It’s budget season, and the Florida
Department of Business and Professional Regulation (“DBPR”)
has adopted new administrative rules governing condominium
reserves. Effective October 4, 2026, the newly revised
Florida Administrative Code Rule 61B-22.005 provides
expanded guidance concerning reserve funding, changes
between pooled and straight-line accounting, structural
integrity reserve study (“SIRS”) updates, and reporting
requirements. Here is what managers and boards need to know.
For condominiums required to complete a SIRS, reserve
funding for each item or group of items must align with the
association’s most recently completed SIRS. For condominiums
not subject to SIRS requirements, each reserve asset must be
separately evaluated against the minimum reserve threshold
published annually by the Division, which will be adjusted
by the Division each year based on inflation.
The amended rule provides additional guidance concerning
SIRS requirements. It confirms the statutory ten-year SIRS
requirement can only be satisfied by completion of a Full
Structural Integrity Reserve Study and that certain interim
updates to the reserve schedule may be made without a new
visual inspection under limited circumstances, including
specified financial updates where the most recent visual
inspection occurred within the preceding 36 months.
The rule further defines a completed SIRS, clarifying when
the obligation to distribute or make available the report to
owners is triggered. The rule confirms that preliminary
drafts prepared for board review are not completed studies.
Once a completed SIRS is received, the association must
comply with applicable owner-distribution and Division
filing requirements.
The rule also clarifies when an association may change
between pooled and straight-line reserve accounting. A
change may be made without a unit-owner vote if it does not
alter the authorized purpose, required funding level, or
restricted use of reserve funds. For pooled reserves, the
annual inflation rate used in the reserve schedule is now
capped at the annual inflation (or deflation) amount
according to the Consumer Price Index.
Managers and boards should familiarize themselves with the
recent changes prior to finalizing their association’s
annual budget.