RESIDENTS have expressed concerns over their HOA fears jumping from $500 to $3,000 a month thanks to a new law - they say they need protection but not this way.

Condo owners in Tarpon Springs, a city about 33 miles east of Tampa, Florida, say they're facing a double whammy between home insurance and inspection costs. Rate increases are coming as private home insurance companies in the state have either failed or moved. Citizens Property Insurance, a taxpayer-backed company announced that there are plans to shed thousands of policies. Meanwhile, following the deaths of nearly 100 people after the Surfside Condo Collapse in 2021, Florida lawmakers passed Senate Bill 4D, which required milestone inspections for condominiums. The Ninth Fairway at Green Dolphin Condominium Association is one of 27,000 condo associations in the state, where several retirees call home.

Dan Severson, a condo association president in Tarpon Springs, Florida says he's worried about the rising rates of insurance and inspection fees

"The maintenance guy and I walk through this building every week," Dan Severson, President of the condo association told a local ABC affiliate.

Severson used to work as a health and safety officer at a nuclear power plant but, in his retirement, says he's looking out for the wellbeing of the 96 condo owners in the association.

 

"They’re all concrete slabs. And they’re all metal stud construction," said Severson. "Our last property insurance policy was 50 pages long. It is so full of exclusions and high deductibles that it’s almost like no insurance at all." Quotes were as high as $600,000 this year, about 13 times the amount the association paid in 2019. "It could quadruple the cost of living in this condo. And that would be devastating to a lot of fixed-income senior people," said Severson. After the deaths from the condo collapse, an investigation found concrete columns and the pool deck weren't properly constructed and didn't meet building codes. According to documents, the Champlain Towers condo board was previously warned about issues with the building but kept putting off recommended repairs.

Severson said fees could go up as $3,000 a month, which could cause condo owners to leave

State Senator Jason Pizzo introduced a bill calling for statewide condo inspections, which was passed in a special session last year.

Condo buildings with three stories or more are required to have structural inspections 30 years after being built and once every 10 years thereafter.

If a building is located near a coastline, it must be inspected within 25 years of construction.

However, Severson worries the law will force condo boards to fork over millions of dollars in reserve.

Structural integrity studies need to be completed by the end of 2024 and reserve accounts must be funded for future repairs, such as the replacement of the roof, load-bearing walls, and foundation.

"Nobody wants a Surfside to happen again. Nobody wants unsafe buildings. But they’re going about it wrong," said Severson.

He is concerned that a worst-case scenario will have his association's monthly dues from $500 to $,3000, which will force some residents to move.

Increased rates will also make it next to impossible to sell vacant units.

"That’s almost twice what the average person collects in Social Security," said Severson.

He told the outlet he was able to negotiate a policy for $98,000 from Citizens Property Insurance, but only after a payment of $262,000 is made to replace a roof on a building that was installed in 2016.

Severson said his association is also proposing a nearly $3,000 assessment this year to cover insurance increases and the repairs.

However, he still worries that the association's financial future could be much worse in 2024.

"I’ve asked the lawyer what would happen if we just refused to comply. And she said, well, you could go to jail," he said.