five years immediately before the declaration. Workers must act under the local building official’s direction. These provisions took effect July 1, 2026. Emergency work authority lasts one year from the governor’s declaration.