Existing Building Recertification Program

About the Program

Category: County Resiliency (Best in Category)

Year: 2023

The Miami-Dade County 40-Year Building Recertification program has been operational since 1975 and requires existing buildings and structures to be recertified when they mature to 40 years. They must also be recertified every 10 years thereafter. Municipal Building Officials notify the building owners that have buildings due for recertification each year by using the Property Appraiser’s records to obtain the building’s age. Inspection reports must be signed and sealed by state licensed architects or engineers and submitted to the municipal jurisdiction for review following an application procedure. The fundamental purpose of the required inspection and report is to confirm in reasonable fashion that the building or structure that matures to the predetermined age or older is structurally and electrically safe for continued use under present occupancy. After the collapse of the Champlain Towers South in Surfside Florida on June 24, 2021, 40-Year Building Recertification program came under global scrutiny and several enhancements to the program surfaced. The Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources for Miami-Dade County took the leading front in conducting numerous meetings with Building Officials from all pertaining cities resulting in the revamping of the program’s guidelines and report templates, promulgated by the County’s Board of Rules and Appeals, were revised, and published in November 2021. This allowed all building departments in the County to use the new guidelines for the 2022 reporting year. Recommended State Legislative changes made on May 26, 2022, were also incorporated into the Existing Building Recertification Program through ordinance passed on June 1, 2022, which reduced the initial inspection requirement from 40 years to 30 years. The enhancements made to the program and their swift implementation county-wide are showcased in this submission.