Some FL Condos will be Impacted by New FL Law Regarding Inspections, Reserves
Posted 07-14-2022 at 10:37 AM by Sunshine Rules
Live in a Florida Condo? New Law may impact Condo Reserves....Significantly
In light of the tragic Surfside condo collapse in 2021, the FL legislature created Senate Bill 4D in 2022 that was passed & signed into law by Gov DeSantis.
Under the new law condo buildings of 3 stories or more will have to follow new structural reserve requirements and have required, periodic structural inspections once the condo buildings have reached a specified age (30 yrs if away from the coast, 25 yrs if within 3 miles of a coastline) . The inspector will then provide the results in a report called a Structural Integrity Reserve Study (SIRS). The info provided in the SIRS will give condo boards guidance as to what will need repairs and when those repairs should be completed so that the boards may gather bids and information in order to calculate reserve budget requirements for those structural items.
As of Dec. 31, 2024, condo associations may no longer refuse to fund OR underfund the reserves for items required to be included in a SIRS. They will also not be able to use any of those itemized reserve funds for other purposes, such as to "borrow" from one reserve fund to use for another. SIRS items include things such as: roofs, load-bearing walls, foundations, plumbing, electrical systems, windows, waterproofing and exterior maintenance painting.
I can think of quite a few condo communities in our area that would now fall under the new reserve requirements.
Going forward, condo owners (and buyers of condos) need to become even more aware of the Reserves Budgets for their condo associations as underfunding of budgets in the past may mean much higher condo fees or special assessments into the future to bring their condo association reserves into compliance with the new state laws.
It is my understanding that the condo buildings must undergo the SIRS inspections every 10 years (unless the condo docs require more frequent inspections) and the associations must keep the records of the inspections for at least 15 years.
This may have a substantial financial impact on condo owners where the associations have waived the full funding of reserves in the past to keep down the monthly or quarterly condo fees.
In light of the tragic Surfside condo collapse in 2021, the FL legislature created Senate Bill 4D in 2022 that was passed & signed into law by Gov DeSantis.
Under the new law condo buildings of 3 stories or more will have to follow new structural reserve requirements and have required, periodic structural inspections once the condo buildings have reached a specified age (30 yrs if away from the coast, 25 yrs if within 3 miles of a coastline) . The inspector will then provide the results in a report called a Structural Integrity Reserve Study (SIRS). The info provided in the SIRS will give condo boards guidance as to what will need repairs and when those repairs should be completed so that the boards may gather bids and information in order to calculate reserve budget requirements for those structural items.
As of Dec. 31, 2024, condo associations may no longer refuse to fund OR underfund the reserves for items required to be included in a SIRS. They will also not be able to use any of those itemized reserve funds for other purposes, such as to "borrow" from one reserve fund to use for another. SIRS items include things such as: roofs, load-bearing walls, foundations, plumbing, electrical systems, windows, waterproofing and exterior maintenance painting.
I can think of quite a few condo communities in our area that would now fall under the new reserve requirements.
Going forward, condo owners (and buyers of condos) need to become even more aware of the Reserves Budgets for their condo associations as underfunding of budgets in the past may mean much higher condo fees or special assessments into the future to bring their condo association reserves into compliance with the new state laws.
It is my understanding that the condo buildings must undergo the SIRS inspections every 10 years (unless the condo docs require more frequent inspections) and the associations must keep the records of the inspections for at least 15 years.
This may have a substantial financial impact on condo owners where the associations have waived the full funding of reserves in the past to keep down the monthly or quarterly condo fees.
