Assistance Reducing Fines

If someone receives a fine and cannot afford to pay it, they can request a reasonable accommodation or relief from fines. The city understands that everyone may face financial hardships at some point, and it's important to help each other when we can. The process for requesting relief from fines or a reasonable accommodation is outlined below:
 Process for Requesting Relief from Fines or Liens (If all the violations have closed and balances with Village paid):

1. Contact Neighborhood Services: To request relief from fines or liens, residents should contact Neighborhood Services via phone, email, website, regular mail, or in person.
2. Close Violations and Pay Administrative Fees: Before applying for relief, residents must make sure that all violations are closed, and all administrative fees are paid.
3. Pay Associated Costs: Residents must also pay any costs associated with the violations that have been abated by the Village, such as maintaining landscape, solid waste fees, or any other liens placed by the Village outside of the Code Compliance Department. They can check with the Finance Department via email.
4. Apply for Relief: Once all violations are closed and all fees are paid, residents can apply for relief from fines or liens using the form available on this webpage. It's important to note that the case must be reviewed by our department before going to the board for relief. Therefore, all steps must be completed before our deadline. Please check our Board approved calendar.
5. Receive Notice to Appear: Once the request for relief is reviewed and approved by our department, residents will receive confirmation by email with instructions for the hearing.
6. State Your Case: At the hearing, residents will have the opportunity to state their case as to why the violations became a lien, and the Board may ask questions regarding the circumstances surrounding the lien.
7. Offer a Negotiated Amount: Residents will only be given one chance to offer an acceptable amount for relief. It is not a negotiation. If the offer is not approved, they will have the opportunity to return to the next hearing and offer a different amount.
8. Pay Negotiated Amount: If the offered amount is approved by the Board, residents will have a specific timeframe to pay such amount, which can range from 30 days to 180 days, depending on the board's order. A link will be provided in order to submit payment online or resident may choose to come in person.
9. Release of Lien: Once our department receives confirmation of payment, the lien on the property will be released by submitting the proper documentation to the Miami Dade Clerk of Courts. Once the document has been recorded and received by us, the resident will be notified. Alternatively, residents can choose to record the documents with the County themselves, which would make the release effective once it's recorded.
10. Record Documents: We can mail the releases to the County, but it takes 6 to 8 weeks for the County to record. Alternatively, residents can choose to record the documents with the County themselves, which would make the release effective once it's recorded. We can accommodate other options if there are deadlines involved.

At the Miami Shores Village Neighborhood Services Department, we understand that unexpected financial difficulties can arise, and we're here to help. We hope that this process for requesting relief from fines or liens is clear and helpful. Please don't hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or need assistance.

Reasonable Accommodation:
 In compliance with the given subsection, any Miami Shores Code Enforcement lien under F.S. Ch. 162 can be subject to an appropriate accommodation if approved and deemed necessary for pursuing compliance. The village manager has the authority to approve such accommodations based on certain conditions, considering the best interest of the village and in accordance with the policies, guidelines, and standards outlined below. These include promoting compliance, minimizing abandoned housing, reducing negative effects of unlawful occupants, and fostering respect for the village code and the code enforcement board's lawful orders.

For this subsection, the following terms processes are defined:

1.  Appropriate accommodation: Specific authorized actions that compromise or modify the village's rights under code enforcement liens on a property.
    a. Subordinating liens to institutional mortgage financing for compliance efforts.
    b. Releasing liens for a Bonafide property sale to a genuine third-party purchaser who provides satisfactory security for a written promise to achieve compliance.
    c. Releasing liens on separate property outside the village while retaining liens on all other properties.
2. Duly approved: An accommodation recommended in writing by the Neighborhood Services Manager and village attorney and accepted by the village manager.
   Process starts with:
    (a) An email to the Neighborhood Service Department, explaining why the reasonable accommodation is needed and what are future plans to with the property. In the email, you must include an offer amount. The email would start the review of the file. You may be asked to provide real-estate contracts.
    (b) Once reviewed by our department, our recommendation is sent to the attorney for review and once approved, it will be forwarded to the Manager for final approval.
    (c) A contract will be sent for you to sign and notarize. The contract must be signed by the buyer of the property, the seller, and the Village Manager in order for it to be fully executed. The contract will include the amount to pay and when to pay it by. In addition, it will include a timeframe for compliance. If the new owner fails to address the requirements of the contract, a fine of $100.00 per day for each violation on the contract will be assessed against the property.
    (d) Our offices will send an email with a payment link to pay the fine amount. The fine amount will be inclusive of any fees owed to the Village associated with the Neighborhood Services Department. You must check with the Finance Department for any other liens.
    (e) Compile Release of Liens: Once the Village receives confirmation from finance that the balance has been paid, we will proceed to compile the release of liens.
    (f) Record Documents: We can mail the releases to the County, but it takes 6 to 8 weeks for the County to record. Alternatively, residents can choose to record the documents with the County themselves, which would make the release effective once it's recorded. We can accommodate other options if there are deadlines involved.
    (g) The contract is closed once the violations have been addressed by the new owners, received approved final inspections by all involved Departments, and the negotiated amount is paid. All the steps must be completed prior to closing the contract.
    (Attach examples of reasonable accommodation, request for relief application, and example email to start the reasonable accommodation process)
3. Discretion: Best judgment guided by the policies and standards in this subsection.
4. Compliance: Actual resolution of violations on which code enforcement liens are based, as confirmed by the code enforcement department.
5. Reasonably necessary: (This subsection does not grant any property owner the right to obtain accommodation. Its intent is to provide the village with flexibility and options to grant discretionary accommodations as warranted, without needing code enforcement board approval. This subsection is supplementary to other provisions for modifying or reducing code enforcement fines in section 2-81(d) and (f) of the village code. The village manager must report the terms of every approved accommodation under this section to the village council in writing within 30 days of approval.) An appropriate accommodation that substantially increases the likelihood of eventual compliance considering the property owner's situation, property condition, compliance costs, and the absence of other effective means for achieving compliance. Factors include:
   a. Nature and duration of the violation.
   b. Property owner's equity in the property.
   c. Existence of default or foreclosure under an institutional mortgage.
   d. Existence of a Bonafide short sale opportunity approved by an institutional mortgage holder.
   e. Prospective or actual Bonafide sale to a genuine third-party purchaser (unrelated to the seller) where the seller receives no substantial sales proceeds.