A federal investigation is currently underway but the preliminary reports suggest a flawed design coupled with a lack of upkeep by the condominium’s association contributed to the disaster.

 
The Florida Legislature has taken a number of steps - prompted by insurance companies threatening to withdraw coverage in the state - to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again by bringing more clarity to condo associations, which have a reputation for being shrouded in secrecy, intimidation and corruption.

Florida has an estimated 50,000 condo associations with more than 1.5-million units.

In the tricounty South Florida region alone, there are nearly 13,000 condo associations with about 610,000 units located in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach, according to a recent report.
We bring this up as the new laws are increasingly empowering unit owners to push back against the decisions of condo association boards.

In anticipation of receiving a flood of complaints, the state’s Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares and Mobile Homes has received funding to hire 65 new regulators to “implement” the changes made to the Florida Condo Law.

Why would the Division need that many more people?

Let’s just say the long list of reforms that went into effect in July 2024 may trigger some tense moments in condo communities around Florida in the near future.

Remember, condo boards now have to hold quarterly meetings that are not only open for unit owners to attend but also provide them an opportunity to ask questions.

Related to that, most contracts now have to be made available for inspection by unit owners before the condo boards are scheduled to vote. That’s a big change from the way things used to be done.

Additionally, unit owners now have the right to see all of the official records of a condo association within two weeks of submitting a written request. Failure by the association to provide these documents clears the way for unit owners to formally complain to the Division.

Again, another big change.

Up until now, the state’s measures were being implemented slowly but that all is beginning to change in a significant way.

As part of the changes, condo boards are rushing to comply with a recently passed Florida law that goes into effect in January 2025. The law requires associations that were built before July 2022 to conduct and complete a check up, of sorts, on all of the condo buildings in a community by the end of 2024. The building evaluation is called a Strategic Integrity Reserve Study (SIRS).

Based on the SIRS results, condo associations are required to begin funding the necessary work in their 2025 budgets. Unlike previous years, associations can no longer defer the work and the cost under the law.
 

People are dubbing this moment as the 2025 Condo Association Financial Cliff as it is expected to result in significantly higher costs for unit owners.

Some industry watchers have compared the Surfside disaster to an inflection point on par with the Category 5 Hurricane Andrew that devastated South Miami-Dade County in August 1992 and led to more stringent building code requirements in South Florida.

Since the 2021 collapse, older units are said to be tougher to sell, insurance prices are spiking year-over-year and association maintenance fees and special assessments are squeezing owners to the brink.

All of the reports and accompanying charts are based on research we conducted using our proprietary information, private records and government statistics.