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Miami Beach, Miami-Dade County

Demolition in Miami Beach

Miami 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.

Census figures put the median build year of Miami Beach housing at 1969, among the oldest in the county. A 1970s count found more than 800 Art Deco buildings, and North Beach holds a large MiMo stock, with several of its neighborhoods designated historic in 2018. For pre-1942 homes found architecturally significant, the Design Review Board reviews the replacement project, though it cannot deny the demolition itself.

Oceanfront lots sit near the Coastal Construction Control Line, and Florida DEP permits work that alters, excavates or constructs seaward of it, so ask DEP whether your demolition needs one. Sea turtle nesting season here starts April 1, a month ahead of the state season, and a 2024 city ordinance extends lighting rules west of the line. A 2024 state law also limits local power to block demolition of qualifying coastal buildings partly seaward of the line, with exclusions for single-family homes and some historic properties.

The city does not approve phased permits for exterior demolition inside a historic district, and demolishing without a permit brings double fees plus a penalty. DERM plan review comes before the building permit for commercial demolition and for single-family lots with two or more detached structures.

Sources: Census Reporter, median year structure built (ACS 2020-2024) · Wikipedia: Miami Beach, Florida · Miami Beach planning FAQs · Miami New Times: pre-1942 homes and the Design Review Board · Miami Beach phased permit instructions · Miami Beach fee and penalty schedule · Miami Beach: DERM review under County Chapter 24 · Rule 62B-26.012, Dade County CCCL · Miami Beach: sea turtles · Florida Senate: SB 1526 (2024)

Who issues the permit in Miami Beach

City of Miami Beach Building Department

Historic sites and districts need Historic Preservation Board approval before a total demolition permit. Phased permits are not approved for exterior demolition in a historic district.

See the official page

This is general information, not legal advice. If you hire Romco, we apply for the permit as contractor of record. Miami-Dade demolition permit guide

What we quote in Miami Beach

Other work we quote

From first call to final

The order a Miami-Dade job follows

Romco Builders is a licensed Florida general contractor, headquartered in Fort Lauderdale. A garden shed and a mid-rise run through the same steps.

  1. Call or send the request

    Give us the address, photos or plans if you have them, and a plain account of what goes and what remains.

  2. Site visit

    We check how the building is framed, where the services enter, how trucks and machines get in, and what stands on either side.

  3. Scope and quote in writing

    You get a written scope listing removals, protections and haul-off, with any item that hangs on the asbestos survey called out.

  4. Survey, notice and permit

    A licensed asbestos survey, the DERM notice where it applies, the utility disconnects, then the permit from the city or the county.

  5. Take-down and hauling

    Work runs in the agreed sequence. Loads go to permitted facilities, and we keep the tickets.

  6. Final and closeout

    The inspector signs off the permit. You are left with a clean lot, or the shell you asked us to keep.

Questions

Demolition in Miami Beach

Can Miami Beach stop the demolition of an older oceanfront building?

Inside a local historic district, total demolition needs Historic Preservation Board approval at a public hearing. A 2024 state law (Fla. Stat. 553.8991) limits that power, except for public-safety reasons, for qualifying coastal buildings at least partly seaward of the CCCL. Single-family homes and some historic properties are excluded. Ask the city's planning department which rule applies to your building.

How much will my demolition cost?

We quote each job after seeing it, in person or through photos and plans when they show enough. The figure moves with the construction type, the floor area and height, the asbestos survey result, the utilities to be cut off, how machines reach the work, what stands next door, what must be kept, and how far the loads travel. A 1950s concrete block house and a 1990s frame addition can sit on the same street and quote very differently, which is why we publish no rates.

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.

How long does it take to get from first call to a cleared site?

We will not guess before the facts are known. The answer depends on the plan review queue at your city or the county, how fast the utilities issue their disconnect letters, what the survey turns up and the notice period that follows, any historic or condo board approval, and how big the building is and what it is built from. When we know those, you get a sequence that names what each step waits on.

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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.

Call (305) 760-9827Request a quote