HB 803 and Fence Permits in Southwest Florida: What Actually Changed?

You may have heard that Florida's new law ended permits for home projects under $7,500, and if a fence is on your wish list, that sounds like wonderful news. The real picture: in most of Southwest Florida, a fence still goes through permitting after HB 803. The new exemption covers only building permits, and some local governments here, Charlotte County among them, treat fences as zoning permits instead. Where it could apply, the exemption has to be requested in writing rather than applying on its own, and state law shuts the door entirely on property that even partially sits in a flood hazard area. That last rule covers a large share of coastal Southwest Florida.

There is good news hiding inside all of that, though, because none of it lands on you. Permitting has always been part of what we carry. Here's what actually changed and what didn't.

What HB 803 really does

Effective July 1, 2026, HB 803 tells local governments to exempt single-family homeowners, or their contractors, from needing a building permit for work valued at less than $7,500. It is a real change, and for some small projects it genuinely simplifies life.

Two details in the law itself matter more than the headline. First, the exemption does not happen on its own: the homeowner or contractor has to submit a written exemption request with documentation showing what the work is and what it costs, and the project cannot be split into pieces to sneak under the threshold. Second, the law only speaks to building permits. Everything else your city or county requires, from zoning rules to setbacks to community approvals, stays exactly as it was.

Why most fences are not covered

Here's the wrinkle: whether HB 803 even touches your fence depends on which kind of permit your city uses for fences, and that varies address by address. In Charlotte County, a fence is a zoning permit, and zoning permits are not what HB 803 exempts, so a fence there still requires a permit application, the same as before the law. Most Southwest Florida jurisdictions we have talked with read the law the same way: the exemption touches building permits only.

So in Charlotte County and places that classify fences the same way, the practical summary is that the law simply passed fences by. Not because anyone is ignoring it, but because it was written about a different kind of permit than the one a fence needs there.

The flood-zone rule that closes most of the remaining doors

One more line in the law matters just as much. The exemption does not apply to property that is partially or entirely located in a flood hazard area, and in coastal Southwest Florida, that is not a small exception.

Punta Gorda shows how it plays out. There, fencing does fall under building permits, so the exemption could theoretically apply, except the flood-zone exclusion takes it right back off the table for nearly the whole city. The result is that a Punta Gorda fence effectively goes through the same process it always has.

Where the exemption can genuinely work

Cape Coral gives the clearest picture of the exemption doing its job. The city accepts exemption requests with documentation of the project's scope and value, and the request has to be approved before work begins. For fences specifically, repair or replacement can qualify when the fence is under six feet and the work does not affect structural foundations or posts. Even there, much of the city sits in a flood hazard area, so plenty of Cape Coral addresses are back to standard permitting anyway.

If your project qualifies somewhere, wonderful, and the exemption request gets the same care as a permit application: prepared, filed, and approved before anyone touches your yard. Our recommendation is simple, and it is the same one we give about every rule in every city: let the paperwork be our problem.

So, do fences under $7,500 still need permits?

The short answer is yes. Fences under $7,500 still go through permitting in most of Southwest Florida, or they require an official exemption in the few places where one applies. And none of it needs to slow your project down.

Because from your side of the fence, none of this changed at all. Figuring out which rulebook your address follows is our job, not yours, whether that means a zoning permit in Charlotte County, a filed exemption in Cape Coral, or the standard process in Punta Gorda. When something needs your name, it shows up highlighted, and the FAQ walks through that whole picture.

True Fence Florida is a family-owned company serving Sarasota, Charlotte, Lee, and Collier counties, and homeowners keep asking us what the new law means for their fence. We visit in person and email the written estimate, usually the same day, with the full answer for your specific address included. Schedule your estimate, ask us what the new law means for your yard, and let's get your fence moving with the paperwork already handled.