House passes ‘Condo 3.0’ reforms to strengthen safety, board accountability, enforcement

Condominiums across Florida and the boards that oversee their maintenance and repairs could soon be held to stronger standards through legislation the House just passed.

The bill (HB 1021) cleared the chamber on a 111-0 vote after little discussion. As they did during its committee stops, lawmakers uniformly agreed the changes are much needed and long overdue.

If passed, the measure would mark a major overhaul of state statutes governing condo oversight and management by providing for criminal penalties for records violations, kickbacks and condo board election fraud.

It would create new education requirements for condo managers and improve transparency by requiring that building records be available online to owners. The bill would also clarify obligations for hurricane protection and revise Florida’s anti-SLAPP (strategic lawsuits against public participation) laws to bar board members from using condo association funds for defamation actions.

Notably, it would also delete a line from Florida Statutes that today hinders the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) from enforcing condo and condo association laws.

It includes a $.4 million earmark — $6.1 million in recurring funds, $1.3 million nonrecurring — to pay for added DBPR operations and 65 full-time employees to enforce the law.

The bill’s sponsor, Miami Republican Rep. Vicki Lopez, has made boosting condo safety a priority since she won her seat in 2022. Last year, she successfully passed a 2022 law updating Florida’s building code in the aftermath of the Champlain Towers South collapse in Surfside.

She calls HB 1021 and its Senate analog (SB 1178) by Fleming Island Republican Sen. Jennifer Bradley the “Condo 3.0” bill.

“We have worked very hard on condominium issues,” Lopez said Friday shortly before the vote. “I fully expect next year to come back with ‘Condo 4.0.’”

House lawmakers Thursday unanimously approved a related measure Lopez carried with Parkland Democratic Rep. Christine Hunschofsky that, if passed, would authorize the creation of a home-hardening grant program for condo owners and associations.

Both chambers of the Legislature agreed to earmark $30 million for the program in the next state budget.