Schedule a Consultation (754) 236-0675

An open permit in Miami Lakes
has no expiry date.

A permit that was never closed out does not lapse into harmlessness. The Town of Miami Lakes puts it plainly: there is no statute of limitations on open or expired permits, they become a violation against the property, and they can stop a sale. Most of what we get called about here started as somebody else’s unfinished paperwork.

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  • 104 municipalities across 3 counties
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Miami-Dade · Broward & Palm Beach Counties

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Start here

Tell us the address and what is already on file

Send us the address and the scope. Before we price anything we look at what permits the property already has open, because in Miami Lakes that is not a footnote — it is the first thing that can stop you.

  • Florida-licensed general contractor, licence No. CBC1265280
  • Every permit we open is a permit we close
  • One point of contact from first call to closeout

The address, and the year you bought

Open permits travel with the property, not with the person who pulled them.

What is changing outside

Fences, driveways, slabs, patios and pavers each have their own submittal list here, and townhomes need a letter for any exterior work.

Whether you are in a townhome or an association

The Town requires an HOA affidavit either way, and a townhome needs a letter as well.

Preferred contact method

We use your details only to respond to this enquiry. No lists, no resale.

Thanks — that came through.

Your details are with the Elbaz Construction team. We will call you back to arrange a look at the property and to talk through what the work would involve. If it is urgent, call (754) 236-0675.

Completed bathroom, shown as a moving sequence of project photographs

The reality

The paperwork is notarised, and the affidavit is not optional.

Miami Lakes is a planned town, and it files like one. The permit application is signed and notarised by the owner and the contractor both. An HOA affidavit goes in whether or not there is an HOA — the Town’s own wording is "whether you have an HOA or not" — and a townhome needs a letter from the association for any exterior work on top of that. None of this is difficult. All of it is a reason a package gets handed back at the counter.

  • 01

    Two signatures, both notarised

    The application is signed and notarised by the homeowner and the contractor, not one or the other.

  • 02

    The HOA affidavit goes in regardless

    The Town requires it whether or not the property is in an association.

  • 03

    Townhomes need a letter as well

    Any exterior work on a townhome requires a letter from the Homeowners Association.

  • 04

    Kitchens and bathrooms are drawn to the outlet

    The Town asks for a layout indicating all of the electrical outlets and fixtures, and separate trade permits may be required.

  • 05

    Inspections are booked a day ahead

    Requests go in 24 hours in advance, by phone or through the website.

See a completed project

The lit recessed niche square on, set into the large-format wall tile
A lit recessed niche set into large-format wall tile.

Elbaz project photograph

Project 01

Covered ground, and what holds it up

Completed by Elbaz Construction across South Florida

Photographed on several completed Elbaz Construction projects — terraces, pavilions and covered decks. None of them is in Miami Lakes. They are here because a covered structure is the scope most often built without a permit, and the one most often found open later.

Freestanding poolside pavilion with timber-slat cladding, dark stone boundary wall and travertine paving, complete
The finished cabana. A slatted timber soffit on black posts beside the pool.
Poolside pavilion with timber-slat soffit and dark split-face stone wall behind
From the water. The same structure seen across the pool and spa.
Travertine paving part-laid beneath the pavilion during installation
Travertine going down. The same deck mid-installation, before the furniture.
Dining set under a dark-framed canopy with a timber soffit and the canal beyond
Dining under cover. A canal-front terrace with a timber soffit and a full outdoor kitchen.
Structural columns set and timber-slat screen wall hung, soffit closed, post bases still open to grade
White posts, travertine. A long covered run at the back of a house.
Large-format pavers being set beside a pool beneath a completed dark canopy
Louvred over water. An adjustable-blade cover set over a pool deck.
Rear elevation with the structure set and the slab poured, before deck finishes
Slab poured, frame set. The structure standing before any finish goes on.
Long covered run with columns installed and the ground still open
The long run, raw. The same kind of cover on bare ground, at frame stage.
Covered terrace with ceiling fans installed and paving in progress below
Paving in progress. Fans in, deck going down under a finished soffit.
Freestanding pavilion over a paved plinth on artificial turf, complete
Dark posts, white soffit. The finished elevation from the lawn.
Detail of the same frame: Freestanding poolside pavilion with timber-slat cladding, dark stone boundary wall and travertine paving, complete
Detail of the same frame: Poolside pavilion with timber-slat soffit and dark split-face stone wall behind
Detail of the same frame: Travertine paving part-laid beneath the pavilion during installation
Detail of the same frame: Dining set under a dark-framed canopy with a timber soffit and the canal beyond
Detail of the same frame: Structural columns set and timber-slat screen wall hung, soffit closed, post bases still open to grade
Detail of the same frame: Large-format pavers being set beside a pool beneath a completed dark canopy
Detail of the same frame: Rear elevation with the structure set and the slab poured, before deck finishes
Detail of the same frame: Long covered run with columns installed and the ground still open
Detail of the same frame: Covered terrace with ceiling fans installed and paving in progress below
Detail of the same frame: Freestanding pavilion over a paved plinth on artificial turf, complete
Detail

