Florida passed three laws after the 2021 Surfside collapse that changed what condo owners and buyers must know: SB 4-D (2022), SB 154 (2023) and HB 913 (2025). Together they require milestone inspections of older buildings, structural integrity reserve studies (SIRS) for buildings of three or more stories, and funded reserves for structural items that unit-owner-controlled associations can no longer waive. In older buildings, inspections, repairs and catch-up reserve funding fall on current owners, and special assessments for structural repairs have been reported in older buildings. New buildings are subject to the same statute from the start, and the developer's own budget must include these reserves. As of late October 2026, this article summarizes what the statutes require. It is general information, not legal advice. Confirm details for any building with a Florida real estate attorney.
What prompted the laws
Champlain Towers South in Surfside partially collapsed on June 24, 2021, according to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and WLRN reported that the collapse killed 98 people. The Legislature responded in a 2022 special session with SB 4-D, then amended the rules in 2023 and 2025.
The three bills
- SB 4-D (2022). Chapter 2022-269, approved May 26, 2022. It created the milestone inspection program in section 553.899 and the SIRS requirement in section 718.112. As enacted, milestone inspections were due at 30 years, or 25 years for buildings within three miles of the coast. It also barred unit-owner-controlled associations from waiving reserves for the structural items, effective December 31, 2024.
- SB 154 (2023). Chapter 2023-203, approved June 9, 2023. According to the Florida Senate's bill summary, it deleted the automatic 25-year rule for coastal buildings and let local agencies set 25 years based on local conditions. It also revised the SIRS item list, allowed reserve specialists to perform the study, and added turnover inspection reports to the disclosures buyers receive.
- HB 913 (2025). Chapter 2025-175, approved June 23, 2025, effective July 1, 2025. According to the House analysis, it moved the initial SIRS deadline from December 31, 2024 to December 31, 2025. It also allowed special assessments, lines of credit and loans to fund SIRS reserves (with a majority vote of the voting interests), allowed reserve pooling, raised the dollar threshold for reserve items from $10,000 to $25,000 (adjusted annually for inflation), and required local governments to adopt ordinances on timing of structural repairs.
A 2024 law, HB 1021, also addressed condominium requirements, according to the House analysis. The statute descriptions below follow the current text of the Florida Statutes.
Milestone inspections (Fla. Stat. 553.899)
- Which buildings. Condominium and cooperative buildings three habitable stories or more in height.
- When. By December 31 of the year the building reaches 30 years old, counted from the certificate of occupancy, and every 10 years afterward. A local enforcement agency may require 25 years based on local conditions such as proximity to salt water. Buildings that reached 30 years before July 1, 2022 were due by December 31, 2024. Buildings reaching 30 between July 1, 2022 and December 31, 2024 were due by December 31, 2025.
- How. An architect or engineer performs a phase one visual examination. If the inspector finds substantial structural deterioration, a phase two inspection follows, which may involve testing. Phase one must be completed within 180 days of the local agency's notice.
- Disclosure. The association must give owners the inspector's summary within 45 days of receiving the report.
- Repairs. Local ordinances must require repairs for substantial structural deterioration to be scheduled or begun within a set time, and no later than 365 days after the agency receives a phase two report.
- Cost. The association pays for the parts of the building it is responsible to maintain.
Structural integrity reserve studies (Fla. Stat. 718.112(2)(g))
- Requirement. A residential condominium association must have a SIRS "at least every 10 years after the condominium's creation" for each building three habitable stories or higher.
- What it covers. Roof, structure, fireproofing and fire protection, plumbing, electrical, waterproofing and exterior painting, windows and exterior doors, and other items above a dollar threshold whose failure would affect those systems.
- Output. For each item, the remaining useful life, replacement cost and a funding schedule. A licensed engineer, architect, or certified reserve specialist performs or verifies it.
- Deadline for existing associations. Associations that existed on or before July 1, 2022 and are controlled by unit owners had to complete a SIRS by December 31, 2025. An association with a milestone inspection due by December 31, 2026 may do both together. The statute says "in no event" may a SIRS be completed after December 31, 2026, which is about two months from this article's date.
The end of reserve waivers for structural items
Before these laws, members could vote to waive reserves. Under section 718.112(2)(f), for budgets adopted on or after December 31, 2024, the members of a unit-owner-controlled association that must obtain a SIRS "may not determine to provide no reserves or less reserves than required" for the SIRS items. The statute lets reserves be funded by regular assessments, special assessments, lines of credit or loans. A pause in reserve contributions is possible for up to two consecutive annual budgets after a milestone inspection, for budgets adopted through December 31, 2028, with approval of a majority of the total voting interests. Reserves for items outside the SIRS list can still be waived by member vote, subject to the statute's conditions.
Why costs rose in older buildings
The statute explains the mechanics:
- Inspections and studies are new recurring costs, and the association pays for them.
- Reserves must follow the study. A SIRS must recommend a funding plan in which the reserve balance stays above zero, and the budget must follow it.
- Past waivers become a bill. When a unit-owner-controlled association secures a line of credit or loan for milestone or SIRS work, it must be sufficient to fund "the cumulative amount of any previously waived or unfunded portions" of the required reserve funding. The proxy form for any reserve waiver must warn that waiving reserves "may result in unit owner liability for payment of unanticipated special assessments."
