Pompano Beach Attorney

Long-term or short-term: two different applications. The Business Tax Receipt Division of the City’s Code Compliance Department, at 100 W. Atlantic Boulevard, publishes separate application guides for each kind of rental (both marked modified July 16, 2026). A long-term residential rental is a dwelling let for a term longer than six months in a calendar year. A rental for six months or less, including a vacation rental, is a short-term rental and has its own application and requirements. Either way, the application is filed through the City’s online portal by the property owner or an authorized representative, with Sunbiz records when a company owns the property or trust paperwork when a trust does. Fees change, so confirm the current amount with the City at (954) 786-4668 before you budget.

What the inspector looks at. According to the City’s long-term rental guide, inspectors from the City, typically from Code Compliance, inspect the interior and exterior of the property, and a Building Code inspector may also attend. Its checklist includes hard-wired water heaters, GFCI-protected outlets, a smoke detector inside every bedroom, screens on operable windows, the roof, the pool, docks and seawalls, and “illegal conversions or work without permits.” For the full criteria it points to the City’s Rental Housing Code, Chapter 153 of the Code of Ordinances.

One family per rental. The same guide says rentals are limited to one family and quotes the City zoning code’s definition: persons related by blood, marriage, foster placement, or adoption, or up to three unrelated persons, living as a single housekeeping unit. A landlord who plans to lease a house room by room to four or more unrelated adults should raise it with the City before signing any lease.

Why the inspection matters under state law. Under Fla. Stat. 83.51(1), a residential landlord must comply with the applicable building, housing, and health codes at all times during the tenancy; for a single-family home or duplex those duties may be altered or modified in writing. Keep every City inspection report and repair invoice; they matter if a tenant later raises a repair dispute. Our page on landlord and tenant matters explains the tenant’s written seven-day notice and how code compliance can become a defense to an eviction, and our Q&A on how to evict a tenant in Florida covers the court process.

Buying a Pompano Beach property to rent. Because the inspection checklist includes conversions and work done without permits, a buyer who plans to rent should check the property’s permit history with the City during the inspection period, not after closing. A garage converted without a permit is the kind of item that can turn up on that inspection, and a title search of the County’s records will not reveal it. See also liens when selling a home.

Pompano Beach 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.