One day after Gov. Ron DeSantis announced a special session for the end of January that could include reforms to condo laws, senators heard an update from industry experts.
Florida lawmakers passed new condo laws in 2022 in response to the fatal collapse of a building in Surfside that killed 98 people.
The new laws, which were revised in 2023 and 2024, require two things of condo associations: structural inspections of buildings over 30 years old, or “milestone inspections,” and “structural integrity reserve studies,” or SIRS, that ensure associations have saved enough money to cover necessary structural repairs.
The first deadline for milestone inspections of condos that are three stories or higher and at least 30 years old was Dec. 31, according to the 2022 law. Of the estimated 1.5 million condo units in Florida, more than 900,000 condos met that criteria and were subject to the year-end inspection deadline, according to a report by the Associated Press.
READ MORE: Dozens of luxury condos, hotels in Miami sinking at ‘unexpected’ rates, new study reveals
Some condo associations raised fees or issued special assessments to condo owners forcing them to cover costly repairs in recent months, fueling controversy over the new condo laws.
On Tuesday, Sen. Jennifer Bradley, R-Fleming Island, welcomed a panel of industry experts, including a Tampa-based engineer,, to provide updates to the Florida Senate Regulated Industries Committee.
Bradley opened the discussion by noting that the problems in the condo industry predated new state laws.
Not a new issue
“The problems in condos has been a slowly unfolding crisis. It did not start with Surfside. For years, owners did not … require any inspection of these aging buildings,” Bradley said. “It’s a reality that no one wanted to exist, but it certainly was one that the system undeniably allowed to exist.”
Insurance and banking expert Tara Stone, CEO of Stone Building Solutions, said her company was finding more “wear and tear due to lack of maintenance” than design flaws or structural integrity issues in the condos it evaluated.
Stone said the underfunding of reserves kept by condo associations might explain such poor maintenance decisions.
“I would say the primary factor all has to do with delayed maintenance, because the money is not in the bank,” Stone said.
Matt Kuisle, Tampa-based engineer and director of Reserve Advisors, also sat on the panel. He said he has been conducting reserve studies for condo associations for 30 years.
But recently, he said, demand spiked in response to the new state requirements that certain condos complete structural integrity reserve studies.
A surge in engineering companies
Kuisle said there used to be about a dozen dedicated companies to consult for reserve studies in the state before 2021. Now, he estimates there are over 70 new companies.
“It’s a cottage industry [that] has popped up because of this. And I think there are … not to disparage engineers in general, but there are some, I’m afraid, bad actors out there,” Kuisle said.
He said there are no safeguards in the current statute that de-incentivize engineering firms conducting structural inspections from exaggerating repairs in the hopes of creating work for themselves.
In response, Bradley echoed the concerns and signaled that clarifying that part of the law might be useful.
“There can’t be any incentivization in this process for folks to find expensive repairs in the hopes of receiving the work,” Bradley said.
Other issues that were flagged by experts and eyed by Senate committee members for reform include: modifying language to clarify what’s required of condo associations regarding inspections and repairs, bifurcating structural repair items from other aesthetic repairs that condo owners might typically vote on and improving general transparency for prospective buyers of condo units.
Bradley hinted that it would be the first of more panels to come.
“This is not going to be the last time we discuss this issue. This is our first panel. We will have more discussion … to flesh out these issues,” she said.
Gabriella Paul covers the stories of people living paycheck to paycheck in the greater Tampa Bay region for WUSF. She's also a Report for America corps member. Here’s how you can share your story with her.
