Florida condo law after Surfside,
in plain English.
Milestone inspections, reserve studies, special assessments, the 2025 changes — and the exact checklist to run before you buy or sell. Straight talk from a licensed Florida broker, FL #BK703722.
Why the rules changed — and why it matters to you
Let me give it to you straight, because most of what you hear about Florida condos right now is fear. After the 2021 Surfside collapse, Florida passed real safety laws — Senate Bill 4D in 2022, then a round of fixes in House Bill 913 in 2025. Good laws, overdue laws. But they set off a wave of special assessments, insurance shocks, and financing headaches that scared a lot of buyers off every older building at once.
Here’s the part nobody says clearly: that fear is a blunt instrument.Some older buildings genuinely are in trouble — deferred repairs, empty reserves, a six-figure assessment coming. And some older buildings are in great shape, fully inspected, fully funded, well insured — and they’re getting dragged down in price by the troubled building next door. The buyers who win in this market are the ones who can tell the two apart. That’s learnable, and it’s exactly what this page is for.
Milestone vs. SIRS — the two words that confuse everyone
You’ll hear two terms constantly. Hold them apart with one sentence: the milestone says what must be fixed; the SIRS says how much it costs and how it gets paid for.
Milestone inspection
A structural safety inspection by a licensed engineer or architect. Required for condo/co-op buildings of three or more habitable stories, generally at 30 years old (25 near the coast). It identifies the structural work the building needs. HB 913 clarified “habitable stories,” which exempts many three-story buildings with ground-floor parking.
SIRS (reserve study)
The Structural Integrity Reserve Study puts dollar figures and a funding plan on the items the building must maintain — roof, structure, plumbing, electrical, waterproofing. It can’t really exist without a milestone, because the milestone defines the work. This is where a future special assessment is born.
A shortcut for a long SIRS report (some run 200+ pages): read the executive summaryfirst — usually a page or less — and you’ll be 90% of the way to understanding a building’s condition. Then dig into the line items that matter to you.
The assessment reality — and the word “levied”
The dollar figure that scares people is the special assessment — the one-time bill owners get to fund big repairs or reserve shortfalls. On older oceanfront stock these have run anywhere from $15,000 to well over $100,000 per unit. On these buildings, the assessment trajectory — not the sticker price — is often the real financial variable.
One word decides who pays: “levied.” An assessment is levied once it’s been formally voted on and approved — not just discussed, not just on an agenda. A levied assessment as of your contract date is generally the seller’s to settle; the 2025 condo rider spells out exactly how one levied between contract and closing is handled. Get the status in writing from the association beforeyou’re under contract.
What 2025’s HB 913 actually changed
HB 913 (signed June 23, 2025, effective July 1) kept the safety framework but eased the money pressure and forced more transparency. The parts worth knowing:
- SIRS deadline extended to December 31, 2025 (milestone deadlines were not extended).
- Reserve pause: boards can pause reserve contributions for up to two budget years after a milestone while they prioritize critical repairs.
- Loans allowed: associations can now fund reserves and assessments with loans or lines of credit — a real alternative to a lump-sum bill.
- Higher threshold: the SIRS cost threshold rose from $10,000 to $25,000, so smaller items drop off the mandatory reserve list.
- Mandatory websites: larger associations must post governing docs, budgets, minutes, and financials online for owners — expanding to 25-plus-unit associations by January 1, 2026. This is the big one for buyers: the building’s condition is going online.
- Easier electronic voting, and a cleaner 2025 Florida Realtors/Florida Bar condo rider with a 7-day document review window (excluding weekends and holidays).
The buyer’s checklist — run this before you offer
This is the exact list I run on a building before a client writes an offer. Any one of these can make or break the deal:
- Milestone inspection — required? Done? What did it find?
- SIRS — required? Completed? Read the executive summary.
- Special assessments — any levied or pending? How much, and when is it due?
- Reserves — funded, or is a shortfall (and a future assessment) coming?
- Insurance — does the building carry a current policy? (Some don’t — and that kills financing.)
- Financeability — owner-occupancy ratio, litigation, warrantability. Can a buyer even get a loan here?
- Rental restrictions — is there a rental cap or a one-year hold? (Surprises furious investors and relocating owners alike.)
- The documents — declaration, bylaws, rules, budget, financials, FAQ, and the four sets of minutes/agendas (board and member). New law is putting most of this online.
If you’re selling — a clean building is now a selling point
Flip all of that around and it’s a listing advantage. If your building has completed its milestone, finished and funded its SIRS, and carries solid insurance, say so — loudly.A buyer choosing between two buildings will pay more for the one that’s already done the work and has no surprise assessment lurking. In a market where fear is the default, a documented, well-run building sells faster and holds its price. That’s a value proposition most listing agents don’t bother to make — which is exactly why it works.
Florida condo law — FAQ
Is it a bad idea to buy an older Florida condo now?
Not automatically — and that’s the whole point. After Surfside, buyers started treating every older oceanfront building as risky, which isn’t true. A building that has completed its milestone inspection, funded its Structural Integrity Reserve Study, and carries current insurance can be a genuinely good buy — often at a discount, because it’s sitting next to a troubled building that scared everyone off. The risk isn’t “old condo”; the risk is “a specific building with deferred repairs and an underfunded reserve.” The difference is knowable before you write an offer — that’s what the checklist below is for.
What is a milestone inspection, and which buildings need one?
A milestone inspection is a structural safety inspection by a licensed engineer or architect. Under Florida law it applies to condo and co-op buildings that are three or more habitable stories, generally once the building reaches 30 years old (25 within a few miles of the coast). HB 913 (2025) clarified that it’s three or more habitable stories — which exempts many three-story buildings whose ground floor is parking. The inspection identifies what needs to be repaired; it doesn’t attach dollars to it. That’s the SIRS.
What is a SIRS, and why do people confuse it with the milestone?
The Structural Integrity Reserve Study (SIRS) is where the association puts dollar figures and a funding budget on the structural items a building must maintain — roof, load-bearing walls, foundation, plumbing, electrical, waterproofing, and any item above the cost threshold. The simple way to hold the two apart: the milestone says what has to be fixed; the SIRS says how much it costs and how it gets funded. A SIRS can’t really exist without a milestone, because the milestone defines the work. Florida associations were required to complete their initial SIRS — HB 913 extended that deadline to December 31, 2025.
What does “levied” mean for a special assessment — and who pays it?
A special assessment is “levied” once it has been formally voted on and approved by the association — not merely discussed or put on an agenda. That distinction matters at closing: a levied assessment as of the contract date is generally the seller’s to settle, while the handling of one levied between contract and closing is spelled out (and now much more clearly) in the 2025 Florida Realtors/Florida Bar condo rider. If you can, get the assessment status in writing from the association before you’re under contract, not after.
What did HB 913 change in 2025?
HB 913 (signed June 23, 2025, effective July 1) kept the safety framework but eased the financial squeeze and added transparency: the initial SIRS deadline moved to December 31, 2025; boards can pause reserve contributions for up to two budget years after a milestone while they prioritize critical repairs; associations may now fund reserves and assessments with loans or lines of credit; the SIRS cost threshold rose from $10,000 to $25,000; larger associations must maintain a website with governing documents, budgets, minutes, and financials posted for owners (expanding to 25-plus-unit associations by January 1, 2026); and electronic voting is easier. Net effect: it’s becoming easier to actually see a building’s condition before you buy.
Can I get a mortgage on any condo?
No — and this trips up a lot of buyers. Some buildings are “non-warrantable” and won’t qualify for conventional financing: too few owner-occupants (many lenders want to see around 70% owner-occupancy), pending litigation, insufficient insurance, or reserve/structural problems can all disqualify a building. When a building can’t be financed conventionally, it effectively becomes a cash-buyer market — which is exactly why some troubled buildings trade at steep discounts. Confirm financeability with a lender early; we don’t quote or advertise loan rates, but we can point you to lenders who work these buildings.
References & further reading
- CS/CS/HB 913 (2025) — Condominium & Cooperative Associations (Florida House)
- Shumaker — What Florida’s HB 913 Means for Associations and Owners
- Florida DBPR — Condominium milestone inspections & SIRS
- Florida Realtors — Condominium forms & the condo rider
Disclosure.This is general, educational information about Florida condominium practice from a licensed real estate broker — not legal, tax, engineering, or financial advice. Florida condo law (including SB 4D and HB 913), deadlines, and the Florida Realtors/Florida Bar forms change frequently; confirm the current law and how it applies to your building with a Florida attorney and the association’s own documents. Linton Global Solutions is a licensed Florida real estate brokerage; Michael R. Linton, FL Broker #BK703722. We do not quote residential loan interest rates or pay or accept residential referral fees.