Rebuilding or repairing your home or business after the storm? Adding on, renovating, or remodeling your home or business? Please find the following information about the FEMA 50% Rule:
Manatee County has floodplain management regulations that may affect how you remodel, renovate, or add on to your building. If your home or business sustained structural and/or interior damage, these regulations may
affect how you rebuild. These laws are required by the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) to protect your lives and investments from future flood damages. The County must adopt and enforce these laws in order
for federally subsidized flood insurance to be made available to all County residents and property owners.
Fees Waived for Certain Types of Building Permits
To help Manatee County residents, Development Services is waiving residential and commercial property building permit fees through December 31, 2024, for standard door and window replacement (size for size), standard roof replacement, standard electrical (minor electrical repairs) and standard residential (alteration for interior repair from water intrusion). Substantial Damage Review is required if the structure is located within a flood zone. A permit will not be required for drywall repair if the structure is located outside a flood zone. However, a permit may be required based on scope of work.
Manatee County residents can also call the Building and Permitting Department at (941) 748-4501, ext. 3800, to check if their contractor is registered locally, review any complaints against them, or access their permit history.
Save yourself time, aggravation and money by reading the following information carefully:
Property Owner Responsibilities
Florida Post-Disaster Toolkit 2020, State Floodplain Management Office
- When buildings appear to have structural damage, obtain safety inspections by Building Officials or Code Enforcement Officers before going into damaged structures. The safety inspection is not equivalent to a preliminary substantial damage determination, but this will begin the process and further inspections will be scheduled.
- Take photographs of all building damage and damaged contents.
- If buildings are covered by NFIP flood insurance policies, contact insurance companies. Insurance companies will assign adjusters to inspect and prepare claim documentation. Owners must submit “Proof of Loss” information within 60 days of the flood event.
- Seek emergency assistance by registering in person at Disaster Recovery Centers or filing damage information on FEMA’s website (DisasterAssistance.gov). Emergency assistance may also be
available for tenants.
- Apply for permits and provide documentation of damage and cost
estimates to repair buildings to pre-damage condition. Detailed costs
for repairs should be prepared and signed by contractors licensed in
Florida.
- Work closely with local officials and contractors to ensure permits are
obtained before starting repairs.
- Meet with local officials to determine requirements for bringing
substantially damaged buildings into compliance with flood damage
prevention ordinances and the FBC. This may involve elevating
buildings on higher, compliant foundations.
- Obtain and submit Elevation Certificates to document lowest floor
elevations and other building characteristics, as required by the FBC.
SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE shall mean damage of any origin sustained by a building or structure whereby the cost of restoring the building or structure to its before-damaged condition would equal or exceed fifty (50) per
cent of the market value of the building or structure before the damage occurred. The term also includes flood-related damage sustained by a structure on two (2) separate occasions during a ten-year period for which the
cost of repairs at the time of each such flood event, on average, equals or exceeds twenty-five (25) per cent of the market value of the structure before damage occurred.
SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENT shall mean any combination of reconstruction, addition, repair, rehabilitation, alteration, or other improvement of a building or structure taking place during a one-year period, the cumulative cost of which equals or exceeds fifty (50) per cent of the market value of the building or structure before the improvement or repair is started. For each building or structure, the one-year period begins on the date of the certificate of completion or the certificate of occupancy of the first improvement or repair of that building or structure subsequent to January 1, 2014. If substantial demolition is proposed, the structure shall be considered substantially improved. If the structure has incurred "substantial damage," any repairs are considered substantial improvement regardless of the actual repair work performed. The term does not, however, include any project for improvement of a building required to correct existing health, sanitary, or safety code violations identified by the building official and that are the minimum necessary to assure safe living conditions.
All repairs and improvements must be permitted through Manatee County Development Services for properties subject to the Substantial Improvement/Damage review.
If a building is “substantially damaged” or “substantially improved” it must be brought into compliance with flood damage prevention regulations, including elevating the building to Flood Protection Elevation (FPE) (Base Flood Elevation(BFE) +1') or to the Design Flood Elevation (DFE), whichever is higher. Likewise, all electrical and mechanical equipment (heating and cooling, etc.), bathrooms and laundry rooms must be elevated as well or removed from the flood hazard area. Only parking, building access and limited storage is allowed below the flood level. Nonresidential buildings may be “dry flood-proofed” instead of being elevated. Building permits are required for elevating the structure, if necessary.
REVIEW PROCEDURE
Manatee County, following National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) requirements, has the responsibility to determine “substantial damage” and “substantial improvement” and has implemented
the following procedures to do so:
- If you plan to improve or repair an existing structure that is located within a special flood hazard area (i.e. Zones A, AE, VE) an Elevation Certificate or an elevation survey indicating the Lowest Habitable Floor or Finished Floor Elevation (FFE) of the existing structure shall be provided in order to determine if Substantial Improvement/ Substantial Damage regulations apply.
a) If the FFE, electrical, plumbing and mechanical equipment are at or above the current Base Flood Elevation (BFE) and built before 1987, the building can be repaired or improved, and the FEMA 50% Rule will not apply. You do not need to complete or provide anything further with respect to Substantial Improvement/Substantial Damage regulations.
b) If the FFE, electrical, plumbing and mechanical equipment are below the current BFE, then the FEMA 50% Rule will apply.
- If it is determined that the FEMA 50% Rule applies, then we will estimate Market Value by using the tax assessment value of your structure (excluding the land and features). If you disagree with this estimate
of Market Value, you may hire a state licensed appraiser and submit a certified property appraisal. The best approach to use is the cost approval to value appraisal which will include the depreciated value of the structure. The depreciated value of the structure will be used as the market value. The appraisal must be certified no more than 12 months from the time of application and its intended use must be for
Manatee County Development Services to determine market value for the FEMA 50% Rule. The appraisal can only include the building and not any accessory structures, docks, etc.
- You must submit to us a detailed and complete cost estimate for the addition, remodeling, reconstruction or for repair of all the damages sustained by your home, prepared and signed by licensed
contractor. The contractor must sign an affidavit indicating that the cost estimate submitted includes all damages or all improvements to your home, not just structural. The signed contract document must be
submitted with your application. If the owner is acting as his or her own contractor, the owner is responsible for submitting the cost estimate, and providing documentation, including subcontractor bids, to document the cost estimate. Where non-reimbursed (volunteer) labor is involved, including homeowner labor, the value of the labor should be estimated based on applicable minimum hourly wage scales for the type of construction work to be completed.
- All signed contracts, subcontractor quotes, material quotes, etc. must be submitted with application as indicated on FEMA cost breakdown sheets including all materials donated and/or bought that will be used for the structures improvement.
- We will evaluate the cost of improvements or repairs and determine if they are fair and reasonable. For damage repairs, pre-storm prices and rates will be utilized. The cost of improvements or repairs does not
include items not considered a permanent part of the structure.
Application Packet & FEMA Reference
FEMA 50% Rule - Substantial Improvement/Damage Application Packet
FEMA Substantial Improvement/Substantial Damage Desk Reference