One Size Does Not Fit all Code Violations: How Do I Reduce the Fines/Liens Against My Property?

As we've discussed before, Code Compliance departments in Florida can impose fines and can also cause a lien to be placed against your property if you don't comply with the violations levied against you. The daily fines that Code Enforcement departments enforce can add up very quickly. Typically, fines range from $50-$1,000 per day. In successfully addressing these fine and liens, you need to be focused on three avenues to reduce or eliminate the fines/liens. First, there are steps you will need to take to be eligible to apply for a reduction. Second, are the fines/liens that have been levied against you legal? Third, you'll need to successfully present your case to your local government council.  Resolution 21-1576 in the state of Florida does allow for modification of these liens in specific cases.

1. Reduction Eligibility

A. You must be in compliance before you can apply for a reduction. If you have not successfully come into compliance with the violations alleged, your lien reduction will not be considered.

B. Try not to have open Code Violation cases against you or a property you own elsewhere in Florida. Although not necessarily a bar to reduction, some local governments will not let you apply for a reduction if you do.

2. Are the Fines/Lien Against Your Property Legal in the First Place?

Don't ever take the fines/liens against you as a given. Obviously, you're reading this because you want to reduce the amount to begin with, but don't lose sight of the fact that these monetary amounts are largely abstract and in many cases, are not appropriately tied to the underlying violation(s). There is an opportunity here to drastically reduce fines/liens beyond what your local government typically offers if this is presented properly.

Here's why: The Excessive Fines Clause of the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution bans federal, state, and local governments from imposing excessive fines in civil and administrative proceedings (this includes code violation cases).

It's meant as a way to rein in the government’s power and prevent excessive payments in cash or in kind as punishment for an offense. In United States. v. Bajakajian, 524 U.S. 321 (1998), the Court found a fine to be excessive and thus in violation of the Excessive Fines Clause of the Eighth Amendment because it was “grossly disproportional to the gravity of the defendant’s offense.” These ideas were made applicable to our individual States in Timbs v. Indiana. 586 U.S. 146 (2019) where the Court held that the Excessive Fines Clause of the Eighth Amendment is incorporated into the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause, making federal law applicable to state and local governments.

By virtue of Chapter 162 of the Florida Statutes, the Florida legislature enacted statutes that delegate to local governments and their Special Magistrates and Code Enforcement Boards the right to decide whether code violations exist, and whether to impose per diem fines that become a lien on an owner’s real property.

The big takeaway here, however, is that it is crucial in presenting your case for a fine/lien reduction that the monetary amount (per diem fines) being sought is balanced against the gravity of the offense. Moreover, after Timbs, the size of fines obviously matters and any fine/lien must be based on the gravity of a violation and whether the violation has caused harm or damage to the neighborhood.

When left unchecked, your local government will try to lump every violation into a sort of one size fits all category, without properly considering the Bajakajian factors (gravity and harm to community). The unfortunate result is that code enforcement efforts become code enforcement schemes that are more about revenue than about enforcement of codes.

Make sure you have knowledgeable attorneys on your side who can properly and effectively present your case.