To ensure compliance with housing and building codes, cities, towns, and counties use what’s known as Code Enforcement or Code Compliance strategies. 

Housing and building code enforcement not only helps to ensure the habitability of specific properties that are in violation of the code, but also helps to keep surrounding homes and properties safe. A property that shows clear signs of abandonment and neglect, for example, may be a target for criminal activity that compromises the safety of neighboring residents and businesses.

Code compliance may take place at administrative, civil, and/or criminal levels. Some jurisdictions rely primarily on residents to report possible violations, while others take a more proactive approach and conduct windshield surveys or other inspections on a regular basis, such as for tall grass or junk and debris accumulation on properties. 

Our goal is to work with residents and businesses to obtain compliance before enforcement actions are necessary.

You can email us at tcox@dadecityfl.com or nmercado@dadecityfl.com or to find instructions on how to report the complaint online at: http://www.dadecityfl.com/departments/code_enforcement/violations.php

To go directly to our online reporting system, click: 

https://dadefl.portal.iworq.net/portalhome/dadefl

You will be asked to provide your name, address, contact information and to describe the situation you observe along with the property's address. If you don't know the address, please provide a detailed description of the location of the property.  It’s best to specify if the violation is more likely to occur at certain times of the day or during the week, if you notice the same thing happening over and over.

We approach code enforcement both through citizen complaints and through proactive windshield surveys for nuisance violations. If we receive a complaint for one particular property, we will also do a windshield survey for the surrounding properties during our investigation. 

Inspections are made resulting from complaints received or code officer observed. Once a complaint is received, an exterior property inspection is conducted based upon the complaint. If the complaint is valid, a violation notice is issued to the owner of the property. 

If a courtesy letter is issued (warning notice), the City gives the property owner time to make corrections. If violations are not corrected, we then issue a violation, which then, after consultation with the City Attorney's Office, may lead to legal proceedings against the property owner. 

To read our ordinance on code enforcement, visit: https://tinyurl.com/DadeCityCode and Ordinance 2018-09 - Code Enforcement Amendment approved June 12, 2018. 

Once a violation has been received, it can take three business days to investigate the complaint.

Once our office receives a complaint, it can take three business days to investigate and issue either a courtesy letter or a viloation notice. Once a violation notice has been sent to the property owner via certified mail, the property owner has a due process time period to address the complaint. After due process has been given (according to the violation notice), in cases such as overgrown lots, the City will remedy the situation and place a lien on the property for reimbursement. In some cases, a Special Magistrate hearing will be called (according to our codes), and the process may take much longer. If you file your complaint using our online tool, you can be kept up to date on the progress the City is making with the property owner. 

Our code compliance division sees a wide array of violations, but the most common complaints we receive are tall grass, junk cars, excessive trash or debris, and unsecured property.