Jesse Scheckner
More Surfside-inspired condo safety measures are coming to Florida, along with much-needed funding relief for owners and associations, through legislation Gov. Ron DeSantis just signed.
At an event in Clearwater, DeSantis approved HB 913, a sweeping condo regulation and financial reform bill, marking another significant step in Florida’s ongoing response to Champlain Towers South collapse that killed 90 people in June 2021.
The legislation, which passed unanimously in both chambers of the Legislature last month, aims to strike a balance between structural safety and the financial realities unit owners face.
DeSantis previously praised the measure, sponsored by Fleming Island Sen. Jennifer Bradley and Miami Rep. Vicki Lopez, after it underwent numerous amendments in committee and on the floors of both chambers.
But he sharply criticized lawmakers for not passing the bill sooner, when he called for a Special Session on the issue and others in mid-January. He also noted that he would have vetoed the original House version had it reached his desk unchanged.
“It ended up in a good spot,” DeSantis said during a May 6 stop in Miami. In its original form, HB 913 would have blocked Citizens Property Insurance from covering condo owners and associations that didn’t comply with state-mandated inspection and reserve study. Bradley and Lopez removed that portion from the final bill.
Instead, the measure includes provisions allowing condo associations to take out lines of credit for expensive structural integrity reserve studies (SIRS) and clarifies that only buildings with three or more habitable stories must comply with those requirements.
It also permits associations to invest reserves in certificates of deposit and bank accounts, so long as boards act prudently to balance risk and return.
Other reforms require greater transparency, such as mandating that condo board meeting minutes be posted online and prohibiting contractors who perform SIRS from also profiting from related repairs.
Further, the bill sets new standards for online voting, improves access to milestone inspections and empowers the Department of Business and Professional Regulation to standardize reserve study forms.
Amendments by Bradley extended the SIRS deadline by one year to Dec. 31 and allowed for a two-year pause in reserve funding after a milestone inspection, giving associations more time to complete structural repairs.
The bill also requires any condo budget exceeding a 15% increase over the prior year to include an alternative plan excluding discretionary spending.
HB 913 updates condo safety statutes the Legislature passed during a 2022 Special Session and several follow-up measures Bradley and Lopez sponsored to build on and fine-tune it. The most notable aspect of the new bill, the financial portion, is a response to outcry over cost difficulties that the relatively new requirements imposed on unit owners that prompted some to sell their homes.
“As we’ve watched the implementation of post-Surfside regulations, the process has revealed some very real pressure points both financially and otherwise. And that is no surprise; big change is difficult, but it’s our duty to adjust thoughtfully when circumstances demand. That’s what this bill does,” Bradley said in late April.
Lopez said she and Bradley “strived to reach that delicate balance” of ensuring there is never another Surfside disaster while not making living in a condo cost-prohibitive for their owners. HB 913 represents the latest step in that endeavor, she said last month, but it may not be the last.
“I will continue this work as long as we need to,” she said, “to ensure that every resident who lives in a condominium feels that their voices have been heard.”
Democrats and Republicans praised the effort. Rep. Robin Bartleman, a Weston Democrat, thanked Lopez for “always being on call,” while Orlando Democratic Rep. Anna Eskamani called the measure a necessary response to constituent concerns. “I’m so grateful we’re taking action,” she said.
Republican Sen. Jim Boyd, who owns and operates an insurance and investments business in Bradenton, said the condo issue “is one of the most complicated, complex issues” with which the Legislature has dealt.
“It’s a huge, huge issue,” he told Bradley on the Senate floor. “You all have poured your heart and soul into it.”
