Open permits when selling a home in Florida: what the law says

What an open permit is

A permit is open until the work passes its final inspection and the local office closes the record. Manatee County's Permitting Section says a project is complete only when it must "pass final inspection(s), fees paid, and have all conditions met." Any permit that never reached that point is still open, even if the work looks finished and was done years ago.

Permits also expire. Manatee County says permits expire after 180 days if no required inspections have been approved. We explain that rule in our guide to building permit expiration in Manatee County.

How an owner can close one

Florida Statutes section 553.79(16) speaks to this directly. Based on the statute text we read:

• You do not have to be the named applicant. A property owner can close a permit by keeping the original contractor, hiring another state-licensed contractor, or becoming an owner-builder.
• Expired permits can be closed without a new one. If the work is substantially complete, as the local agency decides, the permit can be closed without pulling a new permit.
• The agency can close old permits. The statute says an agency "may close a building permit 6 years after the issuance of the permit." The summary we read says this can happen without a final inspection if the agency finds no apparent safety hazards.

We did not find a fee or affidavit requirement in the statute. The local office may still have its own steps and fees, so ask them.

What the law says if you are the buyer

Section 553.79(17) protects an arm's-length purchaser. The summary we read says the buyer cannot be denied a permit, cited, penalized or charged fees solely because a prior owner's permit was not closed. That is good news for buyers, but it is narrow. It speaks to penalties on you for a past owner's open permit. It does not say the work was done safely, and it does not say a lender, insurer or inspector will ignore it.

We did not find a Florida law that blocks a sale because of an open permit. We also did not research what title companies, lenders or insurers require. Ask your real estate agent and your title company.

How to look up permits on a Manatee County home

Manatee County uses the Accela Online Services portal for permits. Its Permitting Section page lists a "Search Permit Records" option. The page does not give search steps, so check the portal's help or call the county at 941-748-4501 ext. 3800 or email permitting@mymanatee.org. For homes in other counties or inside a city, use that office. Cities such as Bradenton and Palmetto have their own permit offices. See our Bradenton and Palmetto guides.

If you did the work yourself, check the one-year sale rule

Florida's owner-builder exemption, Florida Statutes section 489.103(7), covers owners who act as their own contractor on a one- or two-family home that is "not offered for sale or lease." The statute says that selling, leasing, or offering the property within one year after completion creates a presumption that the work was done for sale or lease. If you built or remodeled as an owner-builder and plan to sell soon, read that section or ask the building department. Our owner-builder guide covers it in full.

A simple order of steps before you list

1. Search permit records for your address with the county or city office.
2. Write down any permit that is not marked closed or finaled.
3. Call the office and ask what closing it takes.
4. Decide whether to keep the original contractor, hire a licensed contractor, or take it on as owner-builder. Do not hire anyone without checking the license at myfloridalicense.com.
5. Keep the final paperwork with your home records.

How Hildebrand handles old permits

Hildebrand Construction & Remodeling is a family-owned Florida Certified Building Contractor (license CBC1257253), licensed since 2009. If an open permit needs a licensed contractor to finish it, ask us about it during a free in-home consultation. On our own jobs we pull the required permits and meet the Florida Building Code inspections.

Plumbing and electrical are done by licensed trade partners that we manage and coordinate. See our process. We give a written estimate with no trip fee. Call or text (941) 284-2218, Monday to Friday, 8 AM to 5 PM. Calls and forms outside those hours are answered the next business day.

Questions homeowners ask