Reference
Miami-Dade Property Terms Glossary
Plain-English definitions of the county compliance terms, data types, and signal categories you'll encounter when using ListoScore or working with Miami-Dade public records.
Building Permit
An official authorisation issued by Miami-Dade County before construction, renovation, or repair work can legally begin on a property. Permits are required for structural work, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, roofing, pool installation, and many other project types. Each permit record includes the property address, scope of work, declared project value, and often the names of the contractor and property owner — making them one of the most actionable lead signals in the county.
How contractors find jobs from permit data →Business Tax Receipt (BTR)
A Business Tax Receipt (formerly called an occupational license) is required by Miami-Dade County for any business operating within the county. When a new BTR is issued, it signals that a business has just opened or relocated — making it a prospecting signal for B2B vendors, insurance brokers, and service providers looking to reach new commercial accounts before competitors do.
Finding new business leads in Miami-Dade →Code Enforcement Officer
A county employee responsible for inspecting properties and issuing violation notices when a property is found to be out of compliance with Miami-Dade's building, zoning, or property maintenance codes. Violations may be triggered by a neighbour complaint, a routine patrol, a permit review, or referral from another county department. The assigned officer's contact information appears on the violation notice and is the correct point of contact when requesting extensions or clarification.
Code Lien
A legal claim recorded against a property's title after code violation fines have gone unpaid or unresolved past a certain threshold. Unlike a violation (which is a compliance notice), a code lien is a recorded encumbrance — it accrues interest, must be disclosed to buyers and lenders, and cannot be ignored at closing. For investors and wholesalers, a property with an active code lien is one of the clearest signals of a motivated seller, since the lien must be resolved before the property can be sold cleanly.
Miami-Dade code liens explained →Code Violation
A formal determination by Miami-Dade County that a property is not in compliance with local building, zoning, or property maintenance codes. The property owner is notified and given a compliance window — typically 10 to 30 days — to correct the issue. If the deadline is missed, daily fines begin accruing. If fines go unpaid long enough, a code lien is recorded against the title. For contractors, a code violation is a documented lead — the owner is legally required to remediate it and must hire a licensed professional for most types of violations.
What is a code violation lead? →Compliance Deadline
The date by which a property owner must resolve a code violation or face escalating fines. Compliance deadlines are set on a per-violation basis and stated in the violation notice. Missing the deadline does not mean the process is over — it means daily fines begin and the escalation clock starts. Owners who contact their code enforcement officer before the deadline and demonstrate good-faith effort (contractor engaged, permit applied for) can often obtain an extension.
DBPR (Department of Business & Professional Regulation)
The Florida state agency responsible for licensing and regulating contractors, tradespeople, real estate professionals, and other regulated industries. Contractor license numbers listed on Miami-Dade building permits can be verified through the DBPR's public lookup. For contractors bidding on permit leads, mentioning your DBPR license number in outreach demonstrates credibility and compliance.
Distress Score
A proprietary ListoScore signal score (0–30+) that weights a property's combination of active violations, code liens, finance referrals, and lis pendens filings into a single number representing the level of owner distress. A higher score indicates more accumulated compliance pressure and a more motivated seller or urgency to hire a contractor. The Distress Score is a Pro feature designed to help investors, wholesalers, and agents prioritise which signals to act on first.
Finance Referral
A Miami-Dade County dataset that records properties referred for collection action — a more serious stage of the code enforcement process than a standard violation. Finance referrals indicate that the county has escalated enforcement because previous compliance attempts have been unsuccessful or fines have accumulated significantly. For real estate investors and wholesalers, finance referral properties represent some of the highest-distress motivated sellers in the county. For property attorneys, they represent owners who very likely need legal counsel.
How to find motivated sellers in Miami-Dade →Lis Pendens
Latin for "suit pending." A lis pendens is a formal notice filed with the county court that a lawsuit has been initiated against a property — in practice, almost always the first step in a foreclosure proceeding. A lis pendens filing is the earliest legal indicator of a motivated seller: the foreclosure process has officially begun, the owner is under significant financial and legal pressure, and the window to negotiate directly (before the property reaches auction) is open. Lis pendens data is exclusive to ListoScore Pro because it comes from a separate, higher-cost data pipeline.
Finding pre-foreclosure properties in Miami-Dade →Mechanical Permit
A specific category of Miami-Dade building permit required for HVAC system installation, replacement, or significant ductwork modification. In Florida's climate, mechanical permits are filed year-round. For HVAC contractors, a new mechanical permit is a direct signal that a system replacement or installation is in progress — and that an HVAC contractor is either engaged or still being selected.
HVAC contractor leads from permit data →PAPA (Property Appraiser Public Access)
Miami-Dade's public-facing property record portal, maintained by the Miami-Dade Property Appraiser's office. PAPA provides access to ownership records, assessed values, tax history, square footage, year built, and parcel maps for every property in the county. ListoScore links directly to PAPA records from each signal card, allowing users to access the full property profile in one click without leaving the platform.
Parcel Folio Number
A unique identifier assigned by Miami-Dade County to every parcel of land in the county. The folio number (formatted as XX-XXXX-XXX-XXXX) links directly to the property's official record in Miami-Dade's systems, including PAPA (property appraiser), the county's building department, and code enforcement. When researching a signal on ListoScore, the folio number is the key to pulling the full property history across all county systems.
Real-time Alert
A push notification sent to a ListoScore user's device when a new signal (permit, violation, lien, or finance referral) is filed within one of their saved alert zones. Real-time alerts are a Pro feature that delivers new signals within 15 minutes of being filed with the county — enabling first contact before any other contractor, investor, or agent has seen the lead. On iPhone, the app must be added to the Home Screen as a PWA to receive push notifications.
Signal
The ListoScore term for any county-filed record that indicates activity or distress at a property — including building permits, code violations, code liens, business tax receipts, finance referrals, and lis pendens filings. Each signal is displayed as a card on the interactive map, with color-coded pins indicating signal type. Free users see signal type, location, and summary information. Pro users unlock the full signal details including owner identity, contact information, and outreach tools.
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