Miami-Dade County
Demolition across Miami-Dade, one city at a time
Miami-Dade splits permitting between the county and its cities. Coral Gables reviews every demolition for historic value, Miami Springs wants a fence before it issues a permit, and Kendall goes to the county. Find your city below.
- MiamiIn the City of Miami, a demolition permit is requested through the iBuild portal and handled by Unsafe Structures Services. Anything inside a designated historic site, district or archaeological zone needs a Certificate of Appropriateness first, which can put a preservation board ahead of the building department on the schedule.Demolition in Miami →
- Miami BeachMiami Beach sits on barrier islands between the Atlantic and Biscayne Bay, and its Art Deco District went on the National Register in 1979. Inside a local historic district or on a designated site, every total demolition goes to the Historic Preservation Board at a public hearing before a permit can follow.Demolition in Miami Beach →
- HialeahHialeah's population more than tripled during the 1950s, and that post-war boom still sets the pattern of its streets: dense neighborhoods of older single-family houses, with a Census median build year of 1975. The city requires a permit to demolish, and it wants property surveys dated within six months.Demolition in Hialeah →
- Coral GablesCoral Gables puts every demolition permit for a non-designated building in front of the Historic Preservation Officer, who issues a Historical Significance Determination Letter. Any citizen may appeal within 10 days of the online posting, and the approval lasts 18 months. In George Merrick's planned city, that letter is the first step of the job.Demolition in Coral Gables →
- DoralDoral's demolition checklist, form BD-52, asks for a notarized utility-disconnect letter, the county asbestos notice, a temporary fence and dust screen permit, and a plumbing sub-permit to cap lines or abandon a septic tank. Most of that paperwork has to be in hand before the city will issue anything.Demolition in Doral →
- HomesteadCensus figures give Homestead housing a median build year of 2001, decades newer than Miami Beach or Hialeah, because Hurricane Andrew struck the city and Homestead Air Force Base on August 24, 1992. Demolition permits here move through the EPL-B.U.I.L.D. platform, with zoning reviewed first and the Building Official last.Demolition in Homestead →
- Miami GardensMiami Gardens, home of Hard Rock Stadium, incorporated in 2003 around neighborhoods such as Carol City, Norland and Norwood that grew after I-95 opened in the late 1960s. Its demolition checklist asks for DERM approval, a state Health Department permit to abandon a septic tank, and erosion and sediment controls.Demolition in Miami Gardens →
- North MiamiNorth Miami's population jumped from 1,973 in 1940 to 10,734 in 1950, and much of its housing comes from that post-war boom. The city faces Biscayne Bay, with Oleta River State Park at its northeast end, and commercial demolition here goes to DERM before the city reviews it.Demolition in North Miami →
- North Miami BeachDespite its name, North Miami Beach has no beach inside its city limits; it sits across the Intracoastal from Sunny Isles. A demolition permit here expires if no inspection passes within 180 days, unpermitted work costs double fees, and zoning review asks for a tree removal permit before demolition.Demolition in North Miami Beach →
- AventuraAventura began as Turnberry, with high-rise condominiums rising in the early 1970s, and the Intracoastal Waterway and Dumfoundling Bay form its eastern border. Its Building Division takes demolition permits through the eTRAKiT portal. Towers from that era are well past the county's 30-year recertification mark.Demolition in Aventura →
- Sunny Isles BeachSunny Isles Beach once had more than 30 themed motels along Collins Avenue, the Motel Row of the 1950s and 1960s, and most came down for the high-rise condominiums of the early-2000s boom. The barrier island has the ocean to the east and the Intracoastal to the west.Demolition in Sunny Isles Beach →
- SurfsideSurfside is where Champlain Towers South partly collapsed on June 24, 2021, killing 98 people, and the state's milestone inspection law followed in 2022. The town sits between the ocean and Biscayne Bay, and a 2025 town ordinance sets conditions on total demolition of single-family homes, duplexes and townhouses in certain districts.Demolition in Surfside →
- Bal HarbourBal Harbour Village occupies the north tip of the Miami Beach barrier island, with Haulover Inlet on its northern edge. Beach erosion in 1959 led to renourishment starting in 1971, and oceanfront condominium towers line its shore. In 2020, more than half of its 3,507 housing units were vacant.Demolition in Bal Harbour →
- Key BiscayneKey Biscayne is an island linked to Miami by the Rickenbacker Causeway, opened in 1947, and its housing runs from Mackle homes of 1951 to later condominium towers. The village's whole-structure demolition checklist asks for a sealed survey under five years old, plus an asbestos letter on commercial jobs.Demolition in Key Biscayne →
