Broward vs. Miami-Dade: How the Two Recertification & Milestone Programs Differ
Broward vs. Miami-Dade: How the Two Recertification & Milestone Programs Differ
Same state law, same 40-year recertification — but two different administrative front doors. Here is how the statewide milestone requirement and the county recertification program fit together, and how to run both as one capital program instead of two fire drills.
Both Broward and Miami-Dade require a 40-year building recertification — then a recertification every 10 years after — and both are now subject to Florida’s statewide SB-4D Milestone Inspection. The main difference is administration: in Miami-Dade, recertification is run through each municipality’s building official; in Broward, it is administered county-wide through the Broward County Board of Rules and Appeals. The engineering standard is similar; the paperwork and points of contact are not.
For a board or building owner staring at a notice, that single distinction changes who sends the letter, where you file repair permits, and how consistent the process feels building-to-building. Below is how the two layers — the statewide milestone requirement and the county recertification program — actually fit together, and how to run both as one capital program instead of two fire drills.
| Miami-Dade | Broward County | |
|---|---|---|
| Recertification trigger | 40 years from C.O., then every 10 years | 40 years from C.O., then every 10 years |
| Who administers it | Individual municipal building officials, under the Miami-Dade County Board of Rules and Appeals | County-wide through the Broward County Board of Rules and Appeals |
| SB-4D Milestone + SIRS | Statewide — same requirement in both counties | Statewide — same requirement in both counties |
| Where you permit repairs | Local municipal building department | Local municipal building department (county-standardized framework) |
The shared statewide layer: SB-4D Milestone and SIRS
Start with what is identical in both counties, because it is the part most boards underestimate. After the 2021 Surfside collapse, the Florida Legislature passed SB-4D, which created a statewide Milestone Inspection requirement under Florida Statutes §553.899. It applies to condominium and cooperative buildings three stories or taller, generally triggered at 30 years of age — or 25 years for buildings within roughly three miles of the coast — and then every 10 years thereafter. This is state law, so it lands the same way in Fort Lauderdale as it does in Sunny Isles Beach.
The Milestone Inspection runs in two phases. Phase I is a visual assessment by a licensed engineer or architect. If that engineer sees signs of substantial structural deterioration, a Phase II inspection follows with more invasive testing and a repair recommendation. Separately, SB-4D added the Structural Integrity Reserve Study (SIRS) under Florida Statutes §718.112(2)(g), which forces applicable associations to reserve real money for major structural and envelope components — roof, load-bearing walls, waterproofing, and the like — rather than waiving reserves as many once did.
So the statewide layer — Milestone plus SIRS — is the same obligation whether your building sits in Broward or Miami-Dade. The county distinction shows up underneath it, in the recertification program.
Same state law. Two different front doors.
The county recertification layer — and how administration differs
Long before SB-4D, South Florida already had a building recertification program. Both Miami-Dade and Broward require a structural and electrical recertification at 40 years from the original certificate of occupancy, and every 10 years after (50-year, 60-year, and so on). A Florida-licensed engineer or architect inspects the building, files a report, and any deficiencies must be permitted and repaired to keep the building certified. That much is common to both counties.
The difference is who runs the program:
Miami-Dade administers recertification primarily at the municipal level. Your individual city’s building official — Miami, Miami Beach, Coral Gables, Aventura, and so on — issues the recertification notice and oversees the process, working under the structural standards set by the Miami-Dade County Board of Rules and Appeals. Practically, that means the cadence, forms, and follow-up can vary somewhat from one city to the next.
Broward administers recertification on a more county-wide basis through the Broward County Board of Rules and Appeals, which standardizes the program across municipalities. The points of contact and notice mechanics are generally more uniform building-to-building than the city-by-city pattern in Miami-Dade.
Both counties rely on a Board of Rules and Appeals for the underlying structural code interpretation. The contrast is the layer of administration sitting on top: Miami-Dade leans on the municipal building official as your primary touchpoint, while Broward centralizes more of that program at the county. Exact timelines and forms shift over time and by city, so confirm the current process with your local building department before relying on any specific deadline.
Practical implications for a board
The administrative difference is not academic — it changes how a board actually manages the work.
Who sends the notice. In Miami-Dade, expect the recertification notice from your city’s building department, and expect details to vary if you manage buildings across several municipalities. In Broward, the program is more centralized at the county Board of Rules and Appeals, so the experience tends to be more consistent across cities.
