How long does a building permit for a new house take in Florida?

Under Florida Statute 553.792, the building department has 30 business days to approve or deny a complete application for a single-family home under 7,500 square feet. Corrections add time: you get 10 business days to respond to a deficiency notice, and the department then has 10 business days to act.

Does a concrete block house take longer to build than a wood frame house?

Block construction has steps a wood frame doesn't, such as filled-cell and tie beam inspections and concrete curing time, and it depends on dry weather for pours. A well-planned block house still moves steadily; the bigger delays usually come from changes, late selections and window lead times.

What is the longest wait when building a house in South Florida?

Before construction, it is usually design, outside approvals and the permit. During construction, impact-rated windows and doors are often the item with the longest lead time, which is why they should be ordered as soon as the sizes are final.

When is the best time to start building a house in South Florida?

Start design and permitting in the late spring or summer so construction can begin in the dry season. The National Weather Service puts the rainy season at roughly May 15 to October 15, and hurricane season runs June 1 to November 30.

How Long Does It Take to Build a Custom Home in South Florida?

The short answer

Plan on the project as two clocks: the time before construction starts, and the build itself. Before the first shovel, survey, design, engineering, any HOA or design board review and the building permit can take months; Florida law gives building departments 30 business days to approve or deny a complete permit application for a home under 7,500 square feet, and corrections add more. Once construction starts, Census Bureau data for 2025 shows that among homes built by hired contractors in the South, 43 percent were finished within six months of starting, 38 percent took seven to twelve months and 19 percent took more than a year. A custom concrete block home in South Florida usually lands in the middle of that range, and the design decisions you make early are the biggest thing you control.

When people ask how long it takes to build a house, they usually mean from the day they start to the day they move in. That's the right way to think about it, but most of the surprises happen before construction starts, not during it. A house that is fully designed, approved and permitted before the first inspection is a house that gets built on schedule.

Here is how the time breaks down for a custom home in South Florida, what the official numbers say and what tends to stretch a job out.

What the national data says

The Census Bureau tracks how long new homes take to build. Its figures separate homes built for sale by production builders, which tend to be fast and repetitive, from homes built by a hired contractor on the owner's land, which is what a custom home is. The custom homes take longer.

Time from start of construction to completion, single-family homes completed in 2025 (South region)
Time to complete	Built by a hired contractor	Built for sale
3 months or less	12%	25%
4 to 6 months	31%	51%
7 to 9 months	22%	15%
10 to 12 months	16%	4%
13 months or more	19%	4%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Survey of Construction, percent of units by length of time from start to completion, 2025. The South region covers 16 states and the District of Columbia, so it includes many simpler, wood-framed homes. The clock starts when construction starts, not when design or permitting begins.

NAHB's analysis of the 2024 Census data found that homes built by hired contractors took about 12 months on average from the building permit to completion, compared with 7.6 months for homes built for sale. That gap is the difference between a custom house and a production house: one-off plans, owner selections and less repetition.

Before construction: the part people underestimate

Survey and soil. A boundary survey with elevations and, often, a soil test. The survey also tells you the flood zone and base flood elevation, which shape the design.
Design and engineering. Architect or designer, structural engineer, truss engineering and energy calculations. Every change after this stage costs time somewhere else.
Outside approvals. An HOA's architectural review, a city design or historic board, or a state coastal permit if the lot is on the beach side of the CCCL. These run on meeting calendars, often monthly.
The building permit. Florida Statute 553.792 gives the building department 30 business days to approve or deny a complete application for a single-family home under 7,500 square feet. If reviewers find problems, they send a deficiency notice; you have 10 business days to respond, and the department then has 10 business days to act on the resubmittal.
Demolition, if it is a teardown lot. The old house needs its own permit, utility disconnects and an asbestos survey before it comes down. Our demolition company explains that sequence in its demolition timeline.

Our post on how long building permits take covers the permit deadlines in detail, including fee refunds when a department misses them and how private providers can speed up review.

The build itself, stage by stage

Most custom homes here are concrete block, which follows its own order of work. Each stage ends with an inspection that has to pass before the next one is covered up.