- PinecrestPinecrest's ranch homes from the 1950s and 1960s sit on lots of about an acre, and the village asks a lot of a demolition application: two sealed surveys, tree surveys, an FPL electrical clearance, a Health Department septic abandonment, a village sewer-cap permit, and a letter confirming Freon recovery.Demolition in Pinecrest →
- Palmetto BayPalmetto Bay was among the areas hardest hit by Hurricane Andrew in 1992, and it sits just west of Biscayne Bay. The village will not issue a demolition permit until a Temporary Construction Fence permit has been issued and inspected, so the fence is the first thing on site.Demolition in Palmetto Bay →
- Cutler BayThe National Hurricane Center describes Hurricane Andrew's 1992 impact as extreme from the Kendall district south through Homestead, and Cutler Ridge lay in that path. The town that incorporated there in 2005 grew 62.6% between 2000 and 2010. It lies just west of Biscayne Bay, is low-lying and flood-prone, and includes part of Biscayne National Park.Demolition in Cutler Bay →
- South MiamiSouth Miami, incorporated in 1927, holds the Cambridge Lawns Historic District: about 30 Tudor and Mediterranean Revival homes from 1928, recognized in 2005. The city's Building Division asks for color photos of the right-of-way and a tree location plan with every demolition permit application.Demolition in South Miami →
- Miami LakesMiami Lakes is a planned town of curving lakes that the Graham family's Sengra company began building in 1962, and it incorporated in December 2000. The Building Department lets owner-builders demolish only one- and two-family homes, requires every utility disconnected before work, and takes applications through eTRAKiT.Demolition in Miami Lakes →
- Miami SpringsGlenn Curtiss and James Bright founded Miami Springs in 1926 as Country Club Estates, choosing Pueblo Revival as the town's theme, and Miami International Airport borders it to the south. The Building Department will not issue a demolition permit without a temporary fence, and designated properties need a Certificate of Appropriateness.Demolition in Miami Springs →
- Florida CityFlorida City is the southernmost city in the Miami metro area and the mainland gateway to the Keys and Everglades National Park. Incorporated in 1914 and first promoted as Detroit, it was badly damaged by Hurricane Andrew in 1992. Community Development requires a building permit for any removal or demolition.Demolition in Florida City →
- SweetwaterSweetwater's demolition affidavit draws a hard line: no electrical, plumbing, gas or HVAC may be removed under the demolition permit, because each trade needs its own permit. The city, incorporated in 1941, roughly doubled in size through a 2021 annexation, and Dolphin Mall was annexed in 2010.Demolition in Sweetwater →
- KendallKendall is unincorporated, so its demolition permits come from Miami-Dade County's Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources, not a city hall. Building started in the east near Pinecrest in the 1950s and moved west through the 1970s to the 1990s, and Hurricane Andrew severely damaged the area in 1992.Demolition in Kendall →
Questions
Common questions in Miami-Dade
Does a Miami-Dade demolition need a permit?
For a building or any structural part of one, plan on it. The office depends on the folio number: one starting with 30 is unincorporated and handled by the county's Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources, and anything else goes to the city that holds it. When Romco is hired, we file as contractor of record and book the inspections through to final. Confirm the current checklist with the office for your folio.
Why does Miami-Dade want an asbestos survey even for a house?
The county's own demolition requirements call for an asbestos survey on every demolition project, which is stricter than the federal rule for some small homes. A notice of demolition also goes to DERM, the county's environmental resources office, no later than ten working days ahead of the start date. The building permit is a different document and cannot stand in for it. We arrange a licensed survey, and a licensed abatement firm removes anything the work would disturb. Romco coordinates both and is not an abatement contractor.
Do you work everywhere in Miami-Dade County?
Yes, in all 34 cities and the unincorporated areas, from Golden Beach and Aventura south to Homestead and Florida City. Our office is in Fort Lauderdale. We work to the checklist of whichever building department holds your folio, and the city pages on this site show who that is.
Every type, every size, all of Miami-Dade
Tell us what is coming down. We will put a quote on it.
Romco Builders is a licensed Florida general contractor, headquartered in Fort Lauderdale. A single interior partition or a complete building gets the same thing: a written scope and a quote.