Published in Law360
In an article published 4/4 in Law360, Ball Janik LLP Partner Jeffrey A. Widelitz and Special Counsel Todd Demetriades discuss the changes that Florida’s Senate Bill 4-D (SB 4-D) and its subsequent amendments introduce for condominium and cooperative associations in 2025. Among the updates are new stringent inspection and reserve funding requirements to ensure long-term structural integrity. The law mandates that buildings three stories or higher undergo a Structural Integrity Reserve Study (SIRS) every 10 years for the first 30 years, followed by milestone inspections every 10 years thereafter. Local building departments have, however, the option of setting a 25-year milestone inspection if environmental conditions, such as proximity to salt water, necessitate it.
“This legislation, designed to prevent tragedies like the 2021 collapse of the Champlain Towers South building in Surfside, Florida, focuses on the structural integrity of Florida’s aging condominium infrastructure,” write Widelitz and Demetriades. “SB 4-D, as amended, has proven an expensive proposition for many communities scrambling to comply with its mandates. The cost of compliance mainly falls on the shoulders of the unit owners – not the builders who constructed these buildings.”
Due to the expenses involved in updating outdated units for compliance, many owners are selling their units entirely. Although developers were originally required to conduct milestone inspections and provide the reports as part of turnover, later revisions required a less thorough SIRS inspection report. Widelitz and Demetriades say that boards must carefully select qualified professionals for inspections to avoid liability and ensure compliance. And even though legislation requires cooperative associations and condominiums to perform building safety inspections and to ensure adequate reserve funds based on those findings, this requirement does not apply to homeowners’ associations or those buildings less than three stories in height.
“While the financial implications are significant, the long-term benefits of well-maintained, structurally sound buildings cannot be overstated,” write Widelitz and Demetriades. “Property owners, associations, and potential buyers must familiarize themselves with these requirements to ensure compliance and protect their investments.”
Read the story in full; click here (subscriber-based).