Overview

The Broward County Board of Rules and Appeals has established a Building Safety Inspection Program (BORA Policy 05-05) for Buildings and Structures that are 25 years of age or older.

The program has basic guidelines for minimum inspection procedures. Inspection procedures shall conform to the minimum inspection guidelines issued by the Broward County Board of Rules and Appeals (BORA).

Subsequent Building Safety Inspections shall be required at ten (10) year intervals from the original required inspection date, regardless of when the inspection report for the building or structure is finalized or filed.

EXEMPT from this program are:

1. U.S. Government Buildings
2. State of Florida Buildings
3. Buildings built on sovereign tribal lands
4. School Buildings under the jurisdiction of the Broward County School Board
5. Single-family, two-family, three-family, and four-family dwellings with three or fewer habitable stories above ground.
6. Fee Simple Townhouses as defined in the Florida Building Code
7. Minor Structures, defined as buildings or structures in any occupancy group having a building area less than three thousand five hundred (3,500) square feet.
8. Railroads and ancillary facilities associated with the railroad.

Building Safety Inspection Program Timeline

• Between June 1st and August 31st of each year, the Building Official shall send out a Notice of Required Building Safety Inspection via certified mail to the owner or association of all properties that are due for their Building Safety Inspection during that calendar year.
• Within 180 days of receiving the Notice, the Owner shall be required to submit a written report including the Broward County Board of Rules and Appeals Structural and Electrical Safety Inspection Report Form to the Building Official, prepared by a qualified Florida Licensed Professional Engineer or Florida Registered Architect, certifying that each such Building or Structure is structurally and electrically safe or has been made structurally and electrically safe for the specified use for continued occupancy, in conformity with the minimum inspection procedural guidelines as issued by the Board of Rules and Appeals.

Required Repairs or Modifications:

• In the event that repairs or modifications are found to be necessary as a result of the Building Safety Inspection, the owner shall have a total of 180 days from the date of the Building Safety Inspection Report (unless otherwise specified by the Building Official) to complete the required repairs and correct the structural and electrical deficiencies.
  
  When any Electrical or Structural repairs or modifications are required, the responsible Engineer or Architect who performed the Building Safety Inspection and issued the report shall provide the Building Owner and Building Official with a signed and sealed letter indicating whether the Building or Structure may continue to be safely occupied while the Building or Structure is undergoing repairs. This letter shall be valid for no more than 180 days.

• Once all required repairs have been completed, the responsible Licensed Professional Engineer or Registered Architect who performed the Safety Inspection and issued the report shall re-inspect the areas noted on the original report and provide the Building Owner and Building Official an amended report with a signed and sealed letter stating that all of the required repairs and corrections have been completed and that the Building or Structure has been certified for continued use.

Submittals: 

The following forms are required to be completed at the time of submittal: 

• Building Safety Inspection Submittal Form
• Building Safety Inspection Form - Structural
• Building Safety Inspection Form - Electrical

There is a $375.00 fee due at the time of submittal, for the City of Fort Lauderdale Building Department to review the reports. We are no longer accepting paper copies. All reports must be digitally signed and sealed and must be submitted via our LauderBuild portal. Please see directions below:

To submit your documents, please visit LauderBuild. You must register before you’re able to submit the documents. Once you have registered, select New Application - Permits/General - Accept the Terms of Use - Record Type- Select BSIP (Building Safety Inspection Program). A BLD-BSIP record will be created.

Please note that each item must be uploaded separately. For example, when uploading, there is a tab for the Building Safety Application, a tab for the Electrical Report, a tab for the Structural Report, and another tab for Miscellaneous, etc. The Building Safety Report must be digitally signed and sealed to be validated. 

Resubmittals for records created prior to January 1, 2024: Please send corrected Building Safety Inspection Report to vbryan@fortlauderdale.gov or BuildingSafetyProgram@fortlauderdale.gov. Uploading resubmittals for a BLD-CERT record online will result in duplicate records. 

For more information regarding the Building Safety Inspection Program, please send an email to BuildingSafetyProgram@fortlauderdale.gov or call 954-828-6020 or 954-828-5082.

PLEASE NOTE: BORA’s policy #05-05 complies with the State of Florida Senate Bill 154 requirements.

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