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The Miami-Dade County Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources (RER) recently began to mail out advance courtesy notices to properties in unincorporated Miami-Dade County that are 40 years or older and due to recertify in 2022.
This is an administrative change RER has implemented to provide properties advance notice before they would normally receive their Notice of Required Recertification to begin the process, with the goal of helping property owners plan their recertification well before the actual recertification due date.
“This is one of the proactive measures Miami-Dade County is taking to increase building safety and better support building owners and associations with their 40-year recertification processes,” said Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. “We must do everything possible in the aftermath of Surfside to introduce reforms to ensure a tragedy like this never happens again, and I encourage all our municipalities to take similar steps for the safety of all our residents.”
Properties will receive another notice in January 2022 and will have 90 days to submit their reports to the county’s Building Official. To complete the recertification process, a property owner must hire a Florida-licensed professional engineer or architect to conduct thorough structural and electrical inspections and submit reports certifying each building is safe for continued occupancy, or provide details if repairs are required.
Property owners are required to obtain a permit before making the repairs identified in the report and cannot proceed with repairs until they do so. Failure to obtain a permit before beginning repairs will result in enforcement actions against the property owner. The permit process will provide additional time for completing the repairs and coming into compliance with the building.
It is important that property owners properly budget for any repairs that may be required to keep their structures in safe conditions. Regular maintenance helps ensure that buildings do not deteriorate to the point where very costly repairs are needed to obtain recertification.
Mayor Levine Cava has gathered policymakers at all levels — local, state and federal — and experts to review all county policies and practices to identify critical areas where laws can be strengthened to better protect residents and ensure building safety.
For more information, including the portal to search for individual property recertification information, visit www.miamidade.gov/global/economy/building/40-year-recertification.page.
