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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:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
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)
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