Malabar Building Dept. New Fee Structure Oct. 1

The Town of Malabar Building Department will implement a new fee structure for building permits and related services on Oct. 1, 2026. Fees will now correlate directly to the actual costs of processing permits, rather than being calculated based on project valuation.

Florida House Bill 399 mandates that local governments adopt an "actual cost standard" for permitting fees. This law prohibits fees based on a percentage of construction costs, requiring them to reflect the direct and indirect costs of application processing, plan reviews and inspections.

Malabar's Building Department will charge Permit Application Processing Fees and Pass-Through Permit Plan Review & Inspection Service Fees. The pass-through fees will cover services like plan reviews, comment periods, requests for additional information, application revisions, and inspection costs performed by town-contracted services, billed at actual contract rates. Professional services from Building Officials and Engineering will be tracked by permit number and billed either lump sum or hourly, rounded to the nearest quarter-hour.

Payment rules require application fees and pass-through deposits upon submittal. All accumulated base and actual plan review fees must be paid before permit issuance. Final inspection fees are due before permit finalization or issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy.

Online payments made with credit and debit cards will incur a 3.5% or $2.00 convenience fee, whichever is higher. The town has published its final fee schedule for public view, aligning with state transparency requirements.