Ever thought about building a shed in Florida and then began to wonder if you need a permit?
Whether you need a building permit in Florida or not will depend on the area that you live in. Some counties don’t require a building permit if your shed is a certain size. However, you may still need a zoning permit and/or a site evaluation done. If your shed needs electricity or plumbing you will need permitting.
Hillsborough County does not require a building permit as long as the shed is below 150 square feet. Pinellas County does not require a building permit as long as this shed is not over 100 square feet. Walton County will let you build a shed of up to 400 square feet without a building permit.
Here’s my legal shpeel, I’m no building code expert so please double check my research with your local counties if you plan on doing it yourself or checking with the people you are buying the shed from.
Below is a list of links to each county’s building department. Its best for you to find your county and follow their rules. This isn’t easy because a lot of these websites are very confusing. It might be easier to give your local office a call or shooting them an email so that they can walk you through the process.
Also, If you are buying a shed from a local company and not online, the company that you buy from should be a helpful resource for you.
Florida county building departments
Here is a list of links to permitting rules a regulations for each county in Florida. For counties with clearly worded regulations I will put the maximum size in square feet that you are allowed to build without a permit.
Alucha – Less than 150 sq feet
Duval – Less than 70 sq feet
Hernando – Less than 120 sq feet
Hillsborough – Less than 150 square feet
Indian river – Plastic sheds less than 50 cubic feet
Okaloosa -Less than 200 sq feet.
Pinellas – Less than 100 square feet
Polk – maximum height of 5’ and no more than 50 square feet.
Santa Rosa – You can apply for An exemption as long It’s not greater than 600 square feet.
Walton – Less than 400 sq feet.
What’s the point of building permits?
Why does the stupid government need to know if I’m building a shed or not. While I also kinda feel that way, permits are generally needed for safety reasons. Buildings should be up to code because we need to make sure that they can withstand our storms. If they get blown over by our florida storms they can become dangerous projectiles.
I would be pretty pissed off if my neighbor Bobby built a rickety shed that blew over during one of our thunderstorms and that crushed my fence.
Does your H.O.A. allow a shed?
This is another question you may have to ask yourself depending on the neighborhood you live in. This will obviously vary from homeowners association to homeowners association and you should ask your board what your restrictions are.
Can I put my shed in the front yard?
From what I’ve seen, most of the time no. This is something that may be approved but you will most certainly have to get a permit and have it double checked by your local government.
What happens if I build without a permit and get caught?
I bet there’s a lot of this going on. When you can just hire any old Greg off of Craigslist to come install your shed at at much cheaper rate, I see the appeal.
However the risk is not worth it. if Greg builds you a shotty shed and doesn’t follow any of the permitting regulations you are the one that gets fined.
In some counties you can be fined for every day that the shed stands.
You may also be forced to remove it and rebuild completely.
You might be thinking but how would anybody know?
You might not get caught if you live all the way out in the sticks.
But if you live in a pretty standard subdivision I bet you’ve got some pesky neighbors that you may not like so much. I wouldn’t want them to have anything on me.
Also, if you plan on having any other work done in the future that may require Contracting, like a swimming pool for instance, they may be able to notice your shed and search the records to see that it wasn’t permitted.
How much does a shed permit cost?
This again is an answer that will vary. It’s going to depend on the cost of your shed, your location and sometimes the size of your shed. The super General answer (that’s not always going to be right) will be to expect to spend a few hundred dollars.
The easiest way to find out is to click on your county above and follow the permitting process.
Do I need a contractor to build a shed?
You do not need a contractor as long as you own the property that you live on. You can file as the owner Builder of the shed.
A contractor however will make this process of obtaining proper permits much easier.
Why would I get denied to build a shed in Florida?
- A shed usually can not be the only structure on the land
- If it’s too close to the property line
- If it’s of unsafe construction
- Flood zone concerns
How do I obtain a permit to build a shed in Florida?
Follow the links above.They will guide you through specifics for your county.
But in general you can expect to fill out a form with Questions like your name, your address, if you’re the owner of the property etc…
And probably some other specifics about the shed and location you plan to build it on your property.
You’ll need to provide a site survey, which if you bought the house you should have received at closing.
And also building plans for the shed.
This is of course a very general description of what you’ll need. Each County will vary and you should see what your county requires you to provide.
So do you need a permit to build a shed in Florida?
The short answer is probably yes. There are some counties that don’t require a building permit for very small storage sheds that don’t require electricity or Plumbing. however this doesn’t mean they’re exempt from meeting proper zoning requirements.
It’s best to contact your local building office and double check with them. Permitting is something that will vary from County to County and there is no one size fits all answer.
Permitting is in place to ensure general safety. although I don’t always trust the government I also don’t want neighbor Susan’s rickety shed to be blown into my yard.