Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday signed into law a major overhaul of Florida’s condominium-safety regulations, aiming to ease financial burdens on condo owners while maintaining key safety requirements enacted after the 2021 Surfside building collapse that killed 98 people.
The legislation (HB 913), which passed unanimously in both chambers of the Legislature in April, was crafted in response to complaints from residents and condo associations that post-Surfside safety mandates had led to unaffordable assessments and housing instability.
“There were a lot of folks that had a lot of concerns about how some of these assessments were being done, whether people could even afford to even stay in their units,” DeSantis said during a bill-signing event at the Island Way Grill in Clearwater.
Florida building safety rules revised to ease financial strain
The previous laws, passed in 2022 and updated in 2023, required “milestone inspections” for aging residential buildings and “structural integrity reserve studies” to calculate savings for major repairs. Under the original timeline, certain buildings three stories or taller were required to complete inspections by the end of 2024.
Some condo boards responded by issuing hefty assessments, drawing backlash from residents facing ballooning costs. The new law extends the deadline for structural integrity reserve studies by one year and allows for a temporary pause in reserve funding for up to two years after a milestone inspection.
In addition, the law offers associations more flexibility, including the ability to meet reserve obligations through lines of credit or loans — if approved by a majority of unit owners.
Hurricane-hardening grant program adjusted
DeSantis also signed a separate measure Monday, HB 393, aimed at refining the My Safe Florida Condominium Pilot Program, which helps fortify buildings against hurricane damage.
Among other provisions, the bill lowers the threshold of unit owners needed to apply for state grants from 100% to 75% and requires associations to contribute $1 for every $2 in state grant money received.
Both new laws will take effect July 1.