A cover is a structure

It has a foundation, a wind load and an inspection sequence, whatever the brochure calls it.

The soffit is a decision

Timber, slat and flat white each behave differently in rain and in afternoon light.

Drainage before finish

Where the water leaves is settled before anybody picks a paver.

Power and water travel with it

Fans, lighting and an outdoor kitchen are separate trades and separate inspections.

How it runs

Ten stages, and the one nobody schedules

How Elbaz Construction runs a remodel on a Miami Lakes property, from the first look at what is already on file to a permit that is closed.

Finished detail, shown as a moving sequence of project photographs

  1. Look up what is open first

    Before scope, before price. The Town’s portal shows current and past permit activity on a property, and an open one is a problem you inherit.

  2. Walk the property and agree the scope

    What changes, what stays, and whether anything structural or wet moves.

  3. Ask the association, in writing

    Miami Lakes has a great many of them. We ask yours for its rules rather than assuming a norm.

  4. Draw to the Town’s submittal list

    Two copies of the survey, two of the drawings, two of the wind-load calculations where they are required.

  5. Get the layout right for kitchens and bathrooms

    The Town asks for a layout indicating all of the electrical outlets and fixtures, and separate plumbing, electrical and mechanical permits may be required.

  6. Notarise both signatures

    The application is signed and notarised by the homeowner and the contractor, and the HOA affidavit is notarised by the homeowner whether or not there is an HOA.

  7. File through the portal

    The application is routed to the reviewers, who check it against the zoning code and the Florida Building Code.

  8. Clear the corrections

    If the application is found to have deficiencies the Town contacts the applicant or the contractor, and the reviews run again once corrections are in.

  9. Book inspections a day ahead

    Requests go in 24 hours in advance. The permit stays alive for 180 days from issue and a further 180 from each approved inspection.

  10. Close it out and hand it over

    The last inspection is not the last step. The documentation goes to you, so the file is clean the next time the property is sold or refinanced.

Nothing above is a Miami Lakes requirement unless it says the Town states it. Association rules are your association’s, and we ask your association rather than assuming a version of them here.

A bathroom is the densest room in a house: waste, supply, ventilation, lighting, heat and half a dozen fixed appliances inside a few square metres, most of it buried before anything is tiled. Which is why the permit drawing asks where every outlet goes, and why moving one after the wall is closed costs what it costs.

Project 02

A bathroom drawn to the outlet

Completed by Elbaz Construction in South Florida

One completed bathroom project, photographed on an Elbaz Construction job in South Florida. Not photographed in Miami Lakes. It is here because the Town asks for a bathroom layout indicating every electrical outlet and fixture, and this is what that drawing turns into.

Elbaz project photograph

Specification

What we specify in a planned community, and why

Read each one three ways: what it is, why it suits a Miami Lakes house and the association that may have a view about it, and what drives its cost. Nothing here is a Town requirement unless the Town says so.

Bath and shower behind a sliding glass screen, with a lit recessed niche in the large-format wall tile

Large-format wall tile

Panels rather than tiles, with a joint count low enough to read as a surface.

Elbaz project photograph

The lit recessed niche square on, set into the large-format wall tile

Lit recessed niches

A formed recess with a driver and a sealed light behind the tile line.

