In the wake of the tragic Surfside collapse, the Florida state legislature recently passed changes to the Florida condo law.  These changes can be found in  FL SB 4D.

In addition to requiring “milestone inspections” and imposing new reporting and transparency standards on matters relating to building structural safety and integrity, SB 4D creates strict new requirements for associations three (3) stories or taller regarding the calculation and funding of reserves for long-term maintenance and replacement of certain “structural” components of these buildings.

The problem with the bill is in it's overarching vagueness.  Though it specifically says the legislation is applicable to condominiums "three (3) stories or taller", verbiage in subsequent sections, specifically related to the prohibition to "waive the reserves", is more general and can be applied to one or two story townhome condominiums.

We understand the good intentions of the legislation but for communities that don't pose the kind of danger that a multi-storied condo building does, this legislation is devastating.  Countless communities will be forced into receivership, homes foreclosed upon and families bankrupted and left homeless because they cannot afford the cost of fully funded reserves.  In most cases, their maintenance costs will be doubled, tripled and even quadrupled. 

We respectfully ask the Florida State Legislature and Governor Ron DeSantis go back and re-write this legislation so that it specifies ONLY condominiums three stories or higher in every aspect of the legislation, leaving one and two story condominiums to choose for themselves whether or not to fully fund reserves.