How a concrete block home goes up in South Florida
Stage	What happens	What sets the pace
Site and foundation	Clearing, fill to the required elevation, underground plumbing, footings and slab	Fill and compaction on low lots, plumbing and foundation inspections, rain
Block walls	Masonry walls with rebar and concrete-filled cells	Masonry crew availability, filled-cell inspections
Tie beam and lintels	Formwork, steel and a concrete pour on top of the walls and over openings	Inspection before the pour, weather on pour day, curing time
Roof	Engineered trusses strapped to the beam, sheathing and the roof covering	Truss delivery, roof inspections, getting the house dried in
Windows and doors	Impact-rated openings installed and inspected	Product lead times, which are often the longest wait on the job
Rough-ins	Electrical, plumbing, air conditioning and low voltage inside the walls and ceilings	Each trade's rough inspection
Insulation and drywall	Furring and insulation on block walls, then drywall	Insulation inspection, drying time in humid weather
Finishes	Cabinets, counters, tile, flooring, paint, fixtures	Owner selections and special-order items
Final	Final inspections, utility connections, driveway and landscaping	Every trade's final, utility company schedules, final paperwork

Our post on concrete block homes explains why most houses here are built this way, and our cost breakdown shows how the same stages show up in the budget.

What slows a South Florida build down

Changes after the permit. Moving a wall, enlarging a window or adding a room can mean revised drawings and another review. Decide before the permit, not during framing.
Late selections. Cabinets, tile and appliances that are chosen late arrive late. Special orders can hold up the whole finish stage.
Impact window lead times. Openings are approved and built to size, and they often take longer to arrive than any other material. We order them as soon as the sizes are final.
Weather. The National Weather Service in Miami puts the rainy season at roughly May 15 to October 15, and hurricane season runs June 1 to November 30. Rain delays slab, block and concrete work, and a storm warning means stopping to secure the site.
Failed inspections. Each failed inspection means a fix and a reinspection. A careful crew and a builder who checks the work first keep this rare.
Utilities and the final paperwork. The electric and water connections and, in a flood zone, the elevation documentation have to be done before the house can be finaled.

When to start

Because so much of the schedule happens before construction, the best time to start design is earlier than most people think. Designing and permitting during the summer lets construction start in the dry season, so the slab, walls and roof go up before the next rainy season. Our post on the best time of year to build or remodel goes through the South Florida calendar.

The bottom line

A custom home in South Florida takes two clocks: the months of design, approvals and permitting, then the build itself, which for most contractor-built homes in the South takes anywhere from under six months to more than a year. Finish the design before the permit, order the long-lead items early and build in the dry season, and you will be at the faster end. We build new homes and additions across Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach, and we can handle the demolition of an old house first under the same license. Tell us about your lot and we'll lay out a realistic schedule.

Quick questions

How long does it take to build a custom home in South Florida?: Count the time before construction (survey, design, approvals and the permit) separately from the build. For the build, Census data for 2025 shows that among contractor-built homes in the South, 43 percent were finished within six months of starting, 38 percent took seven to twelve months and 19 percent took more than a year.
How long does a building permit for a new house take in Florida?: Under Florida Statute 553.792, the building department has 30 business days to approve or deny a complete application for a single-family home under 7,500 square feet. Corrections add time: you get 10 business days to respond to a deficiency notice, and the department then has 10 business days to act.
Does a concrete block house take longer to build than a wood frame house?: Block construction has steps a wood frame doesn't, such as filled-cell and tie beam inspections and concrete curing time, and it depends on dry weather for pours. A well-planned block house still moves steadily; the bigger delays usually come from changes, late selections and window lead times.
What is the longest wait when building a house in South Florida?: Before construction, it is usually design, outside approvals and the permit. During construction, impact-rated windows and doors are often the item with the longest lead time, which is why they should be ordered as soon as the sizes are final.
When is the best time to start building a house in South Florida?: Start design and permitting in the late spring or summer so construction can begin in the dry season. The National Weather Service puts the rainy season at roughly May 15 to October 15, and hurricane season runs June 1 to November 30.

Sources

This article is general information, not legal advice. Building departments in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties set their own procedures, so confirm the requirements for your property with your local building department.

Scott Rosenberg

Florida Certified General Contractor, CGC1541479

Scott qualifies Rosemont Ventures Group LLC and has worked in general contracting since 1998. He writes Building Blocks to answer the questions South Florida owners ask before they build. Verify the license.