The first question for any screen enclosure in Lutz, FL is which county you live in. Lutz is an unincorporated community about 15 miles north of Tampa that straddles the Hillsborough and Pasco county line. South of the line, Hillsborough County issues permits; north of it, in the part known as Pasco Lutz, Pasco County does. The two counties write their rules differently, and for pool cages the differences are real.
Lutz has 23,707 residents and 9,194 housing units (2020 census), with significant growth from the 1980s onward. Its lakes and old oaks are a big part of why people live here, and both are hard on screen.
Hillsborough Lutz vs Pasco Lutz: the rules side by side
Pasco publishes a clearer answer on rescreening and a firm setback; Hillsborough publishes a fee and a detailed checklist. Here is how they compare for a pool cage:
| Question | Hillsborough side | Pasco side |
|---|---|---|
| Who issues the permit | Hillsborough County (HillsGovHub) | Pasco County Building Construction Services (Accela) |
| New cage needs a permit | Yes, Residential Miscellaneous Permit | Yes, screen room checklist applies |
| Engineering | Plans signed and sealed by a Florida architect or engineer | Engineered drawings signed and sealed by a Florida architect or engineer |
| Rescreen only | Not named on the exempt list; ask first | Listed as not needing a permit, except in flood zones |
| Setback for a pool screen enclosure | Per your plat and HOA; wetlands and easements on the site plan | 5 ft from side and rear property lines (LDC Section 530) |
| Condition rule | No county screen-condition rule found | Screen cannot be torn or in disrepair up to 4 ft from grade |
| Published fee | $380 (Oct 2024 schedule) | Not published |
Swipe the table sideways to see every column →
Compiled from Hillsborough County's screen enclosure checklist and fee schedule, Pasco County's permit exemptions list (rev. 3/6/2025), its screen room checklist and the Pasco Land Development Code Section 530, fetched 2026-10-13. Check your parcel's county on the property appraiser's site if you are near the line.
Pasco's 4 foot rule is a maintenance rule
Pasco's code says screen mesh enclosures around pools "shall be set back a minimum five (5) feet from side and rear property lines and cannot be torn or in disrepair at any location up to four (4) feet from grade." In other words, torn lower panels on a Pasco Lutz cage are a code issue, not just a cosmetic one. Lower panels are also where dogs push, so PetScreen or vinyl-laminated Glas-Shield below the chair rail is one fix during pool screen repair.
Hillsborough's site-plan rule matters on lake lots
On the Hillsborough side, the site plan has to identify all easements, conservation and wetland areas and setbacks. On a lakefront lot, that can decide how far toward the water a new cage can reach. The pool enclosure permit guide covers both counties in more depth.
Lakes, oaks and Lutz screens
Lutz cages wear out from above: falling oak limbs, leaf litter and insects from the lakes. The community is built around water like the 42-acre, spring-fed Lake Hanna and 115-acre Lake Stemper, one of the largest in Lutz. Many large oaks remain on older lots, including in Lake Hanna Preserve, a gated community of 48 homes on lots of an acre or more.
- Roof panels sagging under leaf litter and pine needles
- Torn roof screen where a limb came down
- Stained or mildewed screen on the shady side of the cage
- A super gutter clogged with leaves and overflowing in summer storms
- Gnats and no-see-ums getting through standard 18x14 mesh near the water
For lake lots, Phifer's 20x20 No-See-Um mesh is designed to keep out gnats, sand flies and bugs from marshy areas. Under heavy oak cover, regular roof cleaning matters as much as the mesh: the pool cage cleaning guide covers it, and a clogged or leaking gutter is a pool cage gutter repair.
Lutz neighborhoods and what they mean for a cage
Lutz mixes gated subdivisions, large-lot estates and newer Pasco master-planned communities. On the Hillsborough side, Cheval is a census-designated place of its own (12,522 people in 2020) named for the large gated subdivision that makes up most of it. On the Pasco side, Long Lake Ranch is built around a 40-acre lake, Bexley preserves 1,200 acres of Pasco wilderness and Connerton covers 4,800 acres.
Each has its own architectural review, and we could not verify their published screen enclosure rules, so ask your association for its current color and placement rules before ordering. North Lutz also has a piece of film history: Edward Scissorhands was shot on Tinsmith Circle in the Carpenter's Run neighborhood, in Pasco County.
Lutz screen enclosure costs
Rescreening a typical cage runs about $1,500 to $4,500; repairs are often a few hundred dollars. Published Tampa Bay and Florida figures:
| Job | Range | Source and date |
|---|---|---|
| Single panel | $75 to $150 | Tampa Bay contractor guide, Jan 2026 |
| Upper panel on a two-story or mansard cage | $60 to $120 per panel | Central Florida screen company, 2026 |
| No-See-Um upgrade | About $10 to $20 more per panel | Central Florida screen company, 2026 |
| Full rescreen | $1,500 to $4,500+ | Florida contractor price guide, Dec 2025 |
| Super gutter repair or replacement | $35 to $75 per linear ft | Central Florida screen company, 2026 |
| New pool cage | $10,000 to $30,000+ | Tampa Bay contractor price list, 2026 |
Swipe the table sideways to see every column →
Compiled from published contractor price pages, fetched 2026-10-13. Planning ranges, not quotes.
Storms in Lutz
For Lutz, Hurricane Milton was mostly a rain event. A Tampa Bay Times headline after the storm read "Milton swamped these Tampa Bay neighborhoods. None were in flood zones," with a photo on Linda Vista Road in Lutz. National Weather Service figures put Milton's gusts in Pasco County at 55 to 65 mph and across Hillsborough mostly at 80 to 100 mph.
After a storm, bent frames go to hurricane damage repair; a worn but straight cage is a pool cage rescreening job; a worn-out frame is pool cage replacement. Nearby Westchase, Temple Terrace and Land O' Lakes have their own pages, and the full list is on the service area page. Get a free quote when you're ready.
