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.”
