DeSantis plans to sign condo bill changing safety laws

Residents, associations said requirements were driving up costs

News Service of Florida

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday said he will soon sign a bill that would change condominium-safety laws passed after the 2021 collapse of the Champlain Towers South building in Surfside that killed 98 people.

The wide-ranging bill (HB 913), approved unanimously by the House and Senate, has not been formally sent to DeSantis, who made revising condo laws one of his top priorities of this year’s legislative session. The changes came after residents and associations argued that the laws passed in recent years were driving up costs.

“You had people that were going to be forced out of their condos potentially because of legislation that had come down the pipe,” DeSantis said Tuesday during an appearance in Tampa.

The laws, passed in 2022 and tweaked in 2023, included requiring “milestone inspections” of older buildings and “structural integrity reserve studies” to determine how much money should be saved for future major repairs.

Milestone inspections were supposed to be completed by the end of 2024 for certain older buildings that are three stories or higher. Some condo associations hit owners with large assessments in the race to comply with the deadline. Assessments are in addition to homeowners’ regular association fees.

The law, which will take effect July 1, extends by one year the deadline for structural-integrity studies, which currently must be completed by Dec. 31. Lawmakers argued many condo associations were struggling to meet the deadline.

The bill also would allow a temporary pause in reserve funding for two years immediately following a milestone inspection and give condo associations more flexibility on meeting reserve requirements.