What to Do if I Received a Code Compliance Violation in Florida
Code compliance violations are actually one of the more serious laws in Florida that carry penalties that you will want to avoid. The notice that you have received tells you what you can expect from the violation process and you will need to be sure that you pay attention to which jurisdiction your violation falls within. Each jurisdiction in Florida has its own rules and regulations that must be followed in order to resolve the problem and avoid another code compliance violation.
If you have received a code compliance violation, you might want to secure a skilled lawyer to help you to navigate this process. Due to the differences between jurisdictions, the process that is laid out in Florida statutes Chapter 162 might not be entirely correct for your area. Your lawyer will be able to help you to navigate the process of responding to and dealing with the code compliance violation that you have received.
If you are ready to learn some more about what to do if you have received a code compliance violation in Florida, you need to read on!
What Are my Choices When I Receive a Code Compliance Violation?
There are two courses of action that you can take when you get one of these violations. You can try to handle it yourself, which we have already mentioned will be complicated, or you can get a skilled lawyer to help you with the issues. No matter which way you choose to handle this part of the process, you will need to be responsive to the violation by the deadline in the notice.
Ignoring a code violation is never a good course of action to take and you will need to be sure that you are reaching out to all the right parties if you are going to handle the code violation yourself. This is something that requires proactive effort to prevent it from turning into a very big problem for you or your family.
What Do I Do When I Get a Code Violation in Florida?
The first thing you need to do is touch base with the enforcement officer. This lets the department know that you received the violation notice and that you are working on the situation. You can also let the department know that you are working on a resolution for the issue. If you have a lawyer working on your code violation case, they will take care of this step for you. There are different kinds of code violations and different levels of fines that are assessed for these issues when they are not attended to. You might need help to gather the information that you need to navigate your code violation case.
A resolution will be mandatory per the code violation so you will need to have a plan to take care of the issue before the end of the stated period to do this laid out by the code violation. This might be a different amount of time in one jurisdiction compared to another. There will be a compliance deadline clearly laid out in the violation but your lawyer might be able to help you to get an extension if you need it to try and attend to the issue. This is not as likely to be an option that is offered to you if you are working on the issue alone.
Some jurisdictions will require that you submit a defense package the week before your enforcement hearing. You will not want to miss this step because it can waive your defense and your chance to explain your side of the case. Make sure that you do not suddenly decide to hire an attorney a few days from the court date for your violation because you will likely miss this essential deadline even with their help.
What if I Miss My Code Hearing?
If you choose not to attend your code hearing or you miss the hearing for another reason, there will be fines that will be assessed against the property. You might not know that these fines have been applied to your property until you try to sell it or transfer the title of the property. If you are renting, the fines will be assessed against the landlord, in which case you will not be able to ignore them any longer.
This is not a good plan to have in mind to attend to your code violation since it will just create long—term problems that could have been avoided if you had just responded to the code violation notice properly. Remember that it might cost money to attend to the issue that has led to your code violation, but it will almost always be cheaper to avoid fines for non-response and simply attend to the issue itself. Your lawyer can help you to secure a fair and reasonable timeframe for the fixes to be made, but you will still have to actually take care of these fixes for the code violation to be considered resolved. Just saying that you will take care of the issue and then ignoring it will not be tolerated either.
Code Violations Can Be Much Easier With Legal Guidance
Due to the complex nature of the laws and regulations that govern each jurisdiction in Florida, when you get a code violation, it is almost always a good idea to get a code enforcement lawyer to help you with your violation. Make sure that you respond to the violation promptly and that you take actual steps to deal with the issue unless you want to be assessed added fines that will only add to the cost of the process.
Satisfying a code violation and appearing at your hearing are critical steps that must be taken if you want to be able to deal with this issue and clear it up. This is not like a parking ticket that you can ignore with limited consequences. A code violation is worth your attention and securing a skilled lawyer to help with the process can make all the difference in the outcome of your case.
See Also: