ANNA MARIA ISLAND – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed into law new state legislation that will impact condominium associations and owners.
On June 9, DeSantis signed the legislation recently adopted by the Florida Legislature as Senate Bill 154 and House Bill 1395.
Taking effect on July 1, the new law requires structural inspections of all condominium buildings three or more stories in height and at least 30 years old by Dec. 31, 2024 and again every 10 years thereafter.
In accordance with the Florida Building Code, the inspection requirement includes the most popular type of condominium building on Anna Maria Island – three-story buildings with two elevated living levels and ground-level parking below.
The new law builds upon the state law previously created in 2022 with the adoption of Senate Bill 4-D. The legislation adopted in 2022 and 2023 is in response to the partial collapse of the 12-story Champlain Towers South condominium building in Surfside that killed 98 people in 2021.
The new law applies to all qualifying condominium buildings in Florida regardless of location and it deletes the 25-year inspection requirement adopted last year for condo buildings located within three miles of the coastline.
The new law clarifies that all owners of a condominium building must share the costs of the structural inspections via annual assessments. Condo owners must also share the cost of repairing or remedying any structural distress or weakness identified in a structural inspection.
The law authorizes local governments to enforce the milestone inspection requirements and allows local enforcement agencies to accept an inspection report completed before July 1, 2022, if the inspection and the report comply with the milestone requirements.
The law requires condo associations to provide notice to condo unit owners about the inspection deadlines and inspection findings.
A copy of SB 154 can be found at the Florida Senate website.
