Roof permits in Cape Coral, and the 25% rule after SB 4-D

When you need a permit

In the City of Cape Coral, any roof replacement, re-underlayment or repair over roughly 100 square feet (one "square") needs a building permit. So does any work that replaces decking. Small repairs — a pipe boot, a few tiles, a flashing — generally don't. Unincorporated Lee County (North Fort Myers, Lehigh, Pine Island) works the same way through Lee County Community Development; Fort Myers, Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel, Bonita Springs and Estero each have their own building departments with the same basic rules.

Who can pull it

A state-licensed roofing contractor — a Certified Roofing Contractor (CCC license) or a registered one with local authority. Not a handyman, not a general "home improvement" company without the roofing license, and, for a re-roof, not the homeowner. Florida is strict about this because roofing is where unlicensed work does the most damage in a hurricane. Look up any license at myfloridalicense.com; it takes thirty seconds.

What the inspector looks at

A Cape Coral re-roof typically gets two inspections. The in-progress ("dry-in") inspection checks the deck: nailing pattern (8d ring-shank at 6 inches), decking condition, and the secondary water barrier or sealed-deck method before the covering hides it. The final checks the finished roof — covering attachment, flashing, drip edge, ventilation. The permit is then closed. An open or missing permit shows up at sale, at refinance and at claim time; we close every one.

The 25% rule, before and after

For years the Florida Building Code said that if more than 25% of a roof was repaired, replaced or recovered within 12 months, the entire roof had to be brought up to current code. After a storm, that turned a lot of partial damage into full replacements.

In May 2022, SB 4-D changed it. Under F.S. 553.884(5), if the existing roof was built or replaced in compliance with the 2007 Florida Building Code or later — in practice, permitted on or after March 1, 2009 — only the repaired, replaced or recovered portion has to meet current code, no matter how much of the roof that is. Roofs older than that remain under the original 25% rule.

What that means on your street

• A 2012 tile roof in the Northwest Cape that lost a quarter of its tiles in a storm can be repaired — the damaged section re-underlaid and relaid to current code, the rest left alone.
• A 1998 shingle roof in Southeast Cape with the same damage has to be fully replaced to current code once the damage exceeds 25% in a year.
• The permit date is what decides it. We pull the permit history on your parcel before quoting storm work so you know which rule applies.

Code items you'll see on the quote

• Deck re-nailing — 8d ring-shank nails at 6 inches on the whole deck.
• Secondary water barrier — self-adhered underlayment over the deck or over taped seams; required for re-roofs in the wind-borne debris region, which includes all of Lee County's coast.
• Attachment — six nails per shingle; foam-set or mechanically fastened tile; clip spacing on metal per the wind zone.
• Roof-to-wall connections — inspected and, on older homes above certain values, retrofitted with straps where the code requires it as part of the re-roof.
• Drip edge and flashing — new metal at all edges, valleys and penetrations.

Each of these is also a line on the wind mitigation form, which is why a permitted, code-built roof lowers premiums and an unpermitted one doesn't.

General information about Florida and City of Cape Coral requirements as of 2026; the building department's rules and the code edition in force govern. We pull the permit and build to it — that's the point of hiring a licensed roofer.

Related questions