CCFJ COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION BLOG

MILESTONE INSPECTION REPORTS?

An Opinion By Jan Bergemann

Published August 4, 2026

OPPAGA (Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability) published a SUMMARY DATA REPORT about the Milestone Inspection Reports submitted to the Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares and Mobile Homes.

Report Summary (Report Data)

In total, building officials reported 8,736 completed phase one milestone inspections and 1,575 completed phase two milestone inspections. Building officials reported granting 1,587 extensions for initial milestone inspection completion deadlines; 94% of extensions were granted in coastal counties and municipalities.
Building officials reported a total of 903 permit applications for needed repairs identified in phase two milestone inspections. Estimated values of identified repairs ranged from under $1,000 to $30 million. Common repair types included concrete, electrical, and structural.
Milestone inspections identified 30 buildings in 2024 and 24 buildings in 2025 as unsafe or uninhabitable. Building officials reported that most buildings determined unsafe or uninhabitable were not vacated.

OPPAGA identified several limitations of DBPR’s data collection of 2024 and 2025 milestone inspection reports. To address data limitations in general, DBPR should consider providing local enforcement agencies guidance about submitting data to the department via a webinar or guided tutorial.

These reports, required by recently enacted laws, should give the Legislature a picture that would help filing future bills or creating even more regulations to secure the safety of the folks living in these buildings. But isn’t it a shame that it took the lives of 98 people to get the Legislature to move in the right direction?

The picture painted by these reports isn’t really good, but it confirms what many people already suspected: Maintenance of buildings is lacking and many of these buildings are in serious need of costly repairs. 54 condominium buildings in eight Florida counties -- Bay, Brevard, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Orange, Osceola, Pinellas and St. Lucie -- were determined to be "unsafe or uninhabitable," according to the state report.

The actual problem: Many counties and condominiums have not yet filed the required reports. But while OPPAGA blames complicated guidelines and instructions for the fact that many reports are plainly missing, I think it goes even further: Many associations boards know that their buildings have serious structural problems and have so far avoided creating the Milestone Inspection Reports.

How bad will it all be once all reports have been filed?