Unsafe Structures: what an open case means, and what it does not

Read the wrong way, a case scares more than it informs. Both panic and indifference cost money.

Every structure has to meet the Florida Building Code. If an inspector finds a condition that code treats as unsafe, the Building Official (the jurisdiction's construction official) can open a special process. It can be structural damage or deterioration, unpermitted work that compromised load-bearing elements, or conditions that put occupants or neighbors at risk. In Miami-Dade that process lives in Section 8-5 of the County Code:

1. 1Notice of violationThe owner is notified and the defects the official found are described. The notice says what must be fixed and how to appeal.
2. 2HearingThe Unsafe Structures Board hears appeals against the Building Official's decisions. The exact deadlines and steps are in Section 8-5; for a specific case, ask the jurisdiction for the file.
3. 3An order with a deadlineThe case ends in an order with a compliance date. If it is not met, the jurisdiction can carry it out and charge the costs to the owner. Each case states its own deadline.
4. 4Each city can have its ownA municipality can adopt its own procedure by ordinance within its limits. Miami Beach, for example, publishes its own: a red warning tag, certified notice to the owner, deadlines to apply for a permit to repair or demolish, and recording of the notice with the Clerk of Courts. That is why the record that counts is the one of the jurisdiction where the property sits.

• It does not mean the building is going to fall. "Unsafe" is a code category, not a forecast. There are cases for serious structural damage and cases for an unpermitted addition or an abandoned building in decay. Within one property there can be different orders for different structures, so each case is read by its cited defects, not by its title.
• It does not mean every owner is in the same problem. In a condominium, the structure is the association's responsibility: the case falls on the building and its association, and the cost of complying is split under that association's rules, typically through the budget or a special assessment. Each owner pays a share under the association's rules, usually through a special assessment.
• It does not mean it cannot be sold. Properties with open cases do sell. What it means is that the case does not disappear with the sale: the duty to comply with the order falls on whoever owns the property.
• It is not the same as recertification or an ordinary violation. Building recertification and the state structural inspection are age-based inspection programs. Missing them can escalate into enforcement, but they are not in themselves an unsafe structure case. And an ordinary code violation follows its own track, with daily fines, explained in the guide on open permits and violations. A building can have one without the other two.
• It is not read from the listing. No listing says "with an unsafe structure case". It shows up only by looking at the record.

• The jurisdiction's building department: the county in the unincorporated area, the city within its limits. It opened the case and knows its status: number, cited defects, current order and deadline.
• Notices recorded with the Clerk of the Court: if the owner does not respond, the notice can be recorded against the property and appear in a title or lien search.
• The Unsafe Structures Board hearings and orders: they are public acts and each case's package is published as a hearing document.

The record says a process is open and which order is in force. It does not say how much it will cost to comply or how long it will take: an engineer or contractor estimates that with the file in hand.

• In a condo, the cost arrives through the association. Complying with an order can mean a large special assessment or years of repairs paid by the owners. That is why the file is read together with the association's budget and reserves. The guide on the extra condo charge explains it.
• It can complicate the loan and the insurance. It can affect the loan and the insurance: each lender and each insurer decides how to treat it. Confirm it with your lender and your insurer before you offer.
• The deadline does not wait for closing. Orders carry dates. If the deadline falls soon after your purchase, any government enforcement cost is also yours.
• It also gives you something to negotiate with. A case with a current order and an estimable cost is a concrete fact to discuss price, credits or having the seller comply before closing. What cannot be negotiated well is what was not known.

This guide describes the process the official sources establish and states the status of no building. Sources: Miami-Dade County Code, Section 8-5 and the Miami Beach Unsafe Structures procedure, read on October 18, 2026.