Condo bill passed to protect condo owners from rising costs. Will DeSantis sign HB 913?
In trying to solve one huge problem, Florida lawmakers added a big headache for condo owners in the form of a sudden need for a lot of money. A bill passed this legislative session is intended to alleviate the financial pressure a bit.
In 2021, a 12-story condominium in Surfside collapsed without warning, leaving 98 people dead. Investigations into the cause discovered degraded concrete supports from water penetration, among other issues, and delays in maintenance.
Lawmakers responded to the deadly event and the likelihood of future tragedies by overhauling state condo laws and mandating all condo developments over 30 years old — which is about two-thirds of all condos in Florida —to undergo "milestone inspections," and all condos three stories or higher to get "structural integrity inspections." Condo associations were ordered to maintain enough reserve funds to cover any necessary maintenance or repair those inspections turned up.
However, many condo associations didn't have that much money in reserves, and for some the amount required to be in compliance was staggering. Condos scrambled to catch up and many hiked up condo association fees — in some areas drastically — or added assessment fees to make up the cash before the deadlines. Rising insurance premiums from last year's powerful storms haven't helped, either.
All of that has resulted in an exodus for residents who could afford to move (or were abruptly priced out of their homes) and much higher monthly bills for those who stayed. Sales of condos in Florida are also down.
House Bill 913, which overwhelmingly passed in the House and unanimously passed in the Senate, seeks to lighten the load while still addressing dangerous structures in the state.
It pushes the structural integrity inspection deadline off a year for some condo associations, allows associations in some situations to use special assessments, lines of credit or loans to fund their reserves and to pool reserve accounts, and changes which buildings need structural integrity inspections, among other things.
As of June 10, HB 913 has been enrolled (passed by the Legislature) to be turned into an act to present to Gov. Ron DeSantis to sign, but it has not been sent to him yet.
DeSantis initially called for a special session in January to address rising condo costs, among other issues, but the Legislature pushed it off until the regular session when they'd have more information.
The governor said in early May that at first he preferred the Senate version of the bill (SB 1742, from Sen. Jennifer Bradley, R-Fleming Island) because he felt it was geared more toward condo owners than developers, but most lawmakers made substantial adjustments to their bills before passage.
'It should have been done in January," he said at a stop in Miami. "It did get done. I'm glad that the Bradley bill is basically what passed.'
Lawmakers take on condo fees: 8 Florida condo bills aim to ease, relax burden of inspections. Here are the details
HB 913, from Rep. Vicki L. Lopez, R-Miami, is a big bill that seeks to protect condo owners and clarify association accountability and responsibilities.
Among its many changes, the bill:
Extends the deadline for certain associations to have a structural integrity reserve study (SIRS) to Dec. 31, 2025, rather than Dec. 31, 2024
Changes requirement for mandatory structural inspections to apply to buildings that are three habitable stories or more, rather than just three stories or more, adds four-family dwellings
Allows condo association members to vote to create special assessment or secure a line of credit or a loan to fund the maintenance reserves required by law
Allows condo associations to pool for two or more required components rather than earmarking amounts for each item, without a vote of the unit owners
Allows condo associations to invest reserve funds in certificates of deposit or depository accounts without a vote of the unit owners
Changes the minimum deferred maintenance expense or replacement cost for reserve fund budgeting from $10,000 to $25,000, to be adjusted annually for inflation
Allows multi-condominium associations to use approved alternative funding method to satisfy reserve funding obligations
Requires SIRS inspections to include a recommendation for a reserve funding schedule
Allows condo associations who have completed a milestone inspection to delay a SIRS for not more than two consecutive budget years to enable them to focus on the recommendations of the milestone inspection
Allows some condo associations who have completed a milestone inspection in the previous two years to vote to temporarily pause fund contributions to the maintenance reserve fund for no more than two consecutive annual budgets, for budgets adapted on or before Dec. 31, 2028
Requires local enforcement agencies responsible for milestone inspections to annually report to Department of Business and Professional on the following stats for their area: number of buildings subject to inspections, number of inspections completed, the number and type of permit applications received to complete repairs, and a list of buildings deemed unsafe or uninhabitable, among other things
Bans anyone performing structural integrity reserve studies from repairing, contracting to repair, or having financial interests in anyone else repairing any issues found in the inspection, adds other restrictions to prevent collusions, kickbacks and bribes by blocking connections between design professional and licensed contractors and the firm or person providing the milestone inspection.
Creates additional requirements relating to the licensure and regulation of community association managers and community association management firms.
Require associations to maintain adequate property insurance based on the replacement cost of the property, which must be determined every three years at a minimum.
Allows video meetings and electronic voting (if agreed upon by a majority of the association) but requires full notification ahead of time, recordings become an official record and links or downloads must be provided to members
Exempts nonresidential condominiums with 10 or fewer units from restrictions on who can vote to elect members of the board of administration or cancel contracts
Requires the association to provide timely financial reports and disclosures related to inspections and studies to unit owners.
Requires condo associations to create and maintain an online account with the Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes by Oct. 1, 2025, to track contact information, basic info, assessments, inspection results and more
Requires official documents to be made available on the association's website or made available for download through an application on a mobile device within 30 days after it is created or received
Allows condo association boards to pause or reduce contributions to the reserve funding if the building has been determined to be uninhabitable due to a natural emergency until the local building official determines it is habitable again, allows reserve funds to be used to make it habitable
Clarify that unit owners are not responsible for the cost of necessary removal or reinstallation of hurricane protection unless previously agreed otherwise
If Gov. DeSantis signs it, the bill becomes law on July 1, 2025.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida condo costs would see relief if DeSantis signs bill into law
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