Elbaz project photograph

Navy double vanity with a stone top and twin mirrors under a high window

Painted timber vanities

A furniture-grade carcass in a sprayed finish, on a stone top.

Elbaz project photograph

Freestanding poolside pavilion with timber-slat cladding, dark stone boundary wall and travertine paving, complete

Framed covered structures

An engineered frame on posts with a finished soffit, tied down to designed foundations.

Elbaz project photograph

Large-format pavers being set beside a pool beneath a completed dark canopy

Adjustable-blade covers

A louvred roof whose blades rotate to shed rain or open to the sky.

Elbaz project photograph

Travertine paving part-laid beneath the pavilion during installation

Travertine and paver decks

Units bedded over a compacted, drained base, laid to a fall.

Elbaz project photograph

Living with it

Close the permit the year you finish

The Town states there is no statute of limitations on an open permit. Time does not help.

Keep the association letter

A townhome exterior approval is a document worth filing with the deed, not in an inbox.

Silicone is a consumable

Wet-area joints are maintenance, not permanent. Plan to renew them.

Re-seal what is sealed

Travertine and most natural stone want re-sealing on a schedule you set the year the work is done.

Miami Lakes

What the Town publishes, in order

Every item below is stated by the Town of Miami Lakes in its own Building Department material, read on 21 August 2026. Where the Town is blunt, this page quotes it rather than softening it.

Dining set under a dark-framed canopy with a timber soffit and the canal beyond

01

Two signatures, and both notarised

The Town states the permit application needs to be filled out completely, signed and notarised by both the homeowner and the contractor.

Elbaz project photograph

Bathroom doorway with the toilet to one side and a double vanity with a stone top and dark cabinetry opposite

02

The HOA affidavit is required either way

The affidavit tells homeowners it is their responsibility to comply with any requirements of their association — and the Town’s instruction is "whether you have an HOA or not this form needs to be signed and notarised by the homeowner". A townhome additionally requires a letter from the association for any exterior work.

Elbaz project photograph

Navy double vanity with a stone top and twin mirrors under a high window

03

Kitchens and bathrooms are drawn to the outlet

For kitchen and bathroom alterations the Town asks for a layout indicating all of the electrical outlets and fixtures, and states that additional plumbing, electrical and mechanical permits may be required.

Elbaz project photograph

Rear elevation with the structure set and the slab poured, before deck finishes

04

A permit lives 180 days at a time

Permits are valid for 180 days after issuance and an additional 180 from each approved inspection. If a permit has been allowed to expire it must be renewed and paid for again.

Elbaz project photograph

Freestanding pavilion over a paved plinth on artificial turf, complete

05

And an expired permit does not go away

The Town states that permits left open and expired on your property become a violation against your property, that there is no statute of limitations on open or expired permits — "in other words they just don’t go away" — and that they can halt the sale or purchase of a property.

Elbaz project photograph

The bath from the end, with the lit niche and black fixtures above it

06

The flood rating is worth real money

Miami Lakes publishes that it is a Class 5 community, which it says gives an additional 25% discount on flood insurance inside a flood zone and 10% outside one, provided the policy carries the correct community number, 120686.

Elbaz project photograph

Where the time actually goes

A schematic of a remodel on a Miami Lakes property

How a Miami Lakes permit is opened and, more importantly, closed Five stacked bands. Checking what is already open feeds scope and drawings, which feed the notarised application package, which feeds review and issue, which feeds inspections and closeout. The open permit runs alongside every band until it is closed. CHECK WHAT IS ALREADY OPEN The portal shows current and past permit activity on the property SCOPE, DRAWINGS AND THE OUTLET LAYOUT Two copies of everything; kitchens and bathrooms drawn to the fixture NOTARISED APPLICATION PACKAGE Owner and contractor signatures, plus the HOA affidavit either way REVIEW, CORRECTIONS AND ISSUE Routed to zoning and building; corrections re-reviewed before issue INSPECTIONS AND CLOSEOUT Requested 24 hours ahead; 180 days from issue, 180 from each approval THE OPEN PERMIT Runs alongside every band, and does not stop at the end of one. It becomes a violation against the property.

Illustrative only. Review durations are deliberately absent: the Town publishes permit lifetimes rather than turnaround times, and we will not invent one.

