Why the letters come before the permit
Many South Florida cities treat the utility shutoffs as permit papers, not as a last step on demolition day. Fort Lauderdale's checklist asks for the FPL disconnect letter, a gas letter, the water meter removal letter and the sewer cap or septic abandonment with a passed inspection. Without them, the file does not move.
The permit itself, with everything else it asks for, is in our demolition permit guide. This page covers each line coming into the house and who cuts it.
Power: the FPL disconnect
FPL cuts the service and pulls the meter. Then it issues the disconnect letter the city wants in the file. We never start on a house that still has a live drop wire, and we look for it on the first walk of the lot.
Phone and cable lines get the same treatment. Those companies take their wires off the house before the machine arrives, so nothing tears loose from a pole when the roof comes down.
Gas: a letter from the gas company
A house with natural gas needs the gas company to shut and cap the service and send a letter saying so. In Fort Lauderdale that letter comes from TECO Gas. Ask the gas company for the letter early, because the city checks for it before review.
Water: the meter comes out
The water utility removes the meter and sends a removal letter. That leaves us one practical problem: dust control still needs water after the meter is gone. We plan where the water for the hoses or the water truck comes from before the meter is pulled. Fort Lauderdale goes further and asks for a notarized letter about the water used to keep dust down.
Sewer cap or septic abandonment
A licensed plumber caps the sewer line at the property, under a plumbing sub-permit, and the city inspects the cap before the job goes on. In the City of Miami that sewer cap sub-permit has no plan review; it is a payment and an inspection.
A house on a septic tank goes through septic abandonment instead, also by a licensed plumber with a sub-permit and a passed inspection. The tank is dealt with before we break out the slab, so the excavator does not drop a track into it.
811 before anything gets dug
Sunshine State One Call, the 811 service, sends the utility owners out to mark buried lines before digging. North Bay Village asks for the call on its checklist, and we place it before any footing comes out of the ground. The marks show up as paint and small flags across the yard and the swale.
Refrigerant from the A/C units
The refrigerant in the A/C condensers and air handlers has to be recovered by an EPA-certified technician before the equipment is crushed or hauled. Fort Lauderdale asks for the technician's EPA license or a letter from the company that did the recovery. We schedule it with the other shutoffs so the units are empty when the strip-out starts.
Partial demolition and small structures
When part of a house stays standing, the utility companies usually do not need to cut the whole service. North Bay Village says so in its rules, but each trade pulls its own disconnect permit for the part that comes out: the electrician, the mechanical contractor, the plumber. A shed or detached garage with power or water gets disconnected by a licensed tradesperson before we take it down.
Who does each cut
| Service | Who disconnects it | What the city sees |
|---|---|---|
| Power | FPL | FPL disconnect letter |
| Gas | The gas company (TECO Gas in Fort Lauderdale) | Gas letter |
| Water | The water utility | Meter removal letter |
| Sewer | A licensed plumber, under a sub-permit | Passed sewer cap inspection |
| Septic | A licensed plumber, under a sub-permit | Passed abandonment inspection |
| Buried lines | Utility owners, called through 811 | Marks on the ground |
| Refrigerant | An EPA-certified technician | EPA license or recovery letter |
We line these up in order and track the letters until the file is complete. Where the shutoffs fit in the rest of the job is laid out in how we work, and what happens once the lines are dead is on our house demolition page.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need an FPL letter to demolish a house?
Usually. Fort Lauderdale lists the FPL disconnect letter on its demolition checklist, so the file is not complete without it. Each city keeps its own list, and we check whether yours asks for the letter.
Who caps the sewer line before a demolition?
A licensed plumber does it under a plumbing sub-permit. The city inspects the cap, and that passed inspection goes in the demolition file.
What happens to a septic tank when the house comes down?
The tank is abandoned by a licensed plumber with its own sub-permit and inspection. That work is finished before the slab and footings come out.
Do I need to call 811 before tearing down a house?
The digging part of a demolition needs a locate. We call Sunshine State One Call before the footings come out, and the utility owners mark their buried lines.
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