Remodeling in Melbourne, Palm Bay and the Space Coast: A Local Guide

Remodeling on the Space Coast comes with a few local layers that statewide advice doesn't cover. Your permit may come from the county or from one of its cities or towns. The beachside and the lagoon shoreline bring flood and coastal rules. And homes on septic in the lagoon area face a state deadline. This guide walks through each, with links to the details.

Start with the right building department

Brevard County's Planning and Development department issues building permits only for unincorporated areas. Community names such as Viera and Merritt Island aren't cities, so homes there are generally permitted by the county. If your home is inside city or town limits, the city or town handles your permit instead, and a mailing address alone won't tell you which applies.

The two largest cities each have their own online systems:

• Melbourne takes applications through its online permitting system (EnerGov). Its Building Section lists carports, garages, fences, sheds, re-roofing and window replacement among the projects people often don't realize need a permit.
• Palm Bay added the ePermitHub Digital Plan Room in March 2025, though some city pages still point to the older iMS portal, so ask which to use; contractors register with the city before pulling permits. It lists fences, sheds, re-roofing and window replacement as commonly overlooked, and warns that unpermitted work can bring a penalty of up to four times the permit fees.
• Unincorporated Brevard uses the county's BASS system, which is for licensed contractors. Owner-builders apply in person.

In Rockledge, Titusville, Cocoa, West Melbourne or a beach town from Cape Canaveral to Melbourne Beach, start with city or town hall. Rules differ, sometimes a lot. Palm Bay, for example, doesn't require a building permit for most non-masonry fences at single-family homes, only a zoning review, while the county requires a fence permit with a survey. Our Brevard County building permit guide covers each office in detail. Always confirm with your own building department before you start.

Hurricanes and wind

Brevard's Atlantic coast has seen plenty of storms. In September 2004, Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne made landfall about three weeks apart at nearly the same spot near Stuart, south of Brevard, and both brought damaging wind and heavy rain to the Space Coast. In October 2024, Hurricane Milton crossed the state; the National Weather Service in Melbourne reported gusts in Brevard generally of 50 to 70 mph, up to about 80 mph near the coast, with downed trees and power lines and one confirmed tornado.

That history shapes what your remodel needs:

• Wind-rated products. Windows, doors, garage doors, shutters and roofing must carry Florida product approval and be rated for the design pressures at your home. Whether your home is in the wind-borne debris region, where windows and glass doors must be impact-resistant or protected by approved shutters, depends on the design wind speed mapped for your location and how close you are to the water. Ask your building department. See hurricane codes and product approval and impact windows vs. hurricane shutters.
• Roofs. A reroof brings code upgrades such as a secondary water barrier. See roof replacement cost in Melbourne and Brevard.
• Insurance credits. After a new roof or opening protection, a wind mitigation inspection documents the features insurers credit.
• After a storm. Brevard County says that after a declared emergency, it expects to process permits that skip technical review, such as roof repairs or a single window or door, within three business days. Out-of-area crews also arrive after storms, and unlicensed contracting during a declared emergency is a felony in Florida. Read hurricane repair scams before you sign.

Flood zones and the 50% rule

Many Brevard homes sit near water: the Atlantic, the Indian River Lagoon, the Banana River and, inland, the St. Johns River. Check your flood zone on FEMA's flood maps or with your building department's floodplain staff before you design anything big.

If your home is in a FEMA flood zone, the 50% rule applies. When the cost of a renovation, or of repairs after a storm, reaches 50% of the structure's market value, the whole home generally has to be brought up to current flood rules, which can mean elevating it. A 2025 state law stops local governments from adding up improvements across several years for that decision, but splitting one project to dodge the rule still isn't allowed. Our FEMA 50% rule guide explains how market value is set.

Flood zones also affect smaller jobs. Florida's 2026 law that lets owners skip permits for some projects under $7,500 excludes properties in a flood hazard area. See the $7,500 permit exemption.

Beachside: the coastal construction control line

On the barrier island, from Cape Canaveral and Cocoa Beach to Satellite Beach, Indian Harbour Beach, Indialantic and Melbourne Beach, one more rule can apply. Florida sets a coastal construction control line (CCCL) county by county. Brevard's runs along the Atlantic coast from Port Canaveral Inlet to Sebastian Inlet. Under state rules, altering, excavating or building on property seaward of the line requires a permit from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, with certain exceptions, separate from your local building permit.

That can matter for additions, pools, decks, walls, dune walkovers and some major renovations on oceanfront lots. Ask a designer familiar with the CCCL program, or the department, before you plan. See the coastal construction control line.

Septic, sewer and the Indian River Lagoon

Nitrogen from septic systems is one of the pollutants Brevard is working to cut in the Indian River Lagoon, and state law now sets deadlines:

• Since January 1, 2024, a new septic system within the Indian River Lagoon protection area, which covers parts of Brevard, must be a nitrogen-reducing system, whatever the lot size.
• By July 1, 2030, properties in that area with an existing septic system must connect to central sewer if it's available, or upgrade to an enhanced nutrient-reducing system or another approved treatment system.

