Anne Geggis
An update to condominium regulations introduced in the wake of the Surfside condominium disaster advanced through its third and final Senate committee hearing Wednesday.
Sen. Jennifer Bradley is sponsoring the legislation (SB 1702) that would require a two-part inspection at condo buildings’ 30-year mark and once every 10 years afterward. An estimated two million people live in Florida condos covered by the bill, which are multifamily buildings older than 30 years and taller than three stories.
For buildings within three miles of the coastline, the legislation requires a two-part inspection starting at the 20-year mark and then every seven years after that.
Bradley said experts came together to see what could be done to keep the horrific tragedy from happening again.
“What was clear right away was that millions of folks who are living in Florida condos now are in the dark about issues that affect the safety and financial health of their condos,” Bradley said.
Before 98 people died in the collapse of the 12-story Champlain Towers South, engineers had warned years before the tragedy about abundant cracking in the 40-year-old structure, along with damaged and exposed rebar. After it fell in the predawn hours of June, 24, it quickly made the list of the country’s worst building disasters and drew attention to the state’s aging condo stock and some regulations that hadn’t been updated in 60 years.
Condo inspections were required in legislation passed in 2008, but then quickly repealed in 2010.
The provisions of the bill passing the committee Wednesday largely mirror the Surfside Working Group’s Florida Building Professionals Recommendations which was led by the Florida Engineering Society (FES) and American Council of Engineering Companies of Florida (ACEC Florida), according to a news release from the two groups.
“Each recommendation is focused on preserving the long-term health of buildings by assessing environmental and other degradation of structures and their systems over the life of the building,” said Allen Douglas, executive director of FES and ACEC Florida. “The 98 souls lost in the tragedy at Surfside can be prevented. This lifesaving building safety legislation focuses squarely on protecting Floridians, and we encourage lawmakers to fully pass this important legislation.”
Originally, Bradley’s bill addressed inspections solely, but Wednesday more administrative regulations were added. The bill now requires condo boards to conduct studies of how sound the condo’s repair funds are, and having those reports added to the condominium’s official records.
Condo boards can waive the once-every-three-years study, but the bill requires “conspicuous disclosure” of that decision to forego a study of the condo’s reserve.
The bill won praise from committee members.
“This bill shows how we can collaborate on something that’s really important to the citizens of our state,” Republican Sen. Kathleen Passidomo said during the committee hearing.
Similar legislation (HB 7069 and SB 7042) also requires inspections and also addresses other problematic issues that surfaced after the Surfside building imploded. Both those bills add rules about the information provided about condo association reserves, inspection reports and funding associations’ reserve obligations.
HB 7069 is set for a third reading, and is now heading for a full House vote. SB 7042, meanwhile, is in the Senate Appropriations Committee with one committee approval.
