The group says condo
management companies are facing 'a perfect storm' of new and
rising costs.
A Surfside-inspired law imposing stricter inspection and
funding guidelines for condominiums won’t go into effect for
almost another two years, but that’s not long enough for
many associations to comply, according to an industry group
seeking more time.
Senators Tuesday are scheduled to hear from professional
management companies on how to improve (SB 4D, which Gov.
Ron DeSantis signed 11 months after the Champlain Towers
South condo collapsed in surfside.
The bill outlined numerous preventative steps that must be
taken in the near future. Beginning Dec. 31, 2024, condo
towers at least three stories tall and within three miles of
the coast must be inspected when the building reaches 25
years of age. Those more than three miles inland would have
to be inspected at 30 years. After that initial “milestone”
inspection, the buildings must be inspected every 10 years.
The law also includes transparency measures allowing buyers,
renters and unit owners to access inspection records and
preventing condo associations from waiving maintenance
reserve funds.
But according to the ikjj./, which represents some 20,000 licensed association
managers across Florida — roughly half of all managed
communities in the state — some of the new strictures on
maintenance reserves are too costly, coming too soon and
need fine-tuning before the New Year’s Eve deadline next
year.
“The industry is very supportive of reserve funding. They
have been for years. They just want more time,” said CEOMC
President Debbie Reinhardt, who will present to the Senate
Committee on Regulated Industries Tuesday.
“The difficulty we’re facing is we’re in a perfect storm.
Community associations are being hit with astronomical
premium increases. I’m talking about 25, 50, 100, in some
cases 200% premium increases over the previous year and
other issues like utility costs. There’s the Emergency Life
Safety System that goes into effect, elevator upgrades
they’ve had to do, and the fact the Legislature wants them
to be fully based on this structural integrity reserve study
within a two-year period — we don’t see how they’re going to
be able to do it.”
Reinhardt’s group has several recommendations to address the
issue, including allowing condo and homeowner associations
five years rather than two to fully fund the
soon-to-be-required reserves for structure repairs. It’s
also suggesting that funds covering maintenance for other
aspects of building safety, including elevators and HVAC
units, be included in that reserve.
Other recommendations include:
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Requiring more frequent studies of association reserve funds by “qualified individuals.”
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Allowing insurance premiums to be excluded from budget increase thresholds.
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Authorizing capital contribution options on the resale of units for reserve funding purposes.
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Allowing better lending options from banks on loans for inspections, reserve studies and building maintenance.
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Conforming the statute’s “unclear” rules for reserve funding to those interpreted and outlined by the Department of Business and Professional Regulations, which permits pooled reserves.
Just before 1:30 a.m.
on June 24, 2021, a wing of the 12-story Champlain Towers
South condo in Surfside caved in, fatally burying 98 people
in one of the deadliest building failures in modern history.
Investigations have since highlighted numerous factors that
may have contributed to the 40-year-old tower’s failure,
including faulty design, poor construction, damage and
neglect, including inconsistent foundational support.