If you're planning a big remodel, an addition or a new bathroom on septic, raise this early. It may make sense to combine the upgrade or sewer connection with your project.

Brevard's Save Our Indian River Lagoon program has offered homeowner grants to upgrade a conventional septic system to an advanced one, with the county's grants page listing up to $20,000 based on the property's estimated pollution, and help with connecting to sewer. You must apply and be approved before any septic work starts. The program is funded by a half-cent sales tax that voters approved in 2016 for ten years, and a renewal is on the November 2026 ballot, so check the program's site for current terms. Our septic-to-sewer guide covers the statewide rules.

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HOAs in planned communities

If your home is in a planned community with a homeowners' association, its architectural committee often must approve roofs, windows, shutters, paint colors, fences, pavers and screen enclosures. Two state rules help:

• Since July 1, 2026, an HOA can't require you to have a building permit before it reviews your application, so you can apply to both at the same time.
• Associations must adopt hurricane protection specifications and can't deny an application that meets them.

Get approval in writing before you sign a contract or pay a deposit. See HOA approval in Florida.

Hiring and licensing

Check every contractor in two places: MyFloridaLicense.com for state licenses, and Brevard County's Licensed Contractor Search, which also covers the county's own certificates of competency. Make sure the license type matches the work. Roofing must be done by a licensed roofing contractor or under one, and anything structural, electrical, plumbing or mechanical needs the right license.

Brevard County says there's no such thing as a handyman license in the county, and handymen may only do unregulated work. If a contractor asks you to pull an owner-builder permit for work they're doing, treat it as a red flag.

Our guides cover the rest of the process: checking a contractor before hiring, contractor insurance, deposits, the Notice of Commencement and Florida's construction lien law.

What projects cost

Our cost guides use statewide planning ranges, and local prices vary with the scope:

• Roof replacement cost in Melbourne and Brevard
• Impact windows and hurricane shutters
• Screen enclosures, paver patios and fences
• Kitchen remodels and bathroom remodels

Try the roof calculator or the impact window calculator for a quick budget.

Melbourne and Brevard project guides

These pages go deeper on specific projects in Melbourne, Palm Bay and the rest of Brevard County.

Hurricane protection

• Impact window cost in Brevard County: prices for impact windows and doors in Melbourne, Palm Bay, Viera and the beaches, with wind zone rules and budget examples.
• Are impact windows worth it beachside?: what they do and leave out for Satellite Beach and Melbourne Beach homes, and what to ask your insurer first.
• Standby generator cost in Melbourne: sizes, fuel choices, placement rules, permits and sample budgets for backup power.

Outdoor living

• Deck cost in Brevard County: Florida ranges, dated local prices, canal and beachside budgets, and salt-air hardware.
• Paver patio cost in Melbourne: patio and pool deck prices, sample budgets, slab removal and drainage.
• Screened patio cost in Melbourne: screened patios, pool cages and rescreening, with wind engineering and permit steps.

Kitchens and baths

• Kitchen remodel cost in Brevard County: from a refresh to a new layout, with local figures, sample budgets and hurricane-season timing.
• Kitchen cabinet cost in Melbourne: new cabinets per linear foot, how refacing and painting compare, and budgets for a 20-foot kitchen.
• Bathroom remodel cost in Melbourne: Florida ranges, published local figures, slab plumbing costs and example budgets.
• Tub-to-shower conversion cost in Melbourne: why national figures run lower, slab drains, glass, permits and examples.

Exterior

• Exterior painting cost in Melbourne: repainting a stucco or block home, with example budgets, prep, salt air and HOA tips.
• Stucco repair cost in Brevard: crack, patch and water-damage repairs, warning signs, and why local price data is scarce.
• Concrete driveway cost in Melbourne: price per square foot, tear-out, rebar and right-of-way permit fees.
• Privacy fence cost in Melbourne: 6 ft privacy fence prices in Melbourne, Palm Bay and Brevard, with permit and zoning rules.
• Salt-air corrosion on the Space Coast: what salt air corrodes, which metals and outdoor materials hold up best, and how to maintain them.

Whole-home projects

• Whole-house remodel cost in Melbourne: example budgets for a block home, hidden costs, phasing and the 50% flood rule.
• Home addition cost in Brevard County: per-square-foot costs, sample budgets, and the septic, flood zone and impact fee rules.

Permits and hiring

• Hiring a contractor in Melbourne, FL: state and county license checks, Palm Bay registration, deposits and storm scams.
• Window permits in Melbourne, FL: when the city requires a permit for windows and doors, what the application needs and who files it.
• Fence permits in Brevard County: when a new or replacement fence needs a permit in unincorporated Brevard, Melbourne, Palm Bay and West Melbourne.
• Deck, patio and pergola permits in Brevard: who permits decks, pergolas, patio covers and paver patios across the county and its cities.

More for Brevard homeowners

• Brevard County local guide
• Building permits in Brevard County
• Roof replacement cost in Melbourne, FL

South Brevard borders Indian River County. See remodeling in Vero Beach and Sebastian and the Volusia County guide to the north.