Jesse Scheckner
After a back-and-forth between the Senate and House over its final language, a bill aimed at balancing condo safety with the financial concerns of unit owners has passed the Legislature with unanimous approval.
House members voted 112-0 for HB 913 to update statutes lawmakers passed after the 2021 collapse of the Champlain Towers South condo in Surfside.
The vote came mere hours after the bill’s Senate sponsor, Fleming Island Republican Sen. Jennifer Bradley, amended it to better reflect the intent of both chambers. The Senate then approved the bill 37-0.
Miami Republican Rep. Vicki Lopez, the House sponsor and Bradley’s partner in carrying condo safety legislation over the past several years, said addressing so complex and expansive an issue is a process she’ll keep working at as needed.
“We have strived to reach that delicate balance between the safety of our constituents who live in condominiums as well as understanding the incredible financial impact that sometimes these particular bills that we pass have,” she said.
“I pledge to you, again, I will continue this work as long as we need to do so to ensure that every resident who lives in a condominium feels that their voices have been heard.”
Ahead of this year’s Session, there was ample outcry from unit owners about financial difficulties they faced in adhering to the relatively new safety obligations past condo safety bills imposed on them. In some cases, the high cost of reserve funding to make necessary structural repairs prompted some to sell their units.
HB 913, which Bradley substituted for her version of the legislation (SB 1742), is intended to address those concerns while adding many more safeguards against malfeasance by condo boards and unscrupulous contractors.
The bill enables condo associations to use lines of credit to pay for pricey structural integrity reserve studies (SIRS) and clarifies that only buildings with three habitable stories must comply with SIRS requirements.
It also allows condo associations to invest their reserve funds in certificates of deposit and depository accounts of financial institutions. This allowance comes with a proviso that each board “use best efforts to make prudent investment decisions that carefully consider risk and return in an effort to maximize returns on invested funds.”
It guarantees condo associations a route to voting online, requires the Department of Business and Professional Regulation to create a standard form for SIRS and set criteria for determining the useful life of condo components, and allows more flexibility for excluding certain low-cost repairs from the SIRS total.
It also mandates that the minutes of a condo board’s meetings from the past year must be available online to association members, requires more transparency from hotels that also contain condos and prohibits the person or company that conducted the SIRS from having a financial interest in the person or company that performs the repairs.
Portions Bradley added extend the deadline for condo associations to complete their SIRS by one year to Dec. 31, allows for a two-year pause in reserve funding following a milestone inspection so associations can make vital structural safety repairs, and requires a substitute budget to be presented to owners for consideration that excludes discretionary funding if a proposed budget exceeds 115% of the prior year’s assessments.
Democratic Reps. Robin Bartleman and Anna Eskamani commended Lopez for her work.
Bartleman thanked her for “always being on call” and ready to meet with stakeholders. Eskamani said her office had gotten “many emails and phone calls over this past year” regarding the issue, which prompted discussions between her and House Speaker Daniel Perez about it.
“I’m so grateful we’re taking action,” she said, “and just want to say thank you.”
HB 913 will next go to Gov. Ron DeSantis, who can sign it, veto it or allow it to become law without his signature on July 1.
