Guide
The names count the age of the building at an inspection. There is one program, Miami-Dade’s building recertification, and it repeats for the life of the building.
- Engineer
- Juan Tercero, PE., M.Sc. · Florida PE 105256
Guide
Where the names come from
For decades Miami-Dade’s first recertification fell due at the age in its name, so owners called the program the “40-year recertification”. The name stuck, and it is still printed on letters, contracts and condominium budgets.
The county has since moved the first inspection to an earlier age, and owners began to search for the “30-year recertification” too. A building already through its first inspection meets the next one later in its life, which is why some owners call that one the “50-year recertification”. Each name is the age of the building at one inspection; the program behind all three names is the same.
What the county’s rules say today
Two rows decide it: the age at which the first recertification falls due, and the interval after that. They are printed here from the county program’s verified row, with its source.
- Miami-Dade — First due: At 30 years — 25 for condominium and cooperative buildings of three or more stories within 3 miles of the coast. Age is counted from the year built on the Property Appraiser’s record.
- Miami-Dade — Then: Every 10 years, for the life of the structure.
What changes between the first inspection and the later ones
Very little in the paperwork: every cycle asks for the same complete package on the county’s forms — the structural and electrical reports, and the certificates that apply to the building. What changes is what the inspection finds. A building at its first cycle often has deferred maintenance; at its later cycles, the earlier reports show what was repaired and what was left to watch.
That is why the last report matters. It shows the engineer where the building stood, shortens the inspection, and lets the board see whether a condition is new or one that was already being watched.
- Keep every recertification report and amended report the building has filed.
- Keep the repair permits and their final inspections with them.
- Send the most recent one with your request for a proposal.
And in Broward?
Broward’s owners use the same names for a different program, the Building Safety Inspection Program, with its own ages and its own clock. Never read a Broward building against Miami-Dade’s rows, or the other way round.
Questions
What owners ask about the names
Is the “40-year recertification” still a thing?
As a name, yes: owners and lenders still use it. As a rule, the age that triggers the first inspection is the one in the county’s “First due” row.
Our building was recertified under the old schedule. Do we start over?
No. A building already recertified under the earlier schedule keeps the cycle it was on. Send us the last report and we confirm when the next one falls due.
Does the coastal rule apply to every building near the beach?
No. It reaches only the condominium and cooperative buildings the “First due” row describes; other buildings near the coast follow the general age.
Keep reading
Where to go from here.
Next step
A county notice in your hand, a building that worries you or a new project — describe it and attach what you have. A phone photo of the letter is enough. You hear back from the engineer, with questions or with a written proposal.
The proposal is free. We usually reply within two hours.