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Roofing in Hillsborough County

Most homes in Hillsborough County are older than Florida's statewide building code: 62.5% were built before 2000, and the first Florida Building Code took effect on March 1, 2002. When one of those roofs comes off, today's code asks for more than new shingles. Here is how that plays out from Tampa to Plant City.

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County seat: Tampa

Updated October 2026

Low aerial view over a gray-blend shingle roof with gables and valleys, palm trees and a neighborhood street beyond

At a glance

Hillsborough County homes at a glance

People (2020 Census)
1,459,762
Median year homes were built
1991
Share of homes built 2010 or later
18.6%
Share of homes built before 1980
30.4%
Share of homes built before 2000
62.5%
Owner-occupied share of occupied homes
61.5%
Mobile homes, share of housing units
6.5%

Census and county figures; each one is listed in the sources at the end of this page.

Your house

What Hillsborough's housing age means for your roof

Roofing in Hillsborough County starts with the age of the house. The county has 630,692 homes, and half of them went up in 1991 or earlier, the median year built. 30.4% date from before 1980, most heavily in Tampa and its first suburbs. At the other end, 18.6% are new since 2010, clustered in the south and southeast, where Riverview grew from 71,050 people in 2010 to 107,396 in 2020.

  • Built before 1980: the oldest decks in the county. With the old covering off, deck attachment and a secondary water barrier must meet R908.7, and any staples or 6d nails get supplemental fasteners.
  • Built 1980 to early 2002: still framed before the statewide code, so a tear-off brings the same R908.7 items, and the wind mitigation form grades whatever nailing and roof-to-wall connections it finds.
  • Built 2002 to early 2009: permitted under the first statewide editions (2001 and 2004), before the 2007 edition took effect on March 1, 2009.
  • Built 2010 or later: the original roof went on under the 2007 code or newer, so a partial repair only has to bring the repaired part to current code (Fla. Stat. 553.844(5)).

Owners occupy 61.5% of the county's occupied homes, and 6.5% of all units are mobile homes, with far higher shares in Thonotosassa, Gibsonton and Mango. Florida's 15-year roof rule for insurers does not reach mobile home policies, according to Senate staff analysis of Fla. Stat. 627.7011.

Permits

Who issues roof permits in Hillsborough County

Four building departments issue roof permits here, and your address decides which one. The City of Tampa issues its own through Construction Services. Temple Terrace has its Building and Permitting department, and Plant City handles permits through the building division of Development Services. Every other place in the county, from Brandon and Riverview to Lutz and Sun City Center, is unincorporated, so its permits come from Hillsborough County's Building Permits & Records office.

The steps themselves come from the statewide code. A re-roof needs a permit (FBC-B 105.1) but is exempt from plan review (107). Expect two inspections: a sheathing or dry-in check while the deck is open, then a roofing inspection of the dry-in, insulation, coverings and flashing (110.3).

Small repairs are the building official's call: the code lets that official approve ordinary minor repairs without a permit (105.2.2). Ask the office that covers your address before you assume either way.

Building permits

Hillsborough County - Building Permits & Records (unincorporated Hillsborough County)

Official building page

Cities with their own building office

Office names and links only. Fees, forms and timing change; check the official page.

Storm record

Storms that shaped roofs here

FEMA disaster declarations have covered Hillsborough for seven storms since 2016: Hermine, Irma, Ian, Idalia, Debby, Helene and Milton. The ones that matter most for roofs:

  • Helene, September 2024: 5 to 7 ft of surge inside Tampa Bay, 7.2 ft above mean higher high water at the East Bay gauge, and at least 419 homes destroyed and 18,512 structures with major damage across Pinellas and Hillsborough.
  • Milton, October 2024: hurricane conditions from Tampa southward and record crests on the Hillsborough River; surge stayed at 1 to 2 ft because the winds blew offshore.
  • Debby, August 2024: 10 to 15 inches of rain near and south of Tampa Bay, and a 3.0 ft storm tide at the mouth of the Hillsborough River.
  • Idalia, August 2023: 3 to 5 ft of surge along the bay, with NWS crews finding water up to 1 ft deep inside homes.
  • Eta, November 2020: up to 10.64 inches of rain near Sun City Center.
  • Irma, September 2017: a category 1 center passing between Tampa and Orlando, with offshore winds that first drained the bay.

