Do I need a permit to renovate my house in Hollywood, FL?

For anything beyond cosmetic work, yes. Structural, electrical, plumbing, mechanical, roofing, window and door work needs a City of Hollywood building permit, and jobs over $2,500 also need a recorded Notice of Commencement posted before the first inspection.

Is my Hollywood home in a historic district?

Possibly, if it is in the Lakes Area, the Hollywood Beach overlay or the historic business district downtown. Properties in those areas need a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Historic Preservation Board for many exterior changes. Check with the city's planning division before designing exterior work.

Does Hollywood have express permits?

The city has offered walk-in express permitting at City Hall for minor permits such as windows, doors, shutters, roofs and small electrical, plumbing and mechanical work. Projects that need full plan review go through the normal process.

What problems are common in older Hollywood homes?

Cast-iron drains, outdated electrical panels and wiring, aging supply pipes, weak roof-to-wall connections, old window openings without impact protection, and earlier unpermitted work such as enclosed garages or porches.

Will renovating my Hollywood house trigger flood rules?

It can if the house is in a FEMA flood zone and sits below the required flood elevation. Large renovations there can trigger the 50 percent rule. Get an elevation certificate and check the flood zone before setting the scope.

Renovating an Older Home in Hollywood, FL: Permits, Historic Rules and What Is Behind the Walls

The short answer

Renovating an older home in Hollywood, FL starts with a City of Hollywood building permit for anything beyond cosmetic work, signed by the owner and a licensed contractor, with a recorded Notice of Commencement posted before the first inspection on jobs over $2,500. Homes in the Lakes Area, the Hollywood Beach overlay or the historic business district may need a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Historic Preservation Board for exterior changes. Older Hollywood houses often hide cast-iron drains, outdated electrical, weak roof connections and openings without impact protection, so a good renovation budget includes allowances for what is found once walls are opened.

We are based in Hollywood, so a lot of our work is in houses we drive past every day. Hollywood was planned in the early 1920s by Joseph W. Young and incorporated in 1925, and it grew in waves after that. Near downtown, the Lakes and the beach you find some of the oldest houses in Broward County, alongside a lot of block homes from the 1950s through the 1970s that are now ready for a full update.

Those houses are worth renovating. They also come with a predictable set of surprises. Here is how the process works in the City of Hollywood and what to plan for.

How permits work in Hollywood

Permits come from the City of Hollywood's Building Division, under the same Florida Building Code and Broward County rules as the rest of the county. A few local details are worth knowing:

Signatures. Permit applications are signed by the property owner, or an agent with a notarized owner letter, and by the licensed contractor, with proof of license and insurance. For work under $2,500, only the contractor signs.
Notice of Commencement. For jobs over $2,500, a recorded Notice of Commencement has to be posted on site before the first inspection can be scheduled.
Additions. A spot survey is required before the first tie beam inspection, and a final survey and elevation certificate before the final inspection.
Express permits. The city has offered walk-in express permitting at City Hall for minor permits such as windows, doors, shutters, roofs and small electrical, plumbing and mechanical jobs. Larger projects go through normal plan review.
Permit status. You can look up permits and their status online, which is also a good way to check what was permitted on a house before you buy it.

For how long review takes once an application is in, see our post on building permit timelines.

If the house is in a historic district

Hollywood has a Historic Preservation Board, and properties in the city's historic areas need its approval for many exterior changes. The areas that come up most often are:

The Lakes Area Historic Multiple Resource Listing District, which covers many single-family homes in the Hollywood Lakes neighborhood.
The Hollywood Beach Historic Overlay District.
The Historic Hollywood Business District along Hollywood Boulevard downtown.

The board issues Certificates of Appropriateness for design, covering things like exterior renovations of single-family homes, additions, new houses and even front-yard driveways, and separate certificates for partial demolition. If your house is in one of these areas, plan the exterior design around that review and build it into the schedule. Interior work that does not change the outside is a normal permit.

What we usually find behind the walls

Common findings in older Hollywood homes
What we find	Why it matters	How we plan for it
Cast-iron drain lines under the slab and in the walls	Old cast iron cracks and scales inside; a remodel is the cheapest time to replace it	Camera inspection of the drains before pricing, and an allowance for replacement
Outdated electrical panels and ungrounded wiring	Many insurers look closely at electrical systems on older homes, often through a four-point inspection	Panel and service upgrade priced up front when the house needs it
Galvanized or aging supply pipes	Low pressure, rust and leaks inside walls	Repipe in the same phase as the drains
Weak or missing roof-to-wall connections	The most important link in hurricane resistance, and a big item on a wind mitigation inspection	Add or upgrade connectors when the roof or ceilings are open
Original window and door openings without impact protection	Hollywood is in the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone; new products need approval	Impact windows and doors with current Miami-Dade NOAs, sized to the openings
Earlier unpermitted work, such as enclosed garages or porches	Can complicate permits and sales; it is best legalized or removed as part of the project	Permit history check before design

Flood zones near the water

Parts of Hollywood near the Intracoastal, the lakes and the beach are in FEMA flood zones. If an older house there sits below today's required flood elevation, a large renovation can trigger the 50 percent rule, which can require bringing the whole house up to current flood standards. Check the flood zone and get an elevation certificate before you set the scope. Our post on the 50 percent rule explains how it works.

The order that works

Check permit history, flood zone and historic status.
Inspect what you can before pricing: drain camera, electrical panel, attic and roof connections.
Design the scope, with allowances for the likely findings.
Get historic approval if it applies, then the building permit.
Record and post the Notice of Commencement, then start work and inspections.
After final inspection, update your insurance and get a new wind mitigation inspection.

The bottom line

Older Hollywood homes are solid houses on good lots, and they reward a well-planned renovation. Find out early whether the house is historic or in a flood zone, inspect the systems before you price, and budget for what is behind the walls. We are a Hollywood company, and we handle whole-home renovations, kitchens and bathrooms and impact windows and doors all over Hollywood and the rest of Broward. Tell us about your house.

Quick questions

Do I need a permit to renovate my house in Hollywood, FL?: For anything beyond cosmetic work, yes. Structural, electrical, plumbing, mechanical, roofing, window and door work needs a City of Hollywood building permit, and jobs over $2,500 also need a recorded Notice of Commencement posted before the first inspection.
Is my Hollywood home in a historic district?: Possibly, if it is in the Lakes Area, the Hollywood Beach overlay or the historic business district downtown. Properties in those areas need a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Historic Preservation Board for many exterior changes. Check with the city's planning division before designing exterior work.
Does Hollywood have express permits?: The city has offered walk-in express permitting at City Hall for minor permits such as windows, doors, shutters, roofs and small electrical, plumbing and mechanical work. Projects that need full plan review go through the normal process.
What problems are common in older Hollywood homes?: Cast-iron drains, outdated electrical panels and wiring, aging supply pipes, weak roof-to-wall connections, old window openings without impact protection, and earlier unpermitted work such as enclosed garages or porches.
Will renovating my Hollywood house trigger flood rules?: It can if the house is in a FEMA flood zone and sits below the required flood elevation. Large renovations there can trigger the 50 percent rule. Get an elevation certificate and check the flood zone before setting the scope.

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.