“Honey, Those Neighbors Are At It Again! Call Code Enforcement!”

There was a time, not so long ago, when Floridians could easily, and anonymously, report known or suspected violations of local ordinances and regulations to code enforcement. Neighbors could report their concerns about abandoned or unsafe structures, building without permits or by unlicensed contractors, unpermitted uses of property, noise violations, storing inoperable vehicles and junk, and letting the grass grow too tall. There are well-intentioned people who file legitimate complaints and trust that code enforcement will investigate the activity, and the property owner will do whatever it takes to comply. There are also people who use code enforcement as a weapon and the intention is less about nuisance abatement and code compliance and more about personal agendas and even harassment. Florida lawmakers intervened by ensuring that the accused violator will know the identity of the complainant, causing those who misuse and abuse the complaint system to think twice.