Hialeah Mayor Jacqueline Garcia-Roves on Thursday denied responsibility for code violations reported by her own city’s Building and Code Compliance Department, which fined her $250 on Wednesday for additions and other changes for which there were no permits.
The controversy first surfaced a week before during a City Council meeting, when resident Yolanda Guerra confronted the mayor publicly.
“You are a disgrace to the city,” Guerra said. “How can you, as mayor, make additions to your house without asking for any permit? You have to pay the money you owe the city for those improvements made without permits.”
At the time, Garcia-Roves immediately dismissed the allegations as “fake news.” Now, after her department issued the fine for multiple violations, the mayor says she remains unaware of the details because she has not yet been officially notified, even though the fine is a public record for any person who requests it.
Speaking to Univision 23 after the Miami Herald broke the news on Wednesday, Garcia-Roves said, “I still haven’t received any violation or fine from the city. I can say that during election cycles, these kinds of awful things tend to show up.”
Her office had told the Herald the previous day that the records would be released as soon as she was informed.
Garca-Roves has accused her political opponent, former councilman Bryan Calvo, who is also running for mayor in the Nov. 4 election, of orchestrating the complaint that led to the city inspection and the claims raised during last week’s council meeting. At the same time, she has attributed any structural changes or improvements to home to her late father, who died in 2019, the same year she became the property’s official owner and won a seat on the City Council.
“When my father passed away I took responsibility for the property, and it was transferred under my name. I didn’t take advantage of the senior exemption my mother had,” Garcia-Roves said. “I’m a Hialeah resident like any other. I don’t see myself as above anyone just because I’m the mayor. If there’s something wrong with the property, something that happened before I became the owner, I’ll assume responsibility.”
The mayor has maintained that no expansions have been made to the home, even though records from the Hialeah Building and Code Compliance Department show her property is currently under an active violation for additions among other violations of building without a permit.
“Since I’m old enough to remember, there haven’t been any additions to the house,” she said. “Honestly, I don’t know if there were any permits issued for modifications, because when my dad was alive, he was the one taking care of everything.” City files show no record of permit for the property, either under her father’s name or her own.
The mayor emphasized that any work done on the property occurred before she inherited it. “Any improvement that was made was done by my father. He was the owner, and he handled everything,” she said.
However, Google Street View images from 2007 to 2022 reveal changes to the property over the years, particularly since 2020, when García-Roves was already the legal owner. The images show that the porch gate, in place at least since 2007, was removed, along with modifications to fences and gates. Columns in the front yard were also removed—alterations that correspond to some of the violations cited by the city. The department’s inspection was conducted externally, and the actual interior size of the property remains unknown.
“My house doesn’t have any enclosed area besides the main structure. There isn’t an addition,” Garcia-Roves said, adding that she is waiting to see the city’s official notice. Her comments, however, contradict both the Hialeah Building and Code Compliance Department’s cited violations and Miami-Dade Property Appraiser records included in the city’s file, which show two roof extensions. One appears to be an enclosed home addition with plumbing ventilation stacks, while the other is constructed from aluminum.
“I have to wait to see what the violations are, to have them in my hands,” she said. “I have to let the department do its job. Just because I’m the mayor doesn’t mean I’ll abuse any department. I’m waiting for the notice of action.”
She also suggested that the case may have been politically motivated, despite the fact that, as mayor, she oversees the department that issued the inspections and violations.
“I didn’t know I had any violation. If there is something that needs to be fixed, I’m happy to know and take care of it,” she said.
Garcia-Roves also proposed that the city consider creating a program to assist residents who inherit properties and later discover issues with old permits or code compliance.
“When a family member passes away, and you inherit a property, situations like this can happen,” she said. “Obviously, I’ll take responsibility for my case, but my doors are open to help any resident who needs assistance.”
According to city documents, Garcia-Roves must bring the property into compliance by Jan. 26, 2026. If the issues are not resolved by that time, she could face daily fines.