FEMA's assessment teams name wind-damaged roof coverings as a primary way water gets into a house, along with lost ridge vents and soffits. After Ian, hips and ridges took the most damage, on newer and older roofs alike. If a storm has crossed your roof, check those lines from the ground and look at your ceilings, then read about roof repair here.

  1. 2024Hurricane Debby

    • A USGS streamgage at the mouth of the Hillsborough River observed a storm tide of 3.0 ft above MHHW; 10-15 inches of rain fell locally near and south of Tampa Bay.

  2. 2024Hurricane Helene

    • Within Tampa Bay, 5-7 ft of storm surge inundation (East Bay 7.2 ft, Old Port Tampa 6.83 ft above MHHW); two storm-surge fatalities in Hillsborough; at least 419 homes destroyed and at least 18,512 structures with major damage in Pinellas and Hillsborough counties combined.

  3. 2023Hurricane Idalia

    • Storm surge inundation of 3-5 ft above ground level including Tampa Bay; East Bay gauge 4.56 ft above MHHW; the City of Tampa reported flooded and impassable streets, and NWS crews found surge in homes up to 1 ft above ground.

  4. 2022Hurricane Ian

    • Offshore winds pulled water out of Tampa Bay (Old Port Tampa fell to 4.38 ft below MLLW); the NHC report gives no Hillsborough damage figures. FEMA designated the county for Individual Assistance.

  5. 2021Tropical Storm Elsa

    • Strongest winds stayed offshore; some reports of downed trees and flooded streets in the Tampa Bay area.

  6. 2020Hurricane Eta

    • Storm surge inundation of 3-4 ft above ground level in the Tampa Bay area (Old Port Tampa and East Bay gauges 3.9 ft above MHHW; Hillsborough River gauge in Tampa 3.8 ft); up to 10.64 inches of rain near Sun City Center; street flooding and road closures in coastal Hillsborough.

Weather

Climate and your roof

A normal year at Tampa International Airport brings 49.48 inches of rain, and about 61% of it falls June through September. Plant City, on the county's east side, is wetter, at about 56.1 inches a year.

Bursts matter more than totals. NOAA Atlas 14 puts the 10-year, 5-minute rain rate at Tampa at 9.61 inches an hour, and a 10-year storm drops 6.24 inches in 24 hours. Gutter and downspout sizing starts from that burst rate, as the county gutters page shows.

Summer storms bring lightning as well. Tampa Bay anchors the west end of the corridor known as Lightning Alley, which gets more lightning than anywhere else in the United States, and more than 90% of it strikes May through October, between noon and midnight.

9.61in/hr5-minute burst, 10-year storm
2.88in/hr1-hour rate, 10-year storm
6.24in24 hours, 10-year storm

NOAA Atlas 14 at Tampa. Source

Local rules

Historic districts, HOAs and CDDs

Historic homes add a review. The City of Tampa has four Local Historic Districts and 64 Local Historic Landmarks, and exterior repairs there go through a Certificate of Appropriateness. Temple Terrace adopted its own historic preservation program in 2023 under Ordinance 1550.

Much of the newer housing sits inside associations. Westchase's largest deed-restricted HOA spans 28 villages, FishHawk Ranch residents pay a Community Development District fee, Cheval takes its name from a gated subdivision, and Sun City Center is age-restricted. Association approval, where your documents call for it, is a separate step from the building permit, so check it before you settle on a color or material.

Town 'n' Country and Carrollwood were laid out as planned subdivisions between 1958 and 1978, well ahead of the statewide code, so many of their houses face the deck and water-barrier work a re-roof brings.

  • Historic districts: the City of Tampa has four Local Historic Districts and 64 Local Historic Landmarks; exterior repairs there go through a Certificate of Appropriateness. Temple Terrace adopted a historic preservation program in 2023.
  • HOA / CDD / planned communities named by sources: FishHawk Ranch (Community Development District fee), Westchase (largest deed-restricted HOA in the CDP, 28 villages, CDDs), Sun City Center (age-restricted), Cheval (named for its large gated subdivision), Town 'n' Country and Carrollwood.
  • New-build growth: Riverview grew from 71,050 (2010) to 107,396 (2020) and Brandon from 103,483 to 114,626; county-wide, 18.6% of housing units were built 2010 or later.
  • Housing age: county median year built 1991; 30.4% of units were built before 1980.
  • Mobile homes are 6.5% of housing units county-wide.