Answers

Miami Lakes questions

Yes. The Town’s own instruction is that whether you have an HOA or not, the form needs to be signed and notarised by the homeowner. It is a statement that complying with any association requirements is your responsibility.

Verified

What clients wrote on Google.

Reproduced exactly as published on the company's Google Business Profile. Read them on Google

I highly recommend them for home improvement. They renovated my master bathroom and a few upgrades for other guest bathrooms. They are very professional, courteous and transparent. They are great at communicating and finding ways to streamline the work. Sean has impeccable project management and customer relationship management skills. Very pleased with the work!

Omri B

Google review

They are amazing! Very professional. Met my exact requests with so much patience and knowledge. They renovated my whole house and the whole process was such a breeze. I highly recommend them!

Lee Morali

Google review

Their work was absolutely superb, they did a fantastic job with my house renovation!! Definitely recommend

Sophie Brito

Google review

Amazing experience with the entire company! They did a great job in my house for some work that needed to be completed, and I am extremely happy with the result. Super professional & great service. I highly recommend Elbaz Construction.

Mia Zafrani

Google review

Redid my whole bathroom and kitchen. Great service - Great quality - very quick - very professional !! Highly recommended!

Adir Davidov

Google review

Amazing job Did a total renovation of my house with them

Elie Elancry

Google review

We hired them to renovate our investment property and they provided exceptional quality service for an affordable price!

Shir Partush

Google review

Very professional! From start to end- personal kind treatment, always respectful every espect of the work was clear, and fair. Value for money 10/10. Thank you guys, see you at our next project, hope others will be smart and do the same!

roni yonani

Google review

After I've been Looking for a good company to renovate my house , I found those guys! These people are super professional super honest super Fast !! Don't hesitate to Rent their service! They are number one!!

carmit cohen

Google review

Needed remodeling of my master bathroom in my house. After calling around and dealing with a bunch of unexperienced companies I found Elbaz construction and gave them a call. Just from the ease of communication and friendly talk I've had with the owner I knew this was going to be the company I was going to hire. They came 2 days later and started remodeling my bathroom and knocked it out in a timely manner. Great service, great communication, and amazing work. Will definelty refer and reuse this company for any future remodeling I might need.

Itzick Manasherov

Google review

Keep reading

Guides and nearby areas

Guide

Permit guide: Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach

What the three counties expect, and where they differ.

Read the guideService

Permit plan review and corrections

What happens when comments come back, and how they are answered.

Read the guideService

Residential permit expediting

Opening a permit is easy. Closing one is the job.

Read the guideArea

Miami-Dade County service area

Every municipality we work in across the county.

Read the guide

Also from us

Related services.

Exterior and outdoor living

Terraces, covers and decks that drain.

Full bathroom remodel

Waste, supply, waterproofing and finish in order.

Interior design-build remodel

Drawings and construction under one responsibility.

Full kitchen remodel

Layout, cabinetry, stone and services as one contract.

Home remodeling in Hialeah

The next city south, across the Palmetto.

Home remodeling in Miramar

Immediately north, over the county line.

Service Areas

Proudly serving homeowners across Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach

(754) 236-0675

104 municipalities across three counties — and we hold the licence to build in all of them. Not sure about your address? Ask us.

Schedule a Consultation (754) 236-0675

Next step

Send us the address and the scope

Tell us where the property is and what you want changed. We will look at what is already open on it, and come back with what the Town will want filed and what your association will want to see.

We read it and come back

To arrange a look at the property and at what is already on file.

We ask your association for its rules

In writing, so nothing about the exterior is assumed.

You get a drawn scope

And a written specification to price against.

Or call (754) 236-0675

(754) 236-0675
  • Florida-licensed general contractor, licence No. CBC1265280
  • Applications notarised and filed correctly the first time
  • Permits closed out, with the documentation handed over

Finished detail, shown as a moving sequence of project photographs

Elbaz project photograph

Preferred contact method

We use your details only to respond to this enquiry. No lists, no resale.

Thanks — that came through.

Your details are with the Elbaz Construction team. We will call you back to arrange a look at the property and to talk through what the work would involve. If it is urgent, call (754) 236-0675.