Commercial vs. Residential Contracting: What Actually Changes in Florida

Commercial contracting is a different licence, a different code path, and a different budget

The short answer

s. 489.105(3)(b), Florida Statutes

A Certified Building Contractor licence, not a "general contractor" licence

Florida does not license a "general contractor." Elbaz Construction holds Certified Building Contractor licences (CBC1265280 and CBC1267423). Under s. 489.105(3)(b), Fla. Stat., a building contractor’s services are limited to construction of commercial buildings and residential buildings that do not exceed three stories, plus accessory structures – or to remodeling, repair or improvement of a building of any size, as long as the work does not affect the structural members of the building. That second clause is why a CBC can take on a tenant improvement inside a much larger building: the floor the tenant occupies is the scope, not the whole structure.

Same statute, same rule as a residential job

Electrical, mechanical and plumbing are subcontracted

The same statute requires a building contractor to subcontract electrical, mechanical, plumbing, roofing and any other specialty trade unless the contractor separately holds that trade’s own certification. That is true on a residential remodel too – the difference on a commercial project is scale and code: a restaurant hood and grease-trap system, a medical office’s backup power, or a retail space’s fire-suppression tie-in each pull in a specialty subcontractor and a separate plan review that a house renovation does not need.

Florida Building Code, Chapter 3

The building code classifies the space, not just the project

The Florida Building Code assigns every space an occupancy classification – Business (B) for an office, Mercantile (M) for retail, Assembly (A) for a space where people gather, and so on. A single-family house is Residential-3 (R-3) and is exempt from most of the chapters that apply to the others. The classification drives exit-width and travel-distance limits, fire-rated separation between tenant spaces, and whether the fire marshal has to sign off on the plans before the building department will issue a permit. None of that exists on a residential remodel.

Florida Building Code, Chapter 11 / ADA Title III

Accessibility code applies to commercial space, not a private home

A single-family residence is not required to meet accessibility standards for the public. A commercial space that the public enters – an office lobby, a retail storefront, a restaurant dining room, a medical waiting room – has to meet Florida Building Code Chapter 11 and, for a place of public accommodation, Title III of the ADA: accessible route, door clearances, restroom fixtures and counter heights. A tenant improvement that touches the path of travel or the restrooms can trigger an accessibility upgrade to the rest of that path, which a homeowner’s kitchen remodel never has to consider.

2026 tenant-improvement cost data

What a commercial build-out costs, by space type

A basic office refresh (paint, carpet, lighting) runs $40–$90 per square foot; a high-end Class A office build-out runs $175–$325. Retail runs $150–$400. Restaurant and food-service space costs the most of the common types – $275–$700 per square foot – because of grease traps, hood and makeup-air systems and heavier plumbing. Medical and dental space runs $300–$750, driven by the same mechanical and plumbing load plus equipment power and, often, lead shielding. None of these ranges apply to a house remodel, which is priced per room, not per square foot of leasable space.

Interactive checklist

Is your project commercial or residential contracting?

Commercial tenant improvements and build-outs across Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach

What we build

Elbaz Construction has built out commercial space including a full late-night cookie and ice cream shop and a nail salon and spa interior, alongside office, retail, restaurant and medical tenant improvements. Our commercial remodeling service covers office build-outs, retail space renovation, restaurant build-outs, medical and dental office remodels and tenant improvement construction, with permit expediting to move the occupancy and accessibility review along.

Tell us about your space and its use and we will walk through the licence, code path and cost range that actually applies, before we talk about price.