Miami-Dade Recertification
The Village of Key Biscayne sends the notice by certified mail, and its Building Official receives the report. One team delivers the complete recertification.
- Engineer
- Juan Tercero, PE., M.Sc. · Florida PE 105256
Your city
How building recertification is handled in Key Biscayne
In Key Biscayne the recertification is handled by the Village itself, through the Village of Key Biscayne Building, Zoning and Planning Department. Its page says the Village follows the process set forth by Miami-Dade County, and that it follows the State and County building codes. Below is what the Village’s own pages say, one subject at a time.
- The notice
- The Village issues the notification itself and sends it by certified mail — “to ensure receipt”, its page says — to the ownership or management of the building. So the envelope may be addressed to the building’s management and not to its owners. The page prints no number of days for the report; the county’s deadlines are in the rows further down.
- Filing the report
- The Village’s page says the owner of the building must submit a written Recertification Report to the Building Official. It does not say by what route — on paper, by e-mail or through the Village’s Citizen Portal — so the notice or the Village Building Department settles that point.
- What goes with it
- The Village’s page asks that each page of the structural report and of the electrical report be signed and sealed. Where a property has more than one building, the report should include a site plan or a copy of a survey that shows where each building stands, with the building being recertified clearly identified on it.
- The Village’s forms
- The Village’s Forms and Resources page carries the minimum inspection guidelines for the structural recertification, the matching guidelines for the electrical recertification and a certification of compliance with parking-lot guardrails. The guardrails certification belongs in a Key Biscayne package only where it applies to the property.
- After filing
- Once the report is in, the Village audits it for compliance with the Miami-Dade County Code. If the report is acceptable, the Village issues what its page calls the recertification letter. The Village’s page does not say how long that audit takes.
- Repairs
- If the report’s findings identify non-compliance with the Miami-Dade or Florida building codes, the Village requires the owner or management to complete repairs. Its page says the engineer or architect they hired then re-inspects the work and provides an updated report, which the Village audits in turn.
- If it is late
- The Village’s page does not speak of a late report as such. It says that when the repairs and the updated report do not happen, the Village may report the structure to Miami-Dade County’s Unsafe Structures Board, and that the Village Building Official determines, case by case, whether a building the county defines as an unsafe structure is referred to that board.
- Older names
- The Village’s recertification page still describes the program on its earlier schedule, and its Citizen Portal still lists a record type called “40 Year Recertification” — the program’s former name. The ages and days in force in Key Biscayne are the county’s, in the rows further down.
Building office Village of Key Biscayne Building, Zoning and Planning Department 88 W. McIntyre St., Suite 250 Key Biscayne, FL 33149 Phone: (305) 365-5512
Read on the website of the Village of Key Biscayne Building, Zoning and Planning Department:
When it applies
The deadlines that apply in Key Biscayne
The schedule is Miami-Dade County’s, printed here for a building in Key Biscayne; the date on your own notice is the one that counts.
- First due in Key Biscayne: At 30 years — 25 for condominium and cooperative buildings of three or more stories within 3 miles of the coast.
- Then in Key Biscayne: Every 10 years, for the life of the structure.
- Time to file in Key Biscayne: 90 days from the Notice of Required Inspection.
- If repairs are needed in Key Biscayne: 150 days from the Notice to finish repairs that need no permit and to obtain permits for the rest.
- Condominiums & co-ops in Key Biscayne: The recertification serves as compliance with the state milestone inspection — no separate milestone report is filed.
Miami-Dade County’s rows, for Key Biscayne. Source: Code of Miami-Dade County, Section 8-11(f) · Last verified:
Questions & answers
Questions boards in Key Biscayne ask
Who sends the recertification notice in Key Biscayne?
The Village of Key Biscayne does. Its page says it issues the notification to the ownership or management of the building by certified mail, and that it offers them support throughout the process by sending notifications as the Miami-Dade County Code specifies. Send us the notice — a phone photo is enough — and we confirm what the Village is asking for and by when.
How do we file the recertification report in Key Biscayne?
The Village’s page says only that the written report is submitted to the Building Official. Its Building, Zoning and Planning Citizen Portal takes electronic permit applications and construction plans, and paper is still accepted for those, but neither the portal nor the page says a recertification report is filed that way. We confirm the route with the Village Building Department before the package goes in.
Which buildings in Key Biscayne have to be recertified?
The Village’s page says the county’s requirement, which Key Biscayne is subject to, covers all buildings except single-family residences, duplexes and minor structures — a term the page defines by occupancy load and gross area. The age at which a Key Biscayne building comes due is in the rows above. Not sure about yours? Send its address and the year it was built.
What happens in Key Biscayne if the inspection finds our building is not safe?
If the engineer or architect hired by the owner or management deems the building not safe for continued occupancy, the Village’s page says the Florida Building Code requires the Village to declare the building unsafe and evacuate it immediately. Where the findings are of non-compliance with the building codes, the Village requires repairs and then audits an updated report.
Is Key Biscayne’s recertification the same as the 40-year recertification?
Yes. “40-year recertification” is the program’s former name, and the Village’s page still uses it. The same page says Key Biscayne is subject to Miami-Dade County’s requirement and follows the process the county sets forth, so the ages and deadlines that apply are the county’s — the ones in the rows above.
One team
The complete recertification for a building in Key Biscayne
Next step
Send the Village of Key Biscayne’s notice — a phone photo is enough — or, with no notice yet, the address and the year built. We confirm what the Village Building Department expects of your building and reply with a proposal for the complete recertification.
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.