Proposed rule would require consent for campaign signs, plus a city sticker at condos

Putting a campaign sign on someone’s property without permission would become a code violation in Miami Beach under a draft ordinance a commission committee takes up Monday, Nov. 9, and candidates for city office would face extra paperwork to post signs in condo common areas.

The city’s sign rules now limit how many temporary signs a property can have, but they don’t require campaigns to get the owner’s consent, according to a city memo on the proposal. Signs in the public right of way are already banned and can be removed by code officers.

What the draft says

The ordinance, written by the City Attorney’s Office, would create a new Section 38-12 of the city code:

• No campaign sign could go on private property without the express permission of the owner or legal occupant. Permission can be verbal or written, but whoever is responsible has to prove it.
• In condo and apartment buildings, residents could still put signs inside their own units and on balconies or windows. Signs in shared areas would need the owner’s or association’s approval.
• Candidates for Miami Beach office would need notarized written consent, signed by the association president after a board vote, filed with the city clerk before a sign goes up in a common area. The clerk would issue a city checkmark sticker that must be on the front of each such sign.
• The person who placed a sign and the candidate or committee on it could both be held liable. Fines: $250 per sign per day for a first violation within a year, $500 for a second and $1,000 for a third.

Enforcement would be complaint-driven rather than through citywide sweeps, which the memo says is meant to keep the city neutral on speech. In the 2025 election cycle, code officers did 906 sign inspections, 839 of them proactive, the memo says.

The memo warns of new work for the clerk and code staff and possible disputes over what counts as a common area. At the committee’s October meeting, chair Alex Fernandez suggested the sticker idea, the memo says. Commissioner Monica Matteo-Salinas sponsored the referral in February.

The committee meets at 9 a.m. Monday at City Hall, 1700 Convention Center Drive. Miami Beach’s next city election is Nov. 2, 2027, according to the city clerk.