Milestone inspections in Miami-Dade County

Milestone inspection rules in Miami-Dade County

• The county schedule turns on the year built. Coastal condo and co-op buildings three stories or more within three miles of the coastline and built in 1998 or later recertify at 25 years; other buildings built in 1993 or later at 30 years; every building then recertifies every 10 years.
• The county office handles unincorporated Miami-Dade. Cities such as Miami and Miami Beach run recertification through their own building departments under the same county code.
• Courtesy notices go out two years and one year before the due year, and the recertification reports are due within 90 days of the Notice of Building Recertification.
• Of the 24 buildings found unsafe or uninhabitable statewide in 2025, 23 were in Miami-Dade, and Aventura alone reported 19.
• The county identifies the coastal condo and co-op buildings that fall under the three-mile rule through a GIS mapping project, so the county's notice, not a tape measure, settles which schedule applies.
• In the state's 2025 milestone data, Miami-Dade building officials reported 308 required Phase 2 inspections, the highest count among the counties that reported that year.
• OPPAGA found that some building departments in Miami-Dade accept one combined Phase 1 and Phase 2 milestone inspection instead of two separate visits.
• Fees from 1 October 2025: $403.13 for the initial structural and electrical review, $453.52 if the reports arrive after 90 days, $143.23 per discipline for a re-review and $169.04 per discipline for a quality control inspection.

How we handle milestone inspections in Miami-Dade County

A Miami-Dade condo tower usually answers to two clocks. The county counts recertification from the year built and gives 90 days from its notice; the state milestone law counts from the certificate of occupancy and gives 180 days for Phase 1. We ask the engineer to scope one inspection that can serve both where the building official accepts it, and we keep each filing on its own deadline.[1][5]

Permits for milestone inspections in Miami-Dade County

• Miami-Dade County Building, Recertification: Recertification notices, filings and fees for unincorporated Miami-Dade, and the county code every city follows
• City building departments (for example City of Miami, Miami Beach): Run recertification and milestone filings inside their own city limits

When is a milestone inspection due?

By 31 December of the year the building reaches 30 years from its certificate of occupancy, and every 10 years after that. If the certificate date is not available, the building official's records of occupancy set the date. Buildings that turned 30 before 1 July 2022 were due before 31 December 2024, and those that turned 30 between 1 July 2022 and 31 December 2024 were due before 31 December 2025.[5]

Is it 25 years within 3 miles of the coast?

Not automatically any more. The 2022 law set 25 years for buildings within 3 miles of the coastline. The 2023 law (SB 154) replaced that with a local choice, so the local enforcement agency now decides whether local circumstances, such as proximity to salt water, require 25 years. Many South Florida departments chose to keep the 3-mile line; Tampa and Pinellas use 30 years. Check your own department.[5][6][7][8][9][10]

How do Phase 1 and Phase 2 work?

• The building department sends written notice by certified mail, return receipt requested.
• The association tells unit owners within 14 days, with the due date.
• Phase 1, a visual examination and qualitative assessment, is completed within 180 days of the notice, when the architect or engineer submits the report to the building department.
• Phase 2, with destructive or nondestructive testing, is required only if Phase 1 finds substantial structural deterioration. A progress report with a timeline is due within 180 days of the Phase 1 report.
• The association sends the inspector's summary to every owner within 45 days of receiving a report.
• Repairs for substantial structural deterioration must start within 365 days of the Phase 2 report.

Who performs the inspection?

An architect licensed under chapter 481 or an engineer licensed under chapter 471 who is authorized to practise in Florida. A team may do the work with an architect or engineer as the registered design professional in responsible charge, and all work and reports are signed and sealed by the qualified team member. We arrange and coordinate the inspection; the professional performs it and seals the report.[5]

Frequently asked questions