Here is the part almost nobody tells you: Florida’s state installation rule never mentions skirting at all. The requirement in Polk County comes from the county’s own Land Development Code — and the county enforces it by holding something you care about a great deal more than a citation. Your electricity.
The Short Version
- Polk County’s Land Development Code requires mobile homes and park trailers to be skirted.
- Skirting needs its own separate permit — it is not covered by the set-up permit.
- Power is not released to the property until the skirting inspection passes.
- The county re-checks the home within 60 days of set-up inspection approval.
- Miss it and you face code enforcement, the installer and owner can have permitting privileges suspended, and the Mobile Home Certificate of Occupancy is withheld.
- The installer signs a notarized affidavit (county form PD LDC 715) accepting all of the above.
State Rule vs. County Code — Where the Requirement Actually Lives
Florida’s installation standards for manufactured homes live in Rule 15C-1.0102 of the Florida Administrative Code. That rule is detailed about the things that hold a home up: pier foundations of solid concrete pad no smaller than 4″ x 16″ x 16″, concrete strength minimums, grade cleared of vegetation and organic material, the ground sloped for drainage. It says nothing about skirting, crawl space ventilation, or access openings.
So when a neighbor tells you “the state doesn’t require skirting,” they are technically right and practically wrong. In Polk County the requirement is local, and local is the level that inspects your home and signs off on your power.
The Affidavit the County Makes Your Installer Sign
Polk County’s Skirting Affidavit (form PD LDC 715) is signed by the installer, notarized, and filed with the set-up permit. In it, the installer states in writing that they understand:
- the Land Development Code requires the home to be skirted;
- a separate skirting permit is required;
- “power will not be released to the permitted property until the skirting inspection is completed with a ‘passed’ inspection result”;
- the unit will be checked within sixty days after set-up inspection approval to confirm the skirting is there;
- if it is not, code enforcement action may be taken against the owner, permitting privileges may be suspended for both installer and owner, and the Mobile Home Certificate of Occupancy will not issue until the skirting is provided.
Two things worth pulling out of that. First, the 60-day clock starts at set-up inspection approval, not at move-in — so a home that sat waiting on other trades can burn most of the window before anyone thinks about skirting. Second, the consequence lands on the homeowner and the installer, which is why a good installer brings up skirting before you do.
If Your Home Is Already Set Up
The affidavit is a set-up-permitting document, so it is not what governs a home that has been in place for fifteen years. Damaged or missing skirting on an existing home is a code and maintenance matter rather than a permit condition — but the code requirement itself does not expire, and in Polk’s parks the practical trigger is usually a complaint, a sale, or an insurance inspection rather than a county sweep.
If you are buying a home with sagging or missing skirting, treat it as a cost you are inheriting, not a cosmetic note. Same for a home where somebody has stapled plastic over the gap and called it done.
Ventilation and Access — Practice, Not Polk Code
The widely cited industry figure for under-home ventilation is one square foot of free vent area per 150 square feet of floor area, and any skirting install should include an access panel large enough for a person to get under the home for plumbing, ductwork and tie-down work. Neither of those numbers comes from the Polk affidavit, and the state install rule does not set them — so treat them as good practice and confirm specifics with the Building Division rather than from a blog, this one included.
The reason to care beyond compliance is what unvented, unsealed skirting does to the rest of the home. Trapped humidity rots the vapor barrier and the subfloor above it, and an open perimeter invites the animals that tear the barrier out in the first place. Skirting is the cheapest part of the under-home system and the one that protects the expensive parts. Skirting is cut to the gap between the ground and the home, so if the home has settled, get mobile home leveling in Polk County done before new panels go on; homeowners in Lakeland can start there.
Permits and Who to Ask
Skirting permits, inspections and the affidavit go through the Polk County Building Division, Office of Planning and Development, 330 W. Church St., Bartow, FL 33830 — (863) 534-6080. Ask for a plans examiner if your situation is unusual, and get the skirting permit at the same time as the set-up permit so the 60-day window is not a surprise.
Sources
- Polk County Skirting Affidavit, form PD LDC 715 (quoted above)
- Fla. Admin. Code R. 15C-1.0102 — Installation Standards for Mobile/Manufactured Homes
- Polk County Building Division — Permitting
Plain-English summary for homeowners, not legal advice. Codes change and form revisions happen — the affidavit text quoted here is from revision 5/1/19. Confirm anything that affects a decision with the Building Division.
Related: skirting repair and replacement in Polk County · Florida tie-down requirements · when a vapor barrier has failed
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Related reading: How to Sell a Mobile Home in Florida · Buying a Mobile Home in Florida: What to Check First