• General Information About Liens
• Requesting a Lien Search
• Customer Service
• Lien Search Request Form
   

General Information About Liens

When various fines, fees or charges remain unpaid by property owners, the City can exercise its legal right to place a lien against an owner’s property to ensure the eventual collection of an unpaid amount.

The most common types of municipal liens include the following:

1. Code Enforcement Fines: When a property owner does not correct an outstanding Code Enforcement violation cited against a property, the City schedules a hearing before a Special Magistrate. If the violation remains outstanding and is not corrected after two scheduled hearings, the Special Magistrate assesses a fine against the property that accrues on a daily basis. The City also records the accruing fine as a lien in the public records of Broward County.
    
2. Property Maintenance Liens: When owners do not maintain their properties and the City must step in and perform services to prevent unsightly or unsafe conditions, the cost of providing these services is billed to the property owner. If the bill is not paid within 20 days, the City records a lien against the property in the public records of Broward County. Property maintenance services provided by a City-approved contractor hired by the City include lot mowing, garbage and hard junk removal, tree and hedge trimming, and pool cleaning.
    
3. Unsafe Structure/Demolition and Securing Liens: Under limited and usually urgent circumstances, the City must take action to board up and in some cases even demolish unsafe structures on properties. The City bills the property owner for the cost of demolishing or securing the property which is performed by a City-approved contractor hired by the City. If the bill is not paid within 20 days, the City records a lien against the property in the public records of Broward County.
    
4. Utility Liens: Unpaid charges for utility service including water and sewer service, stormwater drainage, and garbage and commingled waste removal are liens against the property receiving the service.

The City records most liens in the public records of Broward County. Pursuant to Florida Statutes, water and sewer service charges become statutory liens against a property upon becoming past due regardless of whether they are formally recorded in Broward County records.

All liens accrue interest daily (except for Code Enforcement liens which are daily fines that accrue over time). The City utilizes the rate of interest established by the State of Florida pursuant to Section 55.03 of Florida Statutes unless specified otherwise in the City’s Code of Ordinances. The City also pays a fee to Broward County to record a lien and to have it removed from public record. When a property owner pays an outstanding lien on a property, the property owner must also pay the accrued interest on the lien as well as a $40.00 fee to cover the City’s costs of processing and removing the lien from the County’s records.

Pending Liens and Violations: As part of the Lien Search Report, the City will also disclose whether there are pending Code Enforcement violations or Building violations which can become liens against the property. The City will also indicate whether there are any open Building permits on the property signifying there is work in progress at the property that may need to be completed or for which a final inspection must be scheduled.

Requesting a Lien Search

Interested parties, such as title companies and individuals, can request the City to check its records for outstanding liens against a property. For a fee of $50.00, the City will search its records and report any liens that appear in the records, as well as any other known outstanding charges or assessments against the property. The accrued interest charges on the liens, as well as the lien fees that must be paid in order to have the liens removed from the public records of Broward County, will also be reported on the Lien Search Report form that the City prepares. Lien searches are usually completed within one day of receiving the formal request.

To request a lien search of a parcel of property, please click here to utilize the Lien Search Request Form. You may then submit the completed Request Form to the City in one of three ways:

1. Mail it, along with your check or money order for $50.00 made payable to the City of Hollywood to:
   
   Treasury Services Division/Collections and Liens
   City of Hollywood
   P.O. Box 229045
   Hollywood, FL 33022-9045.
   
   The City reserves the right to release the results of the lien search contingent on bank clearance of payments made by check.
    
2. Hand deliver it to:
   
   Treasury Services Division/Collections and Liens
   City of Hollywood
   2600 Hollywood Boulevard, Room 103
   Hollywood, FL 33020
   
   Pay the $50.00 lien search fee by cash, check/money order, or debit/credit card at the Payment Center window. The City reserves the right to release the results of the lien search contingent on bank clearance of payments made by check.
    
3. Pay online and then email your completed form to liensearch@hollywoodfl.org or fax it to (954) 921-3056.

PLEASE NOTE THAT YOU MUST SUPPLY THE PROPERTY IDENTIFICATION NUMBER FOR EVERY LIEN SEARCH THAT YOU REQUEST. You must provide the property identification number on the City’s Lien Search Request Form so the City is certain of the exact parcel you wish searched. The property identification number is also known as the "folio" or "parcel" number.

If you do not know the property identification number for a property, you can go to the Broward County Property Appraiser’s website at www.bcpa.net and conduct a “Property Search” by either the owner name or property address. Once the page for the property is accessed, you will find the property identification number located in the top right hand corner of the page (it is shown as "ID #").

If you want to pay for a lien search online, the property identification number serves as your ACCOUNT NUMBER which you are required to enter on the screen in order to complete payment.

Important Note: Issuance of a Lien Search Report by the City of Hollywood shall not relieve the requesting party from the responsibility of searching the Public Records of Broward County, Florida, for any and all liens or other documents recorded by the City of Hollywood, Florida against the property and/or property owner.

Customer Service

If you have questions about liens or on how to request a lien search, please contact Customer Service at (954) 921-3246. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Lien Search Request Form

Download Document (pdf)

Financial Services | Our Mission | Directory | Annual Financial Reports Utility Customer Service Center | Local Business Tax Emergency Alarm Registration | Lien Search Requests