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Miami Herald
23-06-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
DeSantis signs bill to ease maintenance costs for Florida's condo owners
Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday signed legislation seeking to help condo owners comply with safety laws enacted after the deadly residential tower collapse in Surfside, claiming a win for cash-strapped unit owners while using the public event to further his feud with the Florida House. The bill — signed in Clearwater on the eve of the four-year anniversary of the collapse of the Champlain Towers South — doesn't include any new money to help finance pricey and mandatory repairs. But lawmakers believe it will help condominium owners afford the projects necessary to make their buildings safer and avoid a repeat of the tragedy in Surfside, which killed 98 people. The legislation, HB 913, allows associations to take out lines of credit to fund reserves, invest HOA fees in a limited way to help pay for future repairs without a vote by membership and pause contributions to reserves for up to two years if they are already making immediate repairs needed after mandatory building inspections. The legislation goes into effect on July 1. The bill has been largely lauded by the House and Senate, though some lawmakers and condo owners have said there's more work to be done to lower costs for residents and curtail poor management by condominium associations. DeSantis also signed related legislation, HB 393, on Monday that extends the My Safe Florida Condominium Pilot Program, which will give associations up to $175,000 to harden their buildings and help them come into compliance with the new condominium-safety laws. It goes into effect immediately. The money for that program isn't new, but includes nearly $30 million that largely went unspent last year while the state was getting the program up and running. During the press conference, Ronni Drimmer, the condominium board president of a 55-and-older association in Clearwater, thanked the governor for his advocacy on what she sees as an affordability crisis for unit owners in buildings like hers. But she said there were other problems left unaddressed, namely, insurance. Her association dropped their insurance with the state-run Citizens Property Insurance Corp. for hurricane coverage in 2025 after the company increased the deductible to replace their roof beyond what it would cost to do the work. 'So, we're in a little bit of a precarious situation right now,' Drimmer said. She said her association was 'on the list to get something' from the condominium-hardening program, and was hopeful the money would come through. But she told the Herald/Times afterward that she doesn't think the new condominium legislation ultimately goes far enough to offer financial relief for condominium owners. She said the Legislature should have addressed the issues in January like the governor wanted. 'If they went at the condo fixes sooner, it would have been better,' Drimmer said. 'We are still faced with large increases to come [in] budgeting for 2025.' UNINVITED BILL SPONSOR DeSantis on Monday blamed the House for not getting legislation done earlier in the year as condo owners and associations pleaded for relief from looming bills newly required by state law. He brought up again how he wanted a special session in January for both immigration enforcement and condo relief — but lawmakers took up only the former that month. 'I know a lot of people were very disappointed in the leadership, particularly in the House of Representatives, for not being willing to address it at that time,' DeSantis said. The Herald/Times reported in March that legislation passed in the wake of the Surfside tower collapse created a financial crisis for unit owners that gave an opening to developers looking to replace old buildings with luxury high-rises. Two key reforms that DeSantis signed into law in 2022 are central to the dynamic: mandatory building inspections requiring immediate repairs, and mandatory reserve studies requiring associations to save for future maintenance. Exactly what caused the building to collapse remains under investigation by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The agency issued preliminary findings on Monday and expects to release a final report next year. House Speaker Daniel Perez, a Miami Republican who led on condominium reform after the Surfside tragedy, was against using the special session to address costs associated with enacting the safety measures imposed by legislation he sponsored three years ago. 'The House and Senate both said the condo issue could be handled in the regular session, and it turns out we were 100% right,' Perez said in a statement responding to the governor. Perez called this year's legislation a 'joint effort' by sponsors from both chambers. But DeSantis mostly gave credit to the Senate for the final product, even though the bill that passed included priorities from both chambers. 'I think the Senate in Florida had a good product, and unfortunately, kind of at the last minute, probably the last week, that eventually passed,' DeSantis said. 'And we were able to get something that's now on my desk and that we will sign here today.' Rep. Vicki Lopez, a Miami Republican and top lieutenant to Perez who sponsored the legislation signed Monday by DeSantis, said she wasn't invited to the bill signing but was 'thrilled' it would become law. 'Since being elected to the Florida House, this issue has been a top priority for me, and I'm incredibly proud of what we've achieved together,' Lopez told the Herald/Times. 'Working alongside Speaker Perez and the Florida House, we delivered meaningful solutions for condo owners across Florida including the 667 associations in my district.' Lopez called the final legislation a 'thoughtful balance: ensuring the structural safety of our buildings while providing much-needed financial relief for families facing the significant costs of reserve requirements.' Sen. Jennifer Bradley, a Fleming Island Republican, said she was invited to the bill signing but was unable to make it as she is out of state with her family. She said DeSantis 'delivered on his promise to provide relief for Florida condo owners.' 'After much listening, my bill provides needed relief without sacrificing safety. Condo owners want safe buildings, greater transparency and accountability for associations, greater financial flexibility and extended timelines,' Bradley said. 'This bill does all these things.' Other lawmakers say there is still work to be done. Sen. Rosalind Osgood, a Tamarac Democrat, said she wanted to see condominium buildings under six stories carved out from the new requirements around saving for future maintenance. She filed a bill to that end this year but it wasn't heard. The bill that ultimately passed requires any condominium building with three habitable stories to comply. Sen. Ileana Garcia, a Miami Republican who has worked with hundreds of Florida condominium owners on myriad issues including affordability and association accountability, said the legislation 'takes a significant step toward protecting condo owners from bad actors while prioritizing their safety.' But she wants the state Department of Business and Professional Regulation, which regulates condominium associations, to 'dramatically improve its procedures and best practices.' 'Condo owners are ready to move forward, yet the DBPR division often fails to thoroughly investigate and keep cases open,' Garcia said. 'They have a fiduciary duty that cannot continue to be sidelined.'