Your town

Find your part of the county

Each place below has its own page, built from its own Census numbers and local rules:

  • The three cities: Tampa, Temple Terrace and Plant City, each with its own permit office; Tampa and Temple Terrace also run historic preservation programs.
  • The south county: Riverview, FishHawk and Progress Village, where much of the housing postdates 2000, the bay and river communities of Apollo Beach, Gibsonton and Ruskin, and age-restricted Sun City Center.
  • The east: Brandon, Valrico, Bloomingdale, Mango, Thonotosassa, East Lake-Orient Park and Palm River-Clair Mel, suburbs that grew from the 1960s on, with large mobile-home shares in Mango and Thonotosassa.
  • The northwest: Town 'n' Country, Carrollwood, Egypt Lake-Leto, Lake Magdalene, Citrus Park, Westchase, Northdale, Cheval, Keystone and Lutz, from 1950s planned subdivisions to lake homes, plus University beside the USF campus.

Outside every listed place but still in the county? This page and its six service pages cover you; the service areas map shows our other counties.

Services

Roofing services in Hillsborough County

Cities and towns

Places we serve in Hillsborough County

  • TampaCity · 384,959 people (2020)
  • BrandonCensus-designated place · 114,626 people (2020)
  • RiverviewCensus-designated place · 107,396 people (2020)
  • Town 'n' CountryCensus-designated place · 85,951 people (2020)
  • UniversityCensus-designated place · 50,893 people (2020)
  • Plant CityCity · 39,764 people (2020)
  • ValricoCensus-designated place · 37,895 people (2020)
  • Egypt Lake-LetoCensus-designated place · 36,644 people (2020)
  • CarrollwoodCensus-designated place · 34,352 people (2020)
  • Sun City CenterCensus-designated place · 30,952 people (2020)
  • Lake MagdaleneCensus-designated place · 30,742 people (2020)
  • RuskinCensus-designated place · 28,620 people (2020)
  • Citrus ParkCensus-designated place · 28,178 people (2020)
  • East Lake-Orient ParkCensus-designated place · 28,050 people (2020)
  • Temple TerraceCity · 26,690 people (2020)
  • Palm River-Clair MelCensus-designated place · 26,142 people (2020)
  • Apollo BeachCensus-designated place · 26,002 people (2020)
  • WestchaseCensus-designated place · 25,952 people (2020)
  • KeystoneCensus-designated place · 25,211 people (2020)
  • Fish HawkCensus-designated place · 24,625 people (2020)
  • LutzCensus-designated place · 23,707 people (2020)
  • NorthdaleCensus-designated place · 23,033 people (2020)
  • BloomingdaleCensus-designated place · 22,947 people (2020)
  • GibsontonCensus-designated place · 18,566 people (2020)
  • ThonotosassaCensus-designated place · 15,238 people (2020)
  • MangoCensus-designated place · 12,699 people (2020)
  • ChevalCensus-designated place · 12,522 people (2020)
  • Progress VillageCensus-designated place · 11,188 people (2020)

Questions

Roofing questions in Hillsborough County

Who issues a roof permit in Hillsborough County?

It depends on where the house is. Inside Tampa city limits, the City of Tampa's Construction Services issues roof permits, and Temple Terrace and Plant City run their own building departments too. Everywhere else, including Brandon, Riverview, Town 'n' Country, Valrico and Sun City Center, the permit comes from Hillsborough County's Building Permits & Records office, which serves unincorporated Hillsborough County. If you are unsure which side of a city line your house is on, ask the county office first.

Related

What inspections does a Hillsborough County re-roof get?

Two, under the statewide code every office here enforces. First comes the sheathing inspection, at dry-in or on its own visit, which looks at the roof sheathing, its fasteners and the dry-in. Then the roofing inspection covers, at a minimum, the dry-in, insulation, roof coverings and flashing (FBC-B 110.3). Because 62.5% of the county's homes were built before 2000, the sheathing visit is often where an inspector sees the supplemental deck nailing that R908.7 requires on older houses.

