Is there a time when buildings built without a permit are ‘Grandfathered’?
Technically, in Florida, yes there is BUT they have to have been built a long time ago, by Florida standards. If the improvement was made before an ordinance was adopted which would have made that improvement require a permit then it did NOT require a permit when it was built and therefore is considered to be grandfathered. For example, in Palm Beach County a zoning ordinance was not adopted until 1957. So anything built before that date in what was then, or is still now, unincorporated county land did not require conformance to zoning regulations.
If an improvement or addition or anything that requires a permit was done at a property AFTER the date when a permit would have been required to do so then that improvement is NEVER grandfathered. The building official, or code enforcement, could force the Owner to come into compliance at any time.