Where you permit the repairs. Recertification repair permits are pulled at the building-department level that has jurisdiction. In Miami-Dade that is your municipal building department; in Broward the municipal building departments operate within a more standardized county framework. Either way, the repair permit references the engineer’s report and requires engineer-stamped drawings.
Consistency across a portfolio. If you oversee multiple associations, Miami-Dade’s municipal model means learning each city’s quirks, while Broward’s county-wide model tends to behave more uniformly. Neither is harder to comply with — they simply route differently.
In both counties the engineering substance is the same: a licensed professional must ultimately certify that the structural and electrical deficiencies have been corrected before the recertification is accepted. The contractor’s job is to translate that report into a permitted, sequenced, priced scope and to close the permit — regardless of which county’s administrative path applies.
Where the two overlap — and how to run one coordinated program
Here is the part boards most often miss: for many buildings, the county 40-year recertification and the statewide SB-4D Milestone Inspection arrive in the same era and call for overlapping structural repairs. A 40-year-old coastal condominium in either county may be juggling a recertification notice, a Milestone Phase I (or Phase II) report, and a Structural Integrity Reserve Study all at once. Treated as three separate projects, that is three rounds of inspection, scoping, bidding, and permitting — and three opportunities for delay while the building keeps aging.
Treated as one capital program, the same concrete restoration, electrical corrections, waterproofing, and roofing can satisfy multiple obligations at once. The practical move is to map the recertification report, the Milestone findings, and the SIRS components onto a single scope of work, then phase it so the deficiencies threatening the certificate of occupancy are corrected first while residents stay in place. That is the same execution discipline whether the administrative path runs through a Miami-Dade municipality or the Broward County Board of Rules and Appeals.
Academia holds the general contractor, roofing, electrical, mechanical, and plumbing licenses in-house, so the full recertification-and-milestone repair scope can be executed under one accountable operator rather than handed across four subcontracted trades. Whether your building is in Broward or Miami-Dade, the path from report to closed permit is the same: translate the findings, build the phased budget, coordinate the engineer of record through closeout, and keep the building insurable and occupied throughout.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Recertification and Milestone requirements, deadlines, and administrative procedures change over time and vary by jurisdiction — always confirm the current rules with your local building department and qualified professionals before acting.
Broward vs. Miami-Dade, answered.
What is the main difference between Broward and Miami-Dade recertification?
Both counties require a 40-year recertification and then a recertification every 10 years, and both are subject to the statewide SB-4D Milestone Inspection. The principal difference is administration: Miami-Dade generally runs recertification through each city’s municipal building official (under the Miami-Dade Board of Rules and Appeals structural code), while Broward administers the program more uniformly on a county-wide basis through the Broward County Board of Rules and Appeals. The engineering standard is similar; the points of contact and paperwork differ. Confirm the current process with your local building department.
Does the SB-4D Milestone Inspection apply in both counties?
Yes. The Milestone Inspection is a statewide requirement under Florida Statutes §553.899 created by SB-4D, so it applies the same way in Broward and Miami-Dade. It generally covers condominium and cooperative buildings three stories or taller, triggered at about 30 years of age — or 25 years within roughly three miles of the coast — then every 10 years after. The companion Structural Integrity Reserve Study under §718.112(2)(g) is likewise statewide. This is general information, not legal advice; verify applicability for your building with your engineer and association counsel.
Who sends the recertification notice in each county?
In Miami-Dade, the notice typically comes from your individual municipal building department, so the details can vary from city to city. In Broward, the recertification program is administered more centrally through the county Board of Rules and Appeals, so the experience tends to be more consistent across municipalities. In both counties the notice triggers a defined window to file an engineer’s or architect’s recertification report and then permit and complete any required repairs.
Can the recertification and Milestone repairs be combined into one project?
Usually, yes — and they generally should be. For many 40-year-old coastal buildings, the county recertification, the SB-4D Milestone Inspection, and the SIRS all call for overlapping structural, electrical, and waterproofing work in the same period. Mapping all three onto a single, phased scope of work avoids paying for the same concrete restoration or roofing twice and keeps the building occupied and insurable during construction. Academia self-performs across trades so the combined scope is executed under one contract in either county.
Have a recertification or Milestone report in hand?
Send us the report or the county notice — Broward or Miami-Dade. We’ll translate it into a permitted scope, schedule, and budget, and show you how to run recertification, Milestone, and SIRS repairs as one capital program.
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