TAMPA, Fla. — A team of four people now has a job to stop unlicensed contractors who break the law and leave homeowners with expensive problems to fix.
The city of Tampa created the Construction Activity Compliance Team — with a fraud investigator, two code enforcement officers and a support specialist.
Why was the team created? Since 2019, in the city of Tampa alone, there have been 2,000 complaints about illegal construction. Unlicensed contractors have become a big problem across the Bay area.
Tampa says this team will streamline the investigation process to stop work before it's too late.
Before the team came around, Code Enforcement was tasked with investigating construction complaints, issuing stop-work orders and notices of violation along with other duties, city leaders explain in a news release.
"Unlicensed construction work can lead to serious problems, not just from a health and safety standpoint, but also a financial one," Chief Building Official JC Hudgison said in a statement. "Unpermitted work can saddle homeowners with big expenses bringing a property into compliance."
"With our new team and hotline, we hope to streamline communication with the community to identify and address illegal construction activity as quickly as possible," he added.
Moving forward, notices of violation will be issued simultaneously with stop-work orders.
"This begins the legal process and sets a deadline for the offender to come into compliance," city leaders explain in the release.
If not completed by the deadline set in place, they can be fined up to $1,000 a day.
"I am proud of our Development and Growth Management team for identifying this issue and taking action to ensure we have the tools to tackle it as effectively as possible," Mayor Jane Castor said in a statement. "With home buyers eager to close on homes right now, it is imperative we enhance our procedures to protect them from possible compliance issues down the line, and we urge those looking to do work to follow the rules, just as so many countless others do."
"Our staff is always available to answer questions and help developers and homeowners navigate the permitting and inspection process," the city says.