CBS News
15-04-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Bills advance in Florida Legislature to ease financial burden on condo owners
Bills to help condo owners manage high costs from safety inspections and structural integrity reserve studies, required for condominium associations after the deadly 2021 Champlain Towers South collapse in Surfside, are progressing through the Florida Legislature. After the collapse killed 98 people, lawmakers passed laws in 2022 and refined them in 2023 to ensure condo safety. However, these laws led to higher costs for residents. On Tuesday, Florida House and Senate committees approved plans to revamp laws dealing with condo associations. The new bills — HB 913 and SB 1742 — aim to revamp laws governing condo associations. Sponsored by Rep. Vicki Lopez (R-Miami) in the House and Sen. Jennifer Bradley (R-Fleming Island) in the Senate, the bills propose allowing condo-association boards to obtain lines of credit. The change is intended to help residents manage the financial difficulties associated with necessary repairs and reserve building. Currently, the House bill is set to be reviewed by the full House, while the Senate version must still pass through the Rules Committee before reaching the full Senate. These legislative efforts aim to offer financial relief to condominium owners while maintaining the safety and integrity of their homes.
Chicago Tribune
29-01-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
A South Florida luxury condo project is planned for site where building collapse killed 98 people
SURFSIDE, Fla. — A Dubai-based developer plans to build a 12-story luxury condominium project on the South Florida site where a building collapsed in 2021, killing 98 people. DAMAC International said Tuesday that it planned to build The Delmore on the site where the Champlain Towers South partially collapsed in Surfside, Florida, outside Miami in June 2021. Construction has already started and the project is expected to be finished in 2029, the company said in a news release. The building with staggered floors designed by Zaha Hadid Architects will have 37 'mansions' with units averaging 7,000 square feet. The price of a four-or-five-bedroom unit will start at $15 million, and the project will include a private restaurant, residential butlers, a wellness spa and other resort-style amenities, according to the company. 'We have been focused on delivering an ultra-luxury product to the South Florida market that is unlike anything the area has seen previously,' Jeffery Rossely, senior vice president of development for DAMAC International, said in the statement. The news release makes no mention of the tragedy. What happened In June 2021, the 12-story, 136-unit oceanfront condo building came down with a thunderous roar, leaving a giant pile of rubble and claiming 98 lives — one of the deadliest structure collapses in U.S. history. Only two teenagers and a woman survived the collapse, while others escaped from the portion of the building that initially stood. A judge in 2023 approved a settlement topping $1 billion for victims of the Champlain Towers South collapse. The money comes from 37 different sources, including insurance companies, engineering firms and a luxury condominium whose recent construction next door is suspected of contributing to structural damage. None of the parties admitted any wrongdoing. The cause of the collapse remains under investigation by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The investigation National Institute of Standards and Technology investigators told an advisory panel that tests show that some of the steel-reinforced concrete columns at Champlain Towers South were half the strength they should have been and were not up to construction standards in 1980 when the 12-story tower was built. The steel in some columns had become moderately to extremely corroded, weakening them further. Investigators have also confirmed eyewitness reports that the pool deck fell into the garage four to seven minutes before the beachside tower collapsed. Champlain Towers South had a long history of maintenance problems, and shoddy construction techniques were used in the early 1980s. Other possible factors include sea level rise caused by climate change and damage caused by saltwater intrusion. Legislation After the collapse, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law new regulations requiring condo associations for buildings with three or more stories to file an inspection report focused on structure, maintenance and expected costs for repairs or renovations. The regulations require associations to have sufficient reserves to cover major repairs and to survey reserves every decade. Because of the law, older condos — found largely in South Florida, according to state records — face hefty increases to association payments to fund the reserves and repair costs.
