Government leaders are reminding Manatee County condominium associations to plan for a new state law requiring routine structural inspections. But owners have more questions than answers.
 

The law, which the Florida Legislature approved in May, comes after the June 2021 collapse of a condo building in Surfside that killed 98 people. In response, lawmakers determined all condos that are at least three stories and at least 30 years old must be inspected every 10 years.

 

But condo associations are struggling to understand how