After storm damage, use this order: make the site safe, photograph before changing what you safely can, notify the insurer, identify the permit jurisdiction, verify the people offering regulated work, compare the same written repair scope, and release money only against documented milestones. Urgency is real; it should not erase the record.
Temporary protection and permanent repair are different scopes. A tarp or emergency dry-out may reduce further damage, while roof, electrical, plumbing, window, HVAC, or structural repair can trigger licensing and permit requirements. Write down who authorized each step, what it covers, what it costs, and what permanent work remains.
1. Preserve the condition before cleanup
Do not enter an unsafe building. When it is safe to document, take wide and close photographs or video before removing material. Include the exterior, each affected room, water lines, roof openings, damaged equipment labels, and serial numbers. Label the file by date and location.
FEMA’s cleanup guidance tells residents to photograph damage and personal property before cleanup and keep repair receipts (FEMA repair-record guidance). That does not mean waiting on work needed to protect health or prevent additional damage. It means preserving the condition and the reason for emergency work when possible.
Start a simple log:
- date and time damage was observed;
- safety or utility shutoff action;
- insurer or agency contact and claim/reference number;
- temporary work, who approved it, and photographs before and after;
- every proposal, contract, invoice, receipt, permit, inspection, and change order; and
- damaged material samples the insurer asks you to retain.
2. Identify the permanent scope and the permit office
List each damaged system separately: roof covering, roof structure, exterior opening, wall, electrical service, branch wiring, plumbing, HVAC, interior finish, tree, fence, pool enclosure, or drainage. “Storm repair” is too broad for comparable bids.
The City of Tampa’s current post-hurricane guide maps several types of storm work to building or trade permits, including qualifying roof, electrical, building, HVAC, and water-heater work. It also makes an important distinction: a permit may still be required even when an event-specific fee is waived, and its fee waiver applies only after the specified emergency authority is exercised (City post-hurricane permit guide).
Hillsborough publishes a separate disaster-declaration permitting path and uses HillsGovHub for building and trade permits (Hillsborough permit page). If the property is in another municipality or county, ask that building office. A Tampa mailing address does not settle jurisdiction.
For each permanent scope, record:
- the jurisdiction and portal;
- whether a permit is required;
- who will apply and appear as contractor of record;
- required plan, product, engineering, or floodplain documents;
- inspections and concealed work that must remain visible; and
- what final approval record will close the job.
3. Verify the license for the proposed work
Florida DBPR’s hurricane guide identifies roof, new or replacement roof, window, plumbing, and electrical repairs among common storm services that require a license. It also warns that someone licensed in another state still needs the applicable Florida authority for regulated work here and tells consumers to verify through the official system (DBPR hurricane guide).
Collect the license number, individual qualifier, legal business name, proposal name, and address. Search the state record and any relevant county record. Match the license category to the actual work rather than accepting “licensed and insured” as a complete answer.
A database match does not prove insurance, price, workmanship, permit status, or suitability. Check those separately. If the status, name, category, or jurisdiction is unclear, contact the issuing office before signing.
4. Slow down unsolicited and high-pressure offers
The Florida Attorney General recommends multiple written, itemized estimates and tells consumers to have the insurer evaluate damage before arranging repairs they expect a policy to cover. The office identifies unsolicited approaches, leftover-material stories, and high-pressure sales tactics as warning signs (Florida contractor guidance).
An offer is not automatically fraudulent because it arrives quickly. Treat the sales method as one input and verify independently:
- Who is contracting with you?
- Who holds the relevant license?
- Who will pull the permit?
- Is the scope written in quantities and named systems?
- Does the payee match the contracting business?
- Are cancellation, financing, assignment, and insurance-related terms clear?
- Is there time to check the record without losing an emergency protection service?
Do not sign blank fields or rely on a promise that insurance will “cover everything.”
5. Put every bid on the same scope sheet
Use one row for each damaged component. Ask every bidder to complete these fields:
| Field | Record in writing |
|---|---|
| Damage and quantity | Component, location, dimensions or count, and documented storm condition |
| Temporary work | Tarp, stabilization, drying, debris, monitoring, and what is not permanent repair |
| Permanent system | Removal, repair method, material/product, attachment, finish, and code or permit item |
| Excluded conditions | Hidden damage, decking, framing, mold, electrical, finish, engineering, and allowance triggers |
| Permit and inspections | Applicant, fee, documents, inspection stages, corrections, and final closeout |
| Commercial terms | Price, allowances, change-order method, schedule, payment milestones, and warranties |
Hillsborough County recommends at least three written bids, current license and insurance checks, a written contract, receipts, and lien releases. Its consumer page also gives conservative payment guidance (Hillsborough contractor checklist). Treat a percentage on a general webpage as guidance, not a substitute for Florida law, an insurer or lender requirement, or advice about the contract in front of you.
6. Tie payments to verifiable milestones
The contract should identify the total, deposit purpose, material orders, progress stages, inspection dependencies, change-order approval, final completion, and closeout documents. Avoid paying an unrelated person or an entity not named in the contract.
Before each payment, keep:
- an invoice tied to the contract and approved changes;
- photographs of the completed stage;
- permit and inspection status where applicable;
- receipts or sworn statements required by the contract or law; and
- partial or final releases appropriate to the payment.
If a contractor asks for a new payee, a large unplanned advance, a backdated document, or work outside the licensed and permitted scope, stop and verify before sending money.
7. Close the project as carefully as it began
Do not treat “crew finished” as the whole closeout. Collect the passed final inspection, permit status, final invoice, releases, warranty terms, equipment/product records, maintenance instructions, photographs, and a list of repaired versus excluded damage.
Compare the completed work with the written scope. Record unresolved damage separately rather than signing a broad completion statement you do not understand. Preserve the entire folder for insurance, future sale, warranty, and maintenance questions.
How this checklist was assembled
Local Service Ledger compared six current federal, Florida, Hillsborough, and Tampa records in the order a homeowner encounters the decision: damage, emergency protection, jurisdiction, license, bid, payment, and closeout. No storm loss, claim, contractor, price, or repair result was invented or evaluated.