Miami Herald
27-01-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Florida condo costs officially dropped from special session amid Republican showdown
The state Legislature continues to defy Ron DeSantis' call to amend a new condominium-safety law that is putting financial pressure on condo owners and homeowners associations, prompting one Republican ally to the governor to predict elderly owners on fixed incomes will become the 'next wave of homeless people' in Florida. During an unprecedented speech Monday, House Speaker Daniel Perez, a Miami Republican, said legislation like the condominium law in question — passed in response to the deadly 2021 collapse of the Champlain Towers South in Surfside — was too complicated to take up during a special session, even though that is how the original law was passed in 2022. The law, which took effect at the end of last year, requires condominium associations to fully fund their building maintenance reserves — a rule that some condo owners and associations have blamed for escalating maintenance fees and hefty special assessments. It is a departure from the previous law that allowed associations to vote to waive funding reserves, causing repairs in some older buildings to build up over decades, ballooning costs that may now be unaffordable. 'The tragedy of the collapse in Surfside is a painful reminder of what happens when we don't get the law right,' said Perez, who sponsored the post-Surfside condo legislation in the Florida House. He added: 'And the truth is I dislike special sessions because they inhibit the very thing the legislative process should encourage: the push and pull of meaningful conversations that lead to the development of good and better ideas.' Perez and Senate President Ben Albritton, a Wauchula Republican, quickly had their chambers gavel in and out of 'Special Session A,' which they constitutionally had to call to respond to Gov. Ron DeSantis' proclamation on Jan. 13 for the Legislature to convene this week. DeSantis initially said he wanted the Legislature to work urgently on a wide range of issues, including condominium relief, though he quietly pared back his ambitions and limited his proposals to immigration and citizen-led ballot initiatives after the leaders balked. Perez and Albritton then had members immediately gavel in for 'Special Session B,' which the leaders publicly called themselves Monday to focus solely on immigration, with which the new Trump administration has urged states to assist. Perez said Florida had to 'quickly align with President Trump's directives.' Rep. Mike Caruso, a Republican DeSantis ally from Delray Beach who filed 10 bills mostly centered on immigration for the governor's special session, said elderly residents in condominiums will be soon foreclosed on because they 'could no longer afford the triple reserves or the quadrupled dues' caused by legislation that went into effect at the end of last year requiring full funding of maintenance reserves for buildings. 'It's sad, and we're not going to address it here in the Florida House,' said Caruso, noting that his district includes tens of thousands of condominium units. 'I'm shocked by it.' Ronni Drimmer, the condominium board president of a 55-and-older association in Clearwater with 70 units, sat at a roundtable with DeSantis in September regarding the financial stress she and others were under. She expected the Legislature to change the law after that event through a special session. Her association just passed its required structural inspection known as the 'milestone' with no substantial problems reported, according to a document she shared with the Herald/Times. But she said she just had to pay $7,200 for her part of a new roof required by insurance. The cost of insurance also went up by $25,000 over the association's 2025 budget. And now, thanks to the newly enacted law, the association's HOA fees are projected to go up by $100 a month on average for 2025 for building maintenance, a different report she shared called structural integrity reserve study showed. Drimmer said she and other unit owners won't be able to afford the monthly increase. 'Feels like a freight train has run over me,' Drimmer, 72, said. 'I have no idea what will happen.' Sen. Randy Fine, a Republican from Melbourne who sat in on his chamber's Jan. 14 condominium discussion on the status of the law, in part because his father lives in a condo, also said a special session wasn't appropriate to address issues with the law. 'A special session that's five days long, everything has to be pre-packaged so you can push it through,' said Fine, who has publicly feuded with DeSantis. 'And so, to do a special session for five days on four topics with no bill, the whole thing was always a stunt.' Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith, a Democrat from Orlando, agreed with Fine and Perez that special session wasn't the right place to address the condominium crisis. He said the current law, SB 4D, was jammed through during a special session nearly three years ago after the Legislature couldn't find consensus during the regular one. 'If you rush through half-baked policies in a special session, there's going to be unintended consequences,' Guillermo Smith said.
