Angelica Martinez, a homeowner in Miami's Little Havana neighborhood, faces foreclosure over a $55,650 code enforcement lien that the City of Miami claims accumulated due to unpermitted construction. In September 2024, city inspectors observed contractors working on her roof, fence, and driveway without permits, leading to disputes between Martinez, her attorney Ari Pregen from The Code Clinic, and the city. Martinez argues that she was unaware of these issues at the time of purchase in 2019, while the city maintains she is responsible for correcting them.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-17,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
When Angelica Martinez bought her home in Miami's Little Havana neighbourhood in 2019, she did what most buyers do: she hired an attorney, carried out a title search and checked the property's history for any outstanding debts or liens.
asserted
she → buy → debts
Everything seemed perfect.
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Everything → seem → ?
Five years after the purchase, Martinez faces the threat of foreclosure over a $55,650 code enforcement lien that the City of Miami says accumulated against her property.
asserted
City → face → property
The lien has prevented her from renovating or selling the home, and her attorney argues that it should never have existed in the first place.
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it → prevent → place
"The City of Miami is stopping my client from fixing her own home over a lien that doesn't exist," Ari Pregen, an attorney with The Code Clinic who represents homeowner Angelica Martinez, told CBS News.
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who → stop → News
A Little Havana homeowner says she feels trapped in the home she purchased.
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she → say → home
City of 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.
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contractors → say → September
Martinez acknowledges hiring the crew to repair her roof.
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Martinez → acknowledge → roof
But she and her attorney dispute her responsibility for the fence and driveway work, which became the subject of the city's code enforcement case.
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which → dispute → case
"It's just a mistake; a very expensive mistake they're making me pay for," Martinez told the outlet.
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Martinez → make → outlet
Her attorney argued that city records show the previous owner completed renovations in 2018.
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owner → argue → 2018
Though the permits from that project do not mention the fence or driveway, Google Earth images from February 2019 appear to show both improvements already in place.
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images → mention → place
This was months before Angelica Martinez bought the property.
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Martinez → buy → property
She talks about the whole process of purchasing the property.
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She → talk → property
"I 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.
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me → get → house
Zero violations existed.
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violations → exist → ?
My attorneys reviewed the whole history of the house.
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attorneys → review → house
There was no issue whatsoever," she told the broadcaster.
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she → be → broadcaster
Following the 2024 inspection, she agreed to lower the fence and bring the driveway into compliance.
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she → follow → compliance
Her attorney also acknowledged that homeowners can be held responsible for correcting such violations, even when they were not the people who originally carried out the work.
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who → acknowledge → work
According to him, the city inspectors signed an affidavit certifying that Martinez had completed the corrections.
uncertain
Martinez → accord → corrections
"Everything was reviewed and they told me I was done and I could go ahead living in my house without any issues," Martinez recalled.
uncertain
Martinez → review → issues
However, the City of Miami's account differs.
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account → differ → Miami
According to Miami's Code Enforcement Department, Martinez was found in violation by the Code Enforcement Board at a hearing on 22 January 2025.
uncertain
Martinez → accord → January
The board gave her 120 days to comply and ordered a $150 per day fine if the violations remained after the deadline.
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violations → give → deadline
The city says the permits for the driveway and fence were submitted on 31 July 2025 and finalised on 9 February 2026.
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permits → say → February
The department said no request for additional time was filed before the deadline expired.
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deadline → say → time
What happened next was a lien: $150 multiplied by hundreds of days, bringing it to a $55,650 lien.
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happened → happen → lien
Pregen argues that such a lien should not exist.
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lien → argue → ?
His team reportedly went through the city's public records and found no record of any lien against the property.
uncertain
team → go → property
"We looked for the lien in three different ways in the city's own public records and there is no lien recorded.
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We → look → records
It isn't there, and yet they're still trying to use it to freeze her life," he said.
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he → try → life
Martinez says the dispute has prevented her from renovating the house or putting it up for sale.
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dispute → say → sale
She remains in a home trapped between conflicting accounts of compliance and penalty calculations.
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She → remain → compliance
A mitigation hearing is scheduled before the City of Miami Code Enforcement Board on 22 September.
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hearing → schedule → September
The Aporia