Related: Roof replacement

Is Hillsborough County in the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone?

No. The High-Velocity Hurricane Zone covers only Broward and Miami-Dade counties, so roofs here follow the Florida Building Code's regular chapters. Wind design still applies, with the design speed for your address taken from ASCE 7-22, the source the state's wind mitigation form points to. A home within 1 mile of the mean high-water line falls in the wind-borne debris region where open-water exposure meets a design speed of 130 mph or more, as does any home at 140 mph or more. Water covers 23.5% of the county's total area, so that shoreline test reaches a lot of addresses.

Which storms have hit Hillsborough County roofs in recent years?

Three 2024 storms did the most: Debby's 10 to 15 inches of rain in August, Helene's 5 to 7 ft of surge in Tampa Bay in September, and Milton's record crests on the Hillsborough River in October. Idalia in 2023 and Ian in 2022 also brought FEMA declarations for the county. If your roof has been through all of them, have the hips, ridges, edges and flashing looked at before next season; FEMA's teams found hips and ridges the most common damage after Ian.

My house was built before 2002. What changes when I re-roof?

More than the shingles. When the old covering comes off a house with a wood deck, the residential code requires the decking attachment to meet R908.7.1 and a secondary water barrier under R908.7.2. Existing staples or 6d nails get supplemental ring-shank nails at no more than 6 inches on center. That reaches a large share of Hillsborough homes: the median house here dates to 1991, and 30.4% of the county's housing went up before 1980.

Related: Roof replacement

Does my HOA or CDD need to approve a new roof?

Check your community's documents, because many Hillsborough neighborhoods have them. Westchase's deed-restricted HOA covers 28 villages, FishHawk Ranch sits in a Community Development District, Cheval is a gated subdivision and Sun City Center is age-restricted. Where your covenants require architectural approval, get it before work starts. It is a separate approval from the building permit that the county or your city issues, and neither one stands in for the other.

Related: Design Studio

When is the rainy season in Hillsborough County?

Roughly late May to early October. The National Weather Service office for Tampa Bay dates the rainy season for West Central Florida from May 25 to October 10, a stretch of near-daily thunderstorms. The rain gauges agree: about 61% of the 49.48 inches Tampa International Airport sees in a normal year falls June through September. A problem found in winter or spring can be fixed before the daily storms return.

