<\/p>\n
Angelica Martinez, a Little Havana homeowner, says Miami fined her for code violations on work done before she owned the house.<\/p>\n
CBS News Miami | July 2026<\/p>\n
A Little Havana<\/a> homeowner says she is facing the threat of foreclosure after Miami placed a $55,650 code-enforcement lien on her property \u2014 one that her attorney argues should never have existed.<\/p>\n \u201cThe city of Miami is stopping my client from fixing her own home over a lien that doesn\u2019t exist,\u201d said Ari Pregen, who is an attorney with The Code Clinic and represents homeowner Angelica Martinez.<\/p>\n Martinez says she feels trapped in the home, which she purchased in 2019.<\/p>\n Miami code inspectors said they observed contractors replacing roof framing, installing a wood fence and constructing a concrete driveway without permits during a proactive inspection in September 2024. CBS News Miami obtained still images from body camera footage recorded during that inspection.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just a mistake \u2014 a very expensive mistake they\u2019re making me pay for,\u201d Martinez said.<\/p>\n Martinez acknowledges hiring a crew to repair her wood-frame roof. However, she and her attorney contend she was not responsible for the fence or driveway that also became the subject of the city\u2019s code-enforcement case.<\/p>\n According to Pregen, city records show the property\u2019s previous owner completed renovations in 2018. While the permits from that project do not reference the fence or driveway, Google Earth images from February 2019 appear to show both improvements already in place months before Martinez purchased the home.<\/p>\n \u201cI got an attorney, did a title search, everything went through review making sure there was no debt or lien on the house to make sure the house was clean for me to purchase,\u201d Martinez said. \u201cZero violations existed. My attorneys reviewed the whole history of the house. There was no issue whatsoever.\u201d<\/p>\n After the 2024 inspection, Martinez agreed to lower the fence and bring the driveway into compliance. Pregen acknowledged that homeowners can be held responsible for correcting code violations even if they did not originally perform the work.<\/p>\n However, Pregen said city inspectors later signed an affidavit of compliance certifying Martinez had corrected the violations roughly two months ago.<\/p>\n \u201cEverything was reviewed and they told me I was done and I could go ahead living in my house without any issues,\u201d Martinez said.<\/p>\n The city disputes that characterization.<\/p>\n