Florida is in the midst of a condo crisis as an impending safety deadline could end up saddling owners with unaffordable costs.

Condo owners in the Sunshine State are facing enormous costs because of an impending deadline that means older buildings must undergo rigorous tests to see if they are still fit to live in. The Condo Safety Act was passed in 2022 in response to the 2021 collapse of the Champlain Towers South condominium building in Surfside, a Miami suburb, that killed 98 people.

The rules require some condominiums to complete a milestone inspection and a structural integrity reserve study (SIRS) to assess how much work, if any, needs to be done to ensure the safety of a building, and how much money is needed for current and future maintenance. A deadline of December 31 is in place.

Pursuant to SB 4-D Bill, approved in May 2022, all Florida condos that are 30 years old or older are required to undergo an initial inspection by a qualified architect or engineer no later than December 31, 2024. In the event that "substantial structural deterioration" is discovered during this first inspection, a subsequent, more thorough examination must be made, and any repairs or maintenance deemed necessary in the report must be promptly addressed by condo owners and associations within a year of receiving the findings.

While the law is well-intentioned given the disaster that precipitated it, it means condo owners are facing a glut of new costs, some of which are in the tens of thousands and more. A report by CBS found that residents of North Miami's Mariners Bay Condos made the decision to leave their homes in order to avoid paying more than $100,000 in dues and assessments.

Speaking at a roundtable discussion in Miami Lakes this month, Governor Ron DeSantis said he understands the "anxiety" homeowners will be feeling.

"We want our condos to be safe in the state of Florida, but we also want to make sure any safety measures are implemented in ways that are reasonable and affordable to the residents," he said. "We don't want to see people forced out of a unit because they have a crushing assessment.

"The bottom line is, we want residents in Florida to have a safe but affordable place to live. And, we have an instance here where we're going to need to provide some relief."

"The governor is right that Floridians need help, but there is only so much the Legislature can do to unwind a crisis decades in the making," former Representative Patrick Murphy, executive vice president of Coastal Construction, told Newsweek. "We are seeing the unintended consequences of legislation that is sometimes passed too quickly. This law wasn't meant to displace people from their homes; it was meant to protect them.

"The best time to have addressed our condo crisis was years ago. But the next-best time is today."

How Can Condo Crisis Be Fixed?

At the Miami Lakes roundtable, DeSantis floated the idea of providing condo owners with a low- or no-interest loan program for those who may be burdened with high repair costs—something experts agree needs to be done. He also remarked that perhaps not all building repairs need to be done instantly.

"I think there are some things that need to be done," DeSantis said. "I don't know that every single repair will prevent [another] Surfside, that's just the reality. So why would we want to be forcing people to have to make a choice to leave based on repairs that may need to be done but may not need to be done in this instant or may be able to be done over a period of time where you can absorb the cost better."

Stephanie Berman-Eisenberg, president and CEO of Carrfour Supportive Housing, a nonprofit organization established by the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce that provides supportive housing, told Newsweek: "Governor DeSantis has rightly recognized the urgency of addressing the growing condominium crisis in Florida. But action is urgently needed, as without help some residents could be displaced or priced out of their homes."

Berman-Eisenberg agreed that lawmakers should consider providing financial support mechanisms, such as low-interest loans or grants, to help associations meet the repair obligations.

"Many of the communities we serve are already burdened with the cost of living, with a significant portion of the population unable to afford the basic cost of housing?," she said. "In Miami alone, the gap for affordable housing is severe, and any additional financial strain from mandatory assessments and repairs could exacerbate the housing crisis?."

But DeSantis and lawmakers are in something of a stalemate. In August, state Senate President Kathleen Passidomo rejected calls to reconvene the Legislature before March next year to make changes to the state's condo laws.

"This is not something that we can put off until next March or April," DeSantis said. "I think there are a lot of looming deadlines, and we have to have a plan forward to keep people in their units if that is what they want to do."

For now, it means little hope is on the horizon for condo owners, many of whom are trying to sell their properties before the rules kick in.

"It's a mass exodus driven by fear," ISG World CEO Craig Studnicky previously told Newsweek. "Condo owners in aging buildings are rushing to sell before the physical examinations start that could reveal structural defects, but they're already late to the party.

"We're seeing a flood of 30-plus-year-old units on the market, and buyers are steering clear. For retirees on fixed incomes, it's a financial nightmare—suddenly, their affordable slice of paradise is becoming an expensive liability they can't afford to keep or easily sell."