Surfside a year later: What is Florida's new condo inspection law and how does it work?
Florida's new condo inspection law – SB 4D – is designed to ensure that another Surfside tragedy never occurs.
Any residential complex 30 years or older must be inspected for structural integrity and every 10 years thereafter. If the structure is within 3 miles of the coast, the inspection must be done once it reaches 25 years of age and every 10 years thereafter.
Directors who “willfully and knowingly” fail to have structural inspections performed” shall have breached their fiduciary duties,” according to the law, making volunteer board members susceptible to civil suits.
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The “milestone” inspections consist of two phases: Phase one is a cursory visual examination by an architect or engineer while phase two is more extensive. If a phase-one inspection finds no evidence of “Substantial Structural Deterioration,” a phase two inspection is not required.
The law directs the Florida Building Commission to review the milestone inspection requirements and report back to the governor, Senate president, and speaker of the House by Dec. 31.
All buildings meeting the criteria must register with the state by Jan. 1. The inspection reports must be completed by Dec. 31, 2024.
Condo associations or co-ops must also:
Identify any building three stories or higher in a report to the state Division of Condominiums
Develop a reserve study to determine how much money needs to be put aside to address building integrity issues related to walls, floors, windows, plumbing and electrical systems
Create a special reserve fund to pay for those repairs
Fully fund the reserve fund
Use the reserve funds for structural repairs
Distribute inspection reports to owners, tenants and prospective buyers
Publish the full report on the association’s website
Begin repairs with 365 days of receiving a report that calls for work to be done.
Inspection reports must be maintained for 15 years
Mike Diamond is a journalist at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. He covers county government and transportation. You can reach him at mdiamond@pbpost.com. Help support local journalism. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Surfside condo collapse: What is Florida's new condo inspection law?
