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Article Courtesy of The Miami Herald
By Dara Kam
Published April 26, 2025
The Florida House on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved a
plan that aims, in part, to ease financial strains on condominium owners,
setting up negotiations with the Senate before next week’s scheduled end of
the 2025 legislative session.
The House and Senate bills address condo-safety laws passed after the 2021
collapse of the Champlain Towers South condominium building in Surfside that
killed 98 people.
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The laws, passed in
2022 and tweaked in 2023, included requiring “milestone
inspections” of older buildings and “structural integrity
reserve studies” to determine how much money should be set
aside for future major repairs.
Milestone inspections were supposed to be completed by Dec.
31 for certain older buildings that are three stories or
higher. Some condo associations hit owners with large
assessments in the race to comply with the deadline.
Assessments are in addition to homeowners’ regular
association fees.
House bill sponsor Vicki Lopez, R-Miami, said Wednesday her
proposal (HB 913) seeks to clear up confusion over current
requirements and provide “financial relief” for condo
associations by allowing them to use lines of credit in lieu
of reserves.
A similar Senate proposal (SB 1742) would allow condo
associations to use lines of credit or obtain loans to fund
repairs. The Senate bill, sponsored by Fleming Island
Republican Jennifer Bradley, also would allow condo
associations to “temporarily pause” reserve-fund
contributions for up to two years.
Rep. Anna Eskamani,
D-Orlando, said the line-of-credit part of Lopez’s bill
would “be very helpful” to condo owners in her district.
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Florida State Rep. Vicki Lopez, R-Miami, attends the
first day of the legislative session at the Florida State Capitol on
Tuesday, March 4, 2025, in Tallahassee
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“A lot of our condo owners are on a fixed income, and their ability to meet
the costs that we established a few years ago is just not realistic. So I do
hope this makes it easier to ensure the safety of these buildings will not
force the individuals to leave their homes,” Eskamani said before the House
voted 113-2 to pass the bill, with Rep. Mike Caruso, R-Delray Beach, and
Rep. Kiyan Michael, R-Jacksonville, dissenting.
Lopez said her bill also clarifies that only buildings with three habitable
stories will have to comply with the milestone inspections, an issue she
said has caused confusion.
The House bill also includes changes that would allow condo owners to cast
votes electronically in condo-association elections. Lopez said that many
condo owners who do not live in their units “have been disenfranchised”
under current law, which requires in-person voting. The proposal would allow
electronic voting if at least 25 percent of owners request it.
The bill also would prohibit companies or people that perform structural
reserve studies from conducting repairs, to avoid what Lopez called “a clear
conflict of interest.” The Senate version of the bill would require any
contractor or “design professional” who bids to perform a structural reserve
study to disclose in writing that they intend to bid on the repairs.
Both the House and Senate plans would require the state Department of
Business and Professional Regulation, which oversees condo boards, to create
a standard form for structural integrity reserve studies.
Under current law, the studies target features that affect buildings’
structural integrity or safety, including roofs; plumbing; structures such
as load-bearing walls; electrical systems; waterproofing and exterior
painting; and windows and exterior doors. The studies also include other
items that have deferred-maintenance expenses of more than $10,000, which
the House and Senate proposals would raise to $25,000. Lopez said Wednesday
the proposed change would “provide flexibility to exclude certain low-cost
repairs or replacements from the studies.”
Approval of the House bill came amid a clash between Republican House
leaders and Gov. Ron DeSantis.
The governor wanted lawmakers to revise the condo requirements during a
special legislative session early this year. The regular session started
March 4 and is scheduled to end May 2.
Appearing at an event Wednesday in Fort Pierce, DeSantis swiped at the House
over myriad issues, including the condo legislation.
“You know, you have people that are getting hit with these crushing
assessments. They’re on a fixed income. A lot of them own their condos
outright. They can’t afford to fork over $100,000, and this is being put
forward basically because of policies that were implemented by the Florida
Legislature, so you have a responsibility to … recognize those unintended
consequences and help people stay in their homes,” DeSantis, who signed the
2022 and 2023 laws, said. “That’s what you should be doing, but they haven’t
been willing to do that yet, either.”
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