Remodeling a Condo Unit in Florida: Association Approval, Permits and Building Rules

Remodeling a condo looks smaller than remodeling a house. Fewer square feet, no roof, no yard. In practice it often takes more planning, because you are working inside a shared building with neighbors on every side, a board to answer to, and a management office that controls the elevator.

This guide covers what the association can and cannot control, what needs a permit, and the building rules that decide how fast the job goes. It is about condominiums. Single-family and townhouse communities with an HOA follow a different statute, covered in our post on HOA approval and building permits.

Two approvals, often in a set order

The association approves the project under the condominium's declaration and rules. The city or county building department approves the construction through a permit. The 2026 change that stops HOAs from requiring a permit before they review plans is in the HOA statute; Florida's condominium statute has no matching rule. Building departments may require proof of association approval before they issue one. Broward's Board of Rules and Appeals has said municipalities may do exactly that. Plan on getting association approval early, because the permit may depend on it.

What Florida law says

• Safety and soundness. Section 718.113 says an owner may not do anything inside the unit or on the common elements that would adversely affect the safety or soundness of the common elements or association property. Structural walls, slabs and columns belong to the building as a whole.
• Common elements are not yours to change. Material alterations to common elements need the procedure in your declaration or, if it has none, approval by 75 percent of the voting interests. Moving a wall into a hallway or enclosing part of a common area is not a unit remodel.
• Hurricane protection. Every residential condo board must adopt hurricane protection specifications for each building, covering things like color and style within the building code. The board cannot refuse an owner's installation or replacement that conforms to them, though it can require a uniform exterior look.
• Everything else comes from your documents. Most rules about remodeling, such as approval forms, deposits, contractor requirements and flooring, are in the declaration, bylaws and rules adopted by the board. Ask management for the current versions before you design anything.

What needs a city permit

The building rules that set your schedule

• Insurance certificates. Most associations want the contractor's general liability and workers' compensation certificates, often naming the association, before anyone starts.
• Work hours. Weekday-only windows with quiet hours are common, and some buildings restrict noisy work further in season.
• Elevators and loading. Expect to reserve the service elevator, pad it, and use a set loading area. Debris usually has to leave the same way.
• Deposits and inspections. Many buildings take a damage deposit and inspect the common areas before and after the job.
• Sound control. Hard flooring over another unit often needs approved underlayment, and the building may want to see it before the finish floor goes in.
• Shutoffs. Plumbing and electrical work that needs a riser or building shutoff has to be scheduled with management and noticed to neighbors.

The order that works

1. Get the declaration, rules, remodeling packet and hurricane protection specifications from management.
2. Design within those rules, and have an engineer review anything that touches walls, slabs or shared systems.
3. Submit to the association with drawings, product information and contractor documents.
4. Apply for the city permit, with proof of association approval if your building department asks for it.
5. Schedule elevators, shutoffs and deliveries with management, and notify neighbors.
6. Build, pass inspections, and close out with the association, including the deposit.

The bottom line

A condo remodel succeeds or fails on paperwork and coordination as much as on carpentry. Read the building's rules first, keep structural and shared systems in an engineer's hands, and give the association and the building department matching drawings. We handle kitchen and bathroom remodels, impact windows and sliders and full unit renovations in condo buildings across Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach, including the association submittals and permits. Tell us about your unit.