Demolition permits in Lake County
Permitting is where residential demolition actually stalls, and every city inside the county
runs its own building department with its own forms and its own clock. Here is where each one
submits. We pull these ourselves on jobs where we are the contractor of record.
| Jurisdiction | Department | Where it submits | Published turnaround | NOC threshold |
|---|
| Lake County (unincorporated) | Lake County Office of Building Services | OPRS (Online Plan Review System) | Not published | Not published |
| City of Clermont | City of Clermont Building Services Division (Development… | eTRAKiT | Not published | Not published |
| City of Eustis | City of Eustis Building Department (Development Services) | GovWell Permit Portal | Plan review 5-14 business days (Getting a Permit page); Building page lists 10-14 business… | $5,000 general; $7,500 HVAC (as stated by city; statute now $15,000 HVAC) |
| City of Leesburg | City of Leesburg Building Department (Building Services) | Leesburg Online Services (OPRS) building permit portal | Not published | Not published |
| City of Mount Dora | Building and Fire Prevention Construction Services | Email or counter submittal | Not published | Not published |
| City of Tavares | City of Tavares Building Division (Community Development) | Click2GovBP (payments only; applications submitted by email to permits@tavares.org) | Not published | $2,500 (as stated on city fence checklist; likely outdated vs statute $5,000) |
Checked against official county and city pages on 2026-10-13. Fees and turnaround change
without notice, so confirm with the building department before relying on any line of this.
We publish it because nobody else does, not as a substitute for the county.
Historic review in Lake County
A structure inside a historic district or overlay cannot be permitted for
demolition on the building permit alone. It goes to a review board first, and that board meets
on its own calendar. This is the most common reason a teardown slips a month.
- City of Leesburg. Reviewed by the Historic Preservation Board (with Planning Division). Downtown historic district (voter-approved 2003, ~105 acres, 300+ parcels centered on Main Street). Board applies design standards to demolition, alteration, relocation or removal in the district; e.g., HP case HP-25-725 partial demolition (Nov 2025 agenda).…
- City of Eustis. Reviewed by the Historic Preservation (Certificate of Appropriateness, Sec. 46-228; administrative COA available). Locally designated Downtown Historic District (est. 1999) and local landmarks. Permit applications ask whether project is in a Historic District. Demolition-specific review standards and added time not verified.
- City of Mount Dora. Reviewed by the Historic Preservation Board. City site cites historic preservation regulations for downtown and publishes HPB agendas; HPB hears demolition items (e.g., June 2026 agenda shed demolition at a historic property). Added review time not verified; expect board hearing before demolition permit…
What is required on nearly every job
- Notice of commencement, recorded, not just signed
- Owner authorization to permit, notarized
- Survey or site plan marking the structure
- Asbestos survey and the FDEP notice, at least 10 working days before demolition
- Utility disconnect letters for electric, gas and water or sewer
- Septic abandonment through the Health Department where the lot is on septic
Permitting, asbestos abatement, septic and well abandonment and tree mitigation are quoted
separately or handled by others. That is printed on every proposal rather than turning up
later as a change order.