New Statute Would Remove Violations for Certain Unpermitted Work
HB 803 (2026) has passed both houses of the Florida Legislature, and if signed into law by the Governor, will make changes to a lot of statutes related to building permits and inspections. But from a licensing perspective, the bill make a small revision to 489.129 as follows:
489.129 Disciplinary proceedings.— (1) The board may take any of the following actions against any certificateholder or registrant: place on probation or reprimand the licensee, revoke, suspend, or deny the issuance or renewal of the certificate or registration, require financial restitution to a consumer for financial harm directly related to a violation of a provision of this part, impose an administrative fine not to exceed $10,000 per violation, require continuing education, or assess costs associated with investigation and prosecution, if the contractor, financially responsible officer, or business organization for which the contractor is a primary qualifying agent, a financially responsible officer, or a secondary qualifying agent responsible under s. 489.1195 is found guilty of any of the following acts:
(o) Proceeding on any job without obtaining applicable local building department permits and inspections, unless otherwise provided by law.
Only the underlined language is added to the statute, and appears to provide a carve out to allow for unpermitted work where allowed by other sections of Florida’s statutes.
If signed by the Governor, these changes would take effect July 1, 2026.
About the Author:
Jason Lambert is a Florida Board Certified Construction Attorney and Partner in the Construction Industry Practice Group at Hill Ward Henderson, in Tampa, Florida. He is also the founder and chief contributor to the Hammer & Gavel construction law blog. Jason focuses his practice on representing contractors, subcontractors, and materials suppliers throughout the state of Florida. Before law school, Jason spent a decade working in the construction industry, primarily as a project manager and operations director for both new construction and remodeling. He can be reached at jason.lambert@hwhlaw.com or 813-227-8495.