Next door

Neighboring counties we serve

Sources for this page(56)
  1. 1.Share of homes built before 2000: 62.5%. U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024 5-year (2020-2024), table B25034, via Census Reporter API. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  2. 2.Housing units (ACS 5-year): 630,692. U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024 5-year (2020-2024), table B25001, via Census Reporter API. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  3. 3.Median year homes were built: 1991. U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024 5-year (2020-2024), table B25035, via Census Reporter API. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  4. 4.Share of homes built before 1980: 30.4%. U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024 5-year (2020-2024), table B25034, via Census Reporter API. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  5. 5.Share of homes built 2010 or later: 18.6%. U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024 5-year (2020-2024), table B25034, via Census Reporter API. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  6. 6.Wikipedia (Riverview, Brandon); U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 table B25034. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  7. 7.Owner-occupied share of occupied homes: 61.5%. U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024 5-year (2020-2024), table B25003, via Census Reporter API. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  8. 8.Mobile homes, share of housing units: 6.5%. U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024 5-year (2020-2024), table B25024, via Census Reporter API. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  9. 9.Permit office: Hillsborough County - Building Permits & Records (unincorporated Hillsborough County). Hillsborough County - Building Permits & Records (unincorporated Hillsborough County). Read Oct 5, 2026.
  10. 10.Hurricane Hermine (2016). NOAA National Hurricane Center, Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Hermine. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  11. 11.Hurricane Irma (2017). NOAA National Hurricane Center, Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Irma. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  12. 12.Hurricane Eta (2020). NOAA National Hurricane Center, Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Eta. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  13. 13.Hurricane Ian (2022). NOAA National Hurricane Center, Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Ian. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  14. 14.Hurricane Idalia (2023). NOAA National Hurricane Center, Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Idalia. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  15. 15.Hurricane Debby (2024). NOAA National Hurricane Center, Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Debby. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  16. 16.Hurricane Helene (2024). NOAA National Hurricane Center, Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Helene. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  17. 17.Hurricane Milton (2024). NOAA National Hurricane Center, Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Milton. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  18. 18.NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020, station USW00012842 TAMPA INTL AP. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  19. 19.NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020, station USC00087205 PLANT CITY. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  20. 20.NWS Melbourne, Lightning Facts and Trivia. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  21. 21.City of Tampa; City of Temple Terrace (official). Read Oct 5, 2026.
  22. 22.Wikipedia articles for each place (secondary). Read Oct 5, 2026.
  23. 23.Water share of total area: 23.5%. U.S. Census Bureau TIGERweb Census 2020 county geography (AREAWATER / total); includes bay and Gulf waters inside the county boundary. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  24. 24.People (2020 Census): 1,459,762. U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Census (POP100) via TIGERweb tigerWMS_Census2020 layer 82. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  25. 25.Tropical Storm Elsa (2021). NOAA National Hurricane Center, Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Elsa. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  26. 26.U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 5-year, tables B25035 and B25034. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  27. 27.U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25024. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  28. 28.U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024 5-year (2020-2024), table B01003, via Census Reporter API. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  29. 29.Hillsborough County, Building Permits & Records (unincorporated Hillsborough County). Read Oct 5, 2026. Official page fetched 2026-10-05 (HTTP 200).
  30. 30.City of Tampa, Construction Services. Read Oct 5, 2026. Official page fetched 2026-10-05 (HTTP 200).
  31. 31.City of Plant City, Building (Development Services). Read Oct 5, 2026. Official page fetched 2026-10-05 (HTTP 200).
  32. 32.City of Temple Terrace, Building and Permitting. Read Oct 5, 2026. Official page fetched 2026-10-05 (HTTP 200).
  33. 33.NOAA National Hurricane Center, Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Hermine. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  34. 34.NOAA National Hurricane Center, Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Irma. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  35. 35.NOAA National Hurricane Center, Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Eta. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  36. 36.NOAA National Hurricane Center, Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Ian. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  37. 37.NOAA National Hurricane Center, Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Idalia. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  38. 38.NOAA National Hurricane Center, Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Debby. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  39. 39.NOAA National Hurricane Center, Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Helene. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  40. 40.NOAA National Hurricane Center, Tropical Cyclone Report: Hurricane Milton. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  41. 41.U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Census (POP100) via TIGERweb tigerWMS_Census2020 layer 82. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  42. 42.NOAA Atlas 14 Volume 9 (Southeastern States) version 2, partial-duration series point estimates, via the HDSC PFDS endpoint (ops/research/v3/services/data/noaa-atlas14-florida-rainfall.tsv), NOAA Hydrometeorological Design Studies Center. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  43. 43.OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 (Hillsborough County, 2016 on), FEMA. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  44. 44.Senate SB 808 staff analysis pp. 3-4. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  45. 45.Florida Building Commission, "Florida Building Code Effective Dates". Read Oct 5, 2026.
  46. 46.FBCR Ch. 9. Read Oct 4, 2026.
  47. 47.Florida Statutes, section 553.844 (2026). Read Oct 5, 2026.
  48. 48.Florida Statutes, section 627.7011 (2026). Read Oct 4, 2026.
  49. 49.FBC-B 2023 Ch. 1. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  50. 50.FEMA FL-RA2. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  51. 51.ICC Building Safety Journal, Karl Fippinger, 2024-02-07. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  52. 52.FBC-Building 2023 Chapter 2 definitions. Read Oct 5, 2026. Unofficial transcription; verify on floridabuilding.org.
  53. 53.OIR form. Read Oct 4, 2026.
  54. 54.FBCR Ch. 2. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  55. 55.National Weather Service. Read Oct 5, 2026.
  56. 56.NOAA Atlas 14 at Tampa: 9.61 in/hr (5-minute, 10-year). NOAA Atlas 14 Volume 9 (Southeastern States) version 2, partial-duration series point estimates, via the HDSC PFDS endpoint (ops/research/v3/services/data/noaa-atlas14-florida-rainfall.tsv). Read Oct 5, 2026.

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