Florida passes condominium safety bill in wake of Surfside
A bill has been sent to Florida’s governor that would require statewide recertification of condominiums over three stories tall, in response to the Surfside building collapse that killed 98 people
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida would require statewide recertification of condominiums over three stories tall under a bill sent Wednesday to Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis by lawmakers, their legislation a response to the Surfside building collapse that killed 98 people.
The House unanimously passed the bill during a special session originally called to address skyrocketing property insurance rates. The condominium safety bill was added to the agenda Tuesday after an agreement was reached between the House and Senate.
Recertification would be required after 30 years, or 25 years if the building is within 3 miles (5 kilometers) of the coast, and every 10 years thereafter. The Champlain Towers South was 40 years old and was going through the 40-year-recertification process required by Miami-Dade County when it collapsed last June.
At the time, Miami-Dade and Broward counties were the only two of the state’s 67 that had condominium recertification programs.
“We have actually made positive change knowing that condominiums will be safer moving forward,” said Republican Rep. Daniel Perez.
The bill would require that condominium associations have sufficient reserves to pay for major repairs and conduct a study of the reserves every decade. It would also require condominium associations to provide inspection reports to owners, and if structural repairs are needed, work must begin within a year of the report.
Similar legislation failed during the regular session that ended in March.
The condominium measure was attached to a bill that would forbid insurers from automatically denying coverage because of a roof’s age if the roof is less than 15 years old. Homeowners with roofs 15 years or older would be allowed to get an inspection before insurers deny them coverage.
While some Democratic lawmakers complained that the special session on insurance didn’t go far enough to help relieve homeowners, they did praise the addition of the condominium safety legislation.
“This bill makes this trip worth it, at least for me,” said Democratic Rep. Michael Grieco, whose district borders Surfside. “I know folks who lost people in that building.”
Recertification would be required after 30 years — or 25 years if the building is within three miles of the coast — and every 10 years thereafter.
The House sent the bill to Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday.
The House unanimously passed the legislation during a special session on skyrocketing property insurance rates.
Recertification would be required after 30 years — or 25 years if the building is within three miles of the coast — and every 10 years thereafter.
Nearly a year after the catastrophic collapse of Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Florida lawmakers on Wednesday gave final approval to legislation that will require condominium association boards to set aside money in reserves to cover future repairs starting in 2025. Current law allows them to waive the requirement.
“They are allowed to do that, and most of them are doing that today. They’re doing that because they are kicking the can down the road and not wanting the cost,” said state Rep. Danny Perez, R-Miami. “So moving forward, the structural integrity of a condominium will be reserved, they will be maintained, and they will be kept up to par so that future condominiums never have to worry about another Surfside taking place.”
The measure, which was approved by the House on a 110-0 vote and now heads to Gov. Ron DeSantis, would also require condo boards to conduct reserve studies every decade to make sure they have the resources to finance needed structural repairs. The proposal would also open up condo board members — many of them volunteers — to lawsuits if they ignore inspection requirements.
At play in Florida will be how to mandate reserves and maintenance to prevent tragedy and prepare associations who will need to make decisions that will likely cost homeowners more money.
“The compliance timeline is a few years away to afford an opportunity to smoothly transition,” the Senate sponsor of the bill, Sen. Jennifer Bradley, R-Fleming Island, said. “Additionally, the Legislature will remain engaged as condos and associations work to implement these changes.”
Bradley said she knows the changes to the state’s condo law will be a disruption to the status quo for many condos, but she says, “the safety of Floridians must come first.”
‘First-of-its-kind’ inspection requirements
“The creation of a first-of-its-kind statewide system of milestone inspections for our aging condos and providing transparency and disclosure to local officials, unit owners, and renters are significant measures that will save lives,” Bradley said.
There would be two phases to inspections. If a visual inspection by a licensed architect or engineer authorized to practice in Florida reveals no signs of substantial structural deterioration, no further action is necessary until the next required inspection. If structural deterioration is detected, a second phase of testing is required to determine whether the building is structurally sound.
The changes to the state’s condo laws emerged on Tuesday afternoon during a special session that Gov. Ron DeSantis called to address Florida’s failing property insurance market. The deal came after months of negotiations between lawmakers.
On Wednesday, Perez said the reserves provision was “the most important” part of the bill. House Speaker Chris Sprowls, R-Palm Harbor, thanked him for standing his ground, telling him that “people in the state of Florida are safer because of your efforts.”
Many condominium and homeowners’ associations’ activities are required to have a certain amount of transparency. One way that association activities are made transparent is through statutory provisions requiring most kinds of meetings to be open and noticed to the membership. In fact, applicable laws governing the operation of condominium and homeowners’ associations allow board members to communicate by email but prohibits them from voting on issues by email.
Joseph Arena
