Permits

Change of use in Broward County: the permit trap that delays openings

The most common way a Broward opening slips a quarter: someone assumed the space "already was" the use they planned. It was not, and now the project needs a change-of-use review, a new certificate of occupancy, and sometimes upgrades nobody budgeted.

Verified against Broward County and municipal change-of-use guidance, September 2026. Confirm the current process with the city that has jurisdiction over your address.

What a change of use is

Every commercial space has a legally permitted use and occupancy classification. When your use differs from the last tenant's - office to medical, retail to restaurant, warehouse to gym - the building department treats the space as a new use. That triggers review under current code, not the code the last tenant was grandfathered under.

What it can trigger

• A new certificate of occupancy in your company's name and use classification.
• Accessibility upgrades - restrooms, entries, parking ratios.
• Fire and life-safety review - alarm, sprinkler, egress changes; restaurants add hood suppression.
• Parking and zoning verification - some uses need more parking than the space's prior use, which can kill a deal entirely.
• Utility capacity questions - restaurants and medical often need more water, sewer, or electrical service than the prior tenant.

What it costs in time

A straightforward change-of-use review adds weeks, not months, when the space needs no physical upgrades. When it triggers construction scope - a grease interceptor, new restrooms, sprinkler changes - it adds the design, permitting, and construction time of that scope. The expensive version is discovering this after signing a lease with rent starting.

How to protect yourself

• Ask the landlord for the current certificate of occupancy before you tour seriously. Read the use printed on it.
• Call the city building department with the address and your intended use; ask whether it is a change of use and what the review path is. This call is free and takes ten minutes.
• Have a contractor walk the space with the change of use in mind. The physical triggers are usually visible to someone who knows where to look. Request a walk-through budget range.
• Negotiate rent commencement against permit and CO milestones, not a fixed date, whenever a change of use is in play.