Condo owners after Surfside: inspections, reserves, special assessments and loss assessment coverage

After the Surfside collapse in 2021, Florida began requiring structural inspections and structural reserve studies for condo buildings three or more stories tall, and owners can no longer vote away those reserves. Many owners now face special assessments as a result, and most of those assessments are not something your condo insurance pays.

That surprises people, so this post walks through the new rules and then the insurance part, plainly.

Milestone inspections

Florida now requires a milestone inspection for condo and co-op buildings that are three or more habitable stories tall (Fla. Stat. 553.899).

• When: by December 31 of the year the building turns 30, then every 10 years. The local building official can move that to 25 years instead (then every 10 years), based on local conditions such as nearness to salt water.
• Phase one: a licensed architect or engineer does a visual inspection.
• Phase two: only if phase one finds substantial structural deterioration. It can involve testing.
• You’ll be told. The association must notify owners within 14 days of getting the notice, and send every owner the inspector’s summary within 45 days of receiving the report.

If a phase two inspection finds repairs are needed, local rules require them to start within a set time.

Reserve studies (SIRS)

A structural integrity reserve study looks at the parts of the building that keep it standing and dry, and works out how much the association needs to set aside to repair or replace them (Fla. Stat. 718.112):

• Roof
• Structure and load-bearing walls
• Fireproofing and fire protection
• Plumbing and electrical systems
• Waterproofing and exterior painting
• Windows and exterior doors

It’s required at least every 10 years for buildings three or more habitable stories. For most existing associations the first one was due by December 31, 2025. An association whose milestone inspection was due by December 31, 2026 could do both together, but no later than that date.

The big change: for budgets adopted on or after December 31, 2024, owners generally can’t vote to waive or reduce reserves for these items anymore. Before that change, owners could vote to waive or cut them, so some buildings now have years of saving to catch up on.

Why special assessments are showing up

Put those together. An inspection finds repairs. A reserve study says the reserves are short. The law says the reserves can’t be waived. The money has to come from somewhere.

Florida lets associations fund these reserves through regular assessments, special assessments, lines of credit or loans, and a special assessment, loan or line of credit for them needs a majority vote of all the association’s voting interests (Fla. Stat. 718.112). For budgets adopted through 2028, there’s a limited option, with a majority vote of all voting interests, to pause or reduce reserve contributions for up to two budgets to pay for milestone repairs first.

What your condo insurance covers, and what it doesn’t

Your HO-6 policy includes loss assessment coverage. Florida requires at least $2,000 of it on every unit owner policy, for assessments that result from the same direct loss to the property, when that loss is the type your own policy covers, with a deductible of no more than $250 (Fla. Stat. 627.714).

That wording is the key. Loss assessment coverage is built for something like this: a covered storm or fire damages the shared building, the association’s insurance doesn’t pay all of it (a large deductible, say), and the association assesses owners for the rest.

It’s generally not built for:

• Repairs found in a milestone inspection.
• Topping up reserves after a SIRS.
• Concrete restoration, waterproofing or other wear and deferred maintenance.

The law doesn’t list these either way, but they usually aren’t a direct loss from a covered peril like a storm or fire, so they generally fall outside the coverage. Always read your own policy; wording varies.

What loss assessment coverage does matter for is the master policy’s deductible. Florida condo master policies can carry large hurricane deductibles, and when a storm hits, that gap can come back to owners as an assessment. Two things to check: some policies cap what they’ll pay toward an assessment for the association’s deductible, and Florida law counts the loss assessment limit in force the day before the loss, so raising it afterwards won’t help for that storm (Fla. Stat. 627.714). Knowing your association’s deductible and your own loss assessment limit, side by side, is one of the most useful things a condo owner can do. (Hurricane deductibles, explained.)

Good to know

1. Ask for the documents. Your association’s milestone inspection summary, SIRS and budget tell you a lot about what’s ahead. Associations with 25 or more units must post certain documents online, including the SIRS.
2. Concerns go to DBPR. The Department of Business and Professional Regulation’s condominium site explains the rules and how to raise a complaint.
3. Buying a condo? Read the inspection and the SIRS before you close, not after.
4. The rest of your HO-6 still matters: the parts of the unit the association doesn’t insure, your belongings and your liability. (Condo insurance, explained.)

Want me to look at your condo coverage?

Upload your HO-6 declarations page at /quote/ and send me your association’s master policy summary if you have it. I’ll show you your loss assessment limit next to the master policy deductible, so you know what a storm could actually mean for you.

Talk to Elona