Market data from the period:
- ISG World, Q3 2024. Bisnow reported on October 25, 2024 that 85 percent of condo listings in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties were in buildings 30 years or older, and about 3 percent were in buildings under 10 years old. Average sale prices for condos 30 or more years old fell 21 percent from 2023, while condos under 10 years old rose 9 percent. Bisnow also cited a CBS News report of special assessments "upwards of $175K" for structural repairs.
- October 2025. WLRN, in a report published by WUSF on November 24, 2025, said Miami-Dade's median condo price fell slightly from a year earlier to $400,000, and that South Florida condo sales picked up in October, "the second consecutive year-over-year increase in more than two years." It described the regional condo market as having been "reeling from the twin pressures of higher mortgage rates and reforms put in place for older buildings."
Those figures are dated. For the current picture, see the Miami condo market in 2026. For readers searching "Miami condo market crash": the ISG World figures show the price decline concentrated in buildings 30 years and older as of Q3 2024, while buildings under 10 years old rose.
What the law requires of new construction
New condominiums are under the same statute. This is what it says, not a prediction of any building's costs:
- Same SIRS clock from creation. The SIRS is required "at least every 10 years after the condominium's creation."
- Budget at the start. A developer's offering budget must list "reserves for all applicable items referenced in s. 718.112(2)(g)" (section 718.504(21)).
- No waiver before turnover. A developer-controlled association "may not vote to waive the reserves or reduce funding of the reserves" before turnover to owners.
- Turnover reports. At turnover, the developer must deliver sealed turnover inspection reports, including a SIRS-style study of the roof, structure, fire protection, plumbing, electrical, waterproofing, windows and doors (section 718.301(4)(p)), and a copy of the association's most recent SIRS.
- First milestone inspection. It falls in the year a building turns 30, counted from its certificate of occupancy, or the year it turns 25 if the local enforcement agency sets that earlier date.
The same statutes say offering-document budgets are good-faith estimates and actual costs may exceed them (section 718.504(21)(d), section 718.503). New construction still has association fees, reserves and possible assessments. Read the budget, the declaration and the reserve schedule for any building you are considering.
Questions to ask for any condo
- The most recent SIRS and milestone inspection summary, if the building is old enough to need one.
- The current budget, reserve balance and any loan or line of credit.
- Any approved or planned special assessment.
- For new construction, the offering documents, including the developer's budget and any guarantee period.
See buying a pre-construction condo in Miami for deposits and the 15-day cancellation right, and Miami's new-construction condos by area for towers currently selling. If you own an older condo and are considering selling, see sell your home.
Frequently asked questions
What is a structural integrity reserve study?
A SIRS is a study, based on a visual inspection, of a building's major structural and safety systems that estimates each item's remaining life and replacement cost and recommends how much to reserve each year. Florida requires one at least every 10 years for residential condominium buildings of three or more habitable stories.
Does the law apply to new condominiums?
Yes. The SIRS requirement runs from the condominium's creation, a developer-controlled association cannot waive reserves before turnover, and the developer must deliver turnover reports.
When is the milestone inspection due?
By December 31 of the year a building reaches 30 years from its certificate of occupancy, or 25 years if the local enforcement agency requires it, then every 10 years.
Can an association still waive reserves?
Not for the SIRS items, for budgets adopted on or after December 31, 2024. Other items can be waived by vote under the statute's conditions, and a limited pause is allowed after a milestone inspection.
Talk to Gabriella Gonda
Gabriella Gonda can share offering documents, budgets and price lists for the new-development towers she represents. Get in touch.
Confirm legal questions about any building with a Florida real estate attorney.
Sources
- Fla. Stat. 553.899, Mandatory structural inspections for condominium and cooperative buildings, Florida Legislature, accessed Oct 22, 2026
- Fla. Stat. 718.112, Bylaws, Florida Legislature, accessed Oct 22, 2026
- Fla. Stat. 718.301, Transfer of association control, Florida Legislature, accessed Oct 22, 2026
- Fla. Stat. 718.504, Prospectus or offering circular, Florida Legislature, accessed Oct 22, 2026
- Fla. Stat. 718.503, Developer disclosure prior to sale, Florida Legislature, accessed Oct 22, 2026
- SB 4-D (2022 Special Session D), Building Safety, Florida Senate, accessed Oct 22, 2026
- CS/CS/SB 154 (2023), Condominium and Cooperative Associations: bill summary, Florida Senate, accessed Oct 22, 2026
- CS/CS/HB 913 (2025), Condominium and Cooperative Associations, Florida Senate, accessed Oct 22, 2026
- HB 913 bill analysis, Housing, Agriculture & Tourism Subcommittee, Florida House of Representatives, Jun 26, 2025
- Champlain Towers South Collapse, National Institute of Standards and Technology, accessed Oct 22, 2026
- Condo report from ISG World on the aging condo crisis, Bisnow, Oct 25, 2024
- South Florida condo sales picked up again last month thanks to lower prices and lower mortgage rates, WLRN Public Media (published by WUSF), Nov 24, 2025
