Plain-language definitions of the terms that come up when you report a code violation in Florida. Each answer leads with the definition and cites the statute where one applies. SNITCH explains process. It does not give legal advice, and your city or county code of ordinances controls the local details.

Complaints and who files them

Code enforcement complaint

A code enforcement complaint is a report to a city or county that a property breaks a local ordinance. Common examples: overgrown lots, junk vehicles, unpermitted construction, unsafe structures, illegal dumping. The complaint starts the process. A code inspector decides whether a violation exists.

Code violation

A code violation is a condition on, or use of, a property that breaks a section of the local code of ordinances. The violation is about the property, not the people involved. Each Florida city and county writes its own code, so the same fence can be legal in one city and a violation in the next.

Anonymous complaint (Florida)

Since July 1, 2021, Florida code inspectors generally cannot open an investigation or enforcement proceeding based on an anonymous complaint. The imminent threat exception below is the one carve-out. The person reporting must give the local government a name and address first. The rule appears in sections 125.69, 162.06, 162.21, and 166.0415, Florida Statutes.

SB 60

SB 60 is the 2021 Florida law (Chapter 2021-167, Laws of Florida) that barred code enforcement based on anonymous complaints statewide, subject to an imminent threat exception. It took effect July 1, 2021, and amended five statutory sections: 125.69, 162.06, 162.13, 162.21, and 166.0415. Many local complaint forms now cite it by name.

Imminent threat exception

The imminent threat exception lets an inspector act on an anonymous complaint when the inspector has reason to believe the violation poses an imminent threat to public health, safety, or welfare, or the imminent destruction of habitat or sensitive resources. The inspector decides whether the exception applies, not the person reporting. Describing a condition as dangerous does not trigger it.

Complainant of record

The complainant of record is the person or business whose name and address go on the complaint file. That name is what a public records request returns. When SNITCH files, SNITCH is the complainant of record. The term describes the file; Chapter 162 does not define it.

Agent filing

An agent filing is a complaint filed by a third party, such as SNITCH, about a condition the filer documented from evidence a client supplied. Not every Florida jurisdiction accepts one. SNITCH confirms the municipality accepts its filing before taking an order. Agent filing is a descriptive term, not a status defined in Chapter 162.

Third-party complaint

A third-party complaint comes from someone other than the tenant, owner, or neighbor directly affected. Florida law requires a name and address on the complaint. It does not require that the complainant live next door.

The enforcement process

Chapter 162, Florida Statutes

Chapter 162 is the state law that sets how Florida counties and cities enforce their codes. Part I (sections 162.01 to 162.13) covers code enforcement boards and special magistrates. Part II (sections 162.21 to 162.41) adds citations, civil actions, and body camera rules. Section 162.13 makes the chapter supplemental; local governments can enforce their codes by other lawful means too. The violations themselves live in each local code of ordinances.

Code inspector

A code inspector is any authorized agent or employee of a county or city whose duty is to assure code compliance. Many Florida cities call the role code compliance officer or code enforcement officer. Section 162.04 defines the term.

Notice of violation

A notice of violation is the written notice an inspector sends the alleged violator after confirming a violation. It names the code section broken and gives a deadline to fix it. Section 162.12 sets how notice must be delivered.

Reasonable time to correct

Under section 162.06(2), the inspector must give the violator a reasonable time to fix the violation before the case goes to a hearing. The local government sets the deadline case by case. Repeat violations, serious threats, and irreparable or irreversible violations can skip this step under sections 162.06(3) and (4).

Code enforcement board

A code enforcement board is a panel of local residents appointed to hear code cases and impose fines. Section 162.05 sets its makeup, including members such as an architect, a businessperson, an engineer, a general contractor, a subcontractor, and a realtor when available.

Special magistrate

A special magistrate is a hearing officer, usually an attorney, appointed by a local government to hear code cases in place of a board. Section 162.03(2) gives a special magistrate the same powers as a code enforcement board. Many larger Florida cities and counties use magistrates instead of boards.

Code enforcement hearing

A code enforcement hearing is the proceeding where the board or special magistrate decides whether a violation exists and what happens next. The inspector and the property owner can both present evidence. The result is a written order that can set a compliance deadline and a daily fine.

Repeat violation

A repeat violation is a violation of a code provision the same person was found to have violated, or admitted violating, within the prior five years, even at a different location. Section 162.04(5) defines it. Repeat violations can go to a hearing without a new correction period and carry higher fines.

Civil citation

A civil citation is a ticket an inspector can issue under Part II of Chapter 162 instead of sending the case to a board. The recipient can pay the civil penalty or contest it in county court. Local ordinances set the amounts within the state cap in section 162.21.

Fines and liens

Daily fine

A daily fine is the per-day penalty a board or special magistrate orders when a violation is not fixed by the deadline. Section 162.09 caps it at $250 per day for a first violation and $500 per day for a repeat. Counties and cities with 50,000 or more residents can raise the caps to $1,000 and $5,000 by an ordinance passed with a majority-plus-one vote of the governing body. For a repeat violation, the fine can run from the day the inspector finds it, with no new deadline.

Irreparable or irreversible violation

An irreparable or irreversible violation is one that cannot be undone, such as cutting protected trees or filling wetlands. Section 162.09 allows a one-time fine of up to $5,000, or up to $15,000 in larger jurisdictions that adopt the higher cap. Section 162.06(4) also lets these cases go straight to a hearing. A 2025 amendment adds a fine of up to 20 percent of the pre-demolition property value for the knowing, unpermitted demolition of a National Register historic building.

Code enforcement lien

A code enforcement lien is the claim against a property created when a certified copy of a fine order is recorded in the county public records. It attaches to the violator's real and personal property. Under section 162.09(3), the local government can move to foreclose three months after recording. Under section 162.10, the lien lasts no more than 20 years unless an enforcement action is filed within that time.

Homestead exemption (code liens)

A code enforcement lien cannot be foreclosed on property that qualifies as homestead under Article X, Section 4 of the Florida Constitution. The recorded order stays in the public records and can still complicate a sale or refinance, even though homestead protection blocks foreclosure of the home. Section 162.09(2)(c) lets the board reduce a fine, and owners commonly ask for that once the violation is fixed.

Public records

Chapter 119, Florida Statutes

Chapter 119 is Florida's public records law. It makes most records held by state and local government open to anyone who asks, unless a specific statutory exemption applies. Code complaint files, including the complainant's name and address, are government records.

Public records request

A public records request is a request to a government agency for copies of its records. In Florida, anyone can make one, for any reason, without giving a name. A property owner who wants to know who reported them can request the complaint file.

Informal communications

Texts, emails, and voicemails with a code inspector about a complaint or case are public records too, including casual ones. A friendly text to an inspector can turn up in the same request as the complaint file. Treat every message to code enforcement as something the property owner may read.

What filing through SNITCH changes

When SNITCH files, the complainant name and address on the complaint are SNITCH's, so a public records request returns SNITCH's information in that field instead of yours. That reduces your exposure. It does not erase it. Photos, documents, and messages in the file can still point back to you if they identify you, including location data embedded in photos. A subpoena or court order in later litigation can compel disclosure, and how much the substitution covers depends on the municipality, which SNITCH confirms before you order.