Monroe County Offers Building Permit Fee Discount

For homeowners and contractors who have filed a permit before October 1, 2014, you may have a discount coming. The Monroe County Commission has approved a 35% discount on building permit fees in response to filed complaints regarding the recent increase in fees. There is a two-year window to request the discount on building permits, until October 1, 2016, to allow people time to be informed and recover the additional fees paid.

Monroe County updated fee rates in October to offset what property and sales taxes had been subsidizing toward building permit fees, which has been at about $2 million a year. There had been no updates to the building permit fees since the 1980s and the County Commission noted it was time to get the permit fees to cover more with less subsidization. It has been reported that in 2012, Monroe County took in just over $2.5 million in permit fees, yet the time to process and review permits account for $4.6 million in costs. By increasing the building permit fees, more of the cost will be covered by the permit fees and less from tax subsidization.

Under the new structure, Monroe County will now charge $15,644 for permits on a $475,000 single-family home. Prior to the change, the same house would cost only $3,187 in permit fees. Several public meetings were held prior to the change being approved, but more complaints came in after the decision was made. It was the number of complaints that made it clear homeowners and contractors need more time to adjust to this change, so the 35% discount was put in place for permits already filed prior to the change.

If you are in the market for a new home and looking at the Key West area, my team and I are here to help you with all the processes involved in finding the home of your dreams. Please contact me, JimmyLane, for all of your real estate needs.