What Permitting Problems Should I Expect in Englewood?

1. Figure Out Your Jurisdiction First

Englewood is not a city. It’s an unincorporated community split by the Sarasota–Charlotte County line, with the southern portion (including most of Englewood Beach and Manasota Key’s Charlotte half) in Charlotte County, and the northern portion in Sarasota County. Your property parcel ID tells you which county has authority over your permit, your inspections, and your flood designation. Before you write an offer, a contract, or a permit application, confirm:

• Sarasota County portion — Sarasota County Building & Development Services, applications through the ePlan portal, phone (941) 861-5000
• Charlotte County portion — Charlotte County Community Development, main office at 18400 Murdock Circle, phone (941) 743-1201. Charlotte also runs a pop-up permitting site at 6868 San Casa Drive in Englewood for residential storm-related permits.

Get this wrong and you’ll spend two weeks in the wrong office. The parcel ID and the official address are the only sources you should trust — not the mailing address, and not the neighborhood name.

My wife and I began looking for properties in Holmes Beach and Longboat Key in early 2015. After some online searches, I clicked the radio-buttons for different agents to express my interest. Mike Renick and Eric Teoh (Team Renick) responded immediately; others followed up within a few hours. That quick initial response essentially set the tone for Team Renick’s continued attention to detail, understanding our new-home desires, and excellent customer service. We viewed several properties, some while on trips to the area; others were remote via Eric’s excellent video tours of homes. Each time, whether tours were in person or by video, Team Renick promptly found answers to any questions we had and returned calls immediately. Our home search was not a short-term process, but to their credit, Team Renick’s enthusiasm for customer service never waned. We’re now the happy owners of a property in Holmes Beach, which we attribute to the excellent service and commitment we received from Mike and Eric. We enthusiastically recommend Team Renick to anyone interested in buying or selling real estate in the Sarasota area.

– Dana Krupa, Zillow Review

2. The FEMA 50% Rule — The Single Biggest Englewood Trap

After Hurricanes Ian (2022), Helene (2024), and Milton (2024), this is the rule that reshapes nearly every Englewood home sale. Under Florida Building Code Section 1612.2 and the National Flood Insurance Program, if the cost to repair or improve a structure in a Special Flood Hazard Area (A or V zones) hits 50% of the structure’s pre-improvement market value — not including the land — the entire building must be brought up to current floodplain and building codes. That usually means elevating the lowest finished floor to or above Base Flood Elevation.

Three things Englewood sellers and buyers miss constantly:

• Charlotte County tracks the 50% threshold cumulatively across all permits tied to a single event (hurricane, fire, flood) — whether those permits are open or closed. Pulling three smaller permits does not dodge the rule.
• Sarasota County also enforces 50%, referencing the NFIP standards. Check with the county’s floodplain coordinator before starting any major project.
• The calculation uses the structure-only value, not the land. On a waterfront Englewood lot where land is 70% of the price, the 50% threshold can be alarmingly small.

3. Unpermitted Work Must Be Disclosed — No Exceptions

Florida law is unambiguous. Under Florida Statute 553.79 and the Johnson v. Davis disclosure standard, sellers must disclose any known unpermitted work — even work done by prior owners that they knew about. An “as-is” contract does not eliminate this duty. Failure to disclose can expose the seller to lawsuits averaging $10,000–$50,000 in damages, plus legal fees.

We recently purchased a home in Sarasota, FL. We moved from Cleveland, OH so most of our research was done through emails. My husband had contacted Team Renick about 3 years prior and for those 3 years Mike Renick had sent us perspective houses that were for sale that fit our criteria. In 2019 after we retired, we came down to Florida in August for the purchase of our forever home. This is when we met Eric Teoh, part of Team Renick. Upon our meeting he had put together a portfolio of homes for us to look at. Not only is Eric professional but he treated us like family. He picked us up and took us around for a couple of days looking at houses to purchase. In a very short period of time we found exactly what we were looking for. We could not have been happier with the service we received from Eric and Team Renick. Living out of state made things a bit more challenging for us but Eric made it seem effortless. Thank you again to Eric and Mike! They are the best of the best!!

– danddnorman, Zillow Review

For buyers, the fix is a thorough title search paired with a permit history pull from the correct county. A mismatch between what the house looks like and what the permit record says exists is the red flag — a 3-bedroom on the tax record with four bedrooms on the floor plan is the classic unpermitted addition. Title insurance can be voided by unpermitted work discovered after closing, so this matters beyond disclosure.

4. Open Permits Will Stall Your Closing

An “open” permit is one that was pulled, work was done, but the final inspection was never called in or failed and was never re-inspected. In Sarasota and Charlotte Counties, open permits stay on the property indefinitely and show up on title exams. Non-compliance in Sarasota County can trigger fines up to $1,000 per day, stop-work orders, liens, or mandatory demolition.

To close a permit you’ll need:

• All trade finals passed — electrical, plumbing, mechanical, before the building final can be scheduled
• Certificate of Occupancy (CO) — issued only after all inspections are “Finaled” and fees are paid
• Temporary CO (TCO) option in Sarasota — allows move-in if minor exterior items remain (fee required)

If a seller has open permits, the cleanest path is often to close them before listing, or to escrow funds at closing with a clear written plan for closeout.

5. Permit Timelines in 2026

Know the clock before you promise anyone a closing date:

• Charlotte County (as of April 2026) — new single-family and additions 5 business days, remodels 6 business days, commercial new builds 8 business days. These are averages, not guarantees.
• Sarasota County — simple residential projects 1–2 weeks, additions 3–4 weeks, new construction 6–8 weeks or more. Flood zone projects add an elevation review layer.
• Seawall and dock permits — Charlotte County requires signed & sealed plans, site plan, survey, Notice of Commencement for contracts over $5,000, and possibly FDEP or U.S. Army Corps of Engineers approval. Budget 4–8 weeks minimum plus the external agency review.

Bottom Line

Englewood permitting is not hard, but it is two-jurisdictional, flood-sensitive, and still working through a multi-year storm recovery backlog. Before you buy, pull the permit history from the correct county and check for open permits, match the permit record against the actual structure, verify the flood zone and elevation certificate, and calculate whether any planned improvement will trigger the 50% rule. Before you sell, close out any open permits, disclose every unpermitted improvement you know about, and have the elevation certificate in hand. If you want a team that will pull the permit history for you before you write the offer, that’s exactly how we protect Englewood buyers and sellers.

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