Hollywood, FL Attorney
Attorney for Hollywood Homeowners, Beachfront Buyers, and Families
Hollywood runs from inland neighborhoods to the oceanfront homes and condominiums along Hollywood Beach and the Broadwalk. The City’s own history page dates its incorporation to November 28, 1925, and credits developer Joseph Wesley Young as its founder (City of Hollywood, read October 26, 2026). Property near the ocean raises legal questions an inland closing never does: where the state’s coastal construction control line falls, what a seller has to disclose about it, and what a renovation seaward of that line requires. Arturo R. Alfonso P.A. takes Broward real estate, family law, and bankruptcy matters in English and Spanish, with 30 years of practice in South Florida. The firm has one office, at 7821 Coral Way in Miami; Hollywood clients can meet there, by phone, or by video. Call (305) 266-9584 or request a free consultation.
Beachfront Property and the Coastal Construction Control Line
What the line is. Under Fla. Stat. 161.053, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection sets coastal construction control lines county by county along the state’s sandy beaches. The line marks the part of the beach and dune system subject to severe fluctuations from a 100-year storm surge, storm waves, or other predictable weather conditions. Whether a particular Hollywood parcel sits partly or wholly seaward of the line is a question for a survey or the Department’s own maps, not for a listing description.
What a seller must disclose. When a contract covers any interest in real property located partially or totally seaward of the line, Fla. Stat. 161.57 requires the seller to give the buyer a written disclosure, in the contract or in a separate document, that the property may be subject to coastal erosion and to federal, state, or local regulation. Unless the buyer waives it in writing, the seller must also deliver, at or before closing, an affidavit or a survey showing where the line falls on the property. The same statute says that a missing disclosure, affidavit, or survey does not make the contract unenforceable, does not give the buyer a right to rescind, and does not impair the title, so ask for the paperwork before closing. Our Q&A on what a Florida seller must disclose lists this notice alongside the flood disclosure and the other notices that can apply to a sale.
Renovating or rebuilding seaward of the line. Section 161.053(4) authorizes the Department to grant permits to alter, excavate, or construct on property seaward of an established control line, subject to exceptions written into the statute. If you are buying a beachfront home to renovate, or a lot to build on, find out before the inspection period ends whether the planned work needs a state permit in addition to City of Hollywood building permits.
Oceanfront condominiums. The City’s Hollywood Beach page describes oceanfront hotels, resorts, and condominiums along the beach. Broward’s Board of Rules and Appeals Policy 05-05, effective August 9, 2024, calls for a building safety inspection at 25 years for most non-exempt buildings countywide, earlier than the 30-year state default explained in our Q&A on condo milestone inspections and SIRS. Before buying into a beachfront building, ask for the inspection report, the structural integrity reserve study, and the estoppel certificate, and read who pays a condo special assessment.
City liens are a separate search. The City of Hollywood’s online lien search request page states that a City lien search does not relieve the requester of searching the public records of Broward County (read October 26, 2026). See liens when selling a home.
Hollywood deeds are recorded by Broward County’s Records, Taxes and Treasury Division rather than the Clerk of Courts. Documentary stamp tax on a deed is 70 cents per $100 of consideration (Fla. Stat. 201.02), with no equivalent of the surtax that applies to some Miami-Dade transfers. Florida law does not require an attorney to close a sale; read title company or attorney closing, how we handle residential closings, how a title search and title insurance work, and our real estate law services.
Courts, Divorce, and Bankruptcy for Hollywood Clients
Hollywood cases are heard in Broward’s Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, not Miami-Dade’s Eleventh. The Broward Clerk directs family cases (Family Division, Room 04130), domestic violence, county civil, small claims, evictions, and foreclosures to the Central Courthouse West Building at 201 SE 6th Street in Fort Lauderdale, and Attorney Alfonso appears there when a case requires it. The circuit’s South Regional Courthouse is in Hollywood itself, at 3550 Hollywood Boulevard; the Broward Clerk’s Hours and Locations page (read October 26, 2026) lists County Civil South in Room 100 and a marriage license office in Room 160 there. Our Broward County page lists the other regional courthouses and county offices.
A beachfront home or condo can be the largest asset in a Hollywood divorce, and it comes with its own paper trail: the control line survey or affidavit from the purchase, the association’s inspection and reserve documents, and any pending special assessment. Gather those before negotiating who keeps the property or whether it is sold. At least one spouse must have lived in Florida for six months before filing (Fla. Stat. 61.021), and the court begins from the premise that marital assets are divided equally unless there is a justification for an unequal split (Fla. Stat. 61.075(1)). See who gets the house and our family law services.
Bankruptcy cases from Hollywood are filed in the Fort Lauderdale Division of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida, 299 East Broward Boulevard. For an owner facing a large special assessment, the first question is usually what happens to the home; see Florida bankruptcy exemptions. See our bankruptcy law services.
Common Questions
Does a seller of Hollywood beachfront property have to disclose the coastal construction control line? If the property is partly or wholly seaward of the line, yes. Fla. Stat. 161.57 requires a written coastal disclosure at or before the contract and, unless the buyer waives it in writing, an affidavit or survey showing where the line falls, delivered at or before closing.
Is there a courthouse in Hollywood? Yes. The Seventeenth Circuit’s South Regional Courthouse is at 3550 Hollywood Boulevard, where the Broward Clerk lists a County Civil office and a marriage license office. Family cases go to the Central Courthouse West Building in Fort Lauderdale.
Contact Us
Whether you are buying or selling Hollywood beachfront property, checking the control line and the condo records before you sign, dividing a beach home or condo in a divorce, or asking what bankruptcy would mean for your home, Attorney Alfonso can review your documents in English or Spanish from our Miami office, by phone, or by video. Hablamos español. Call (305) 266-9584 or contact us to schedule a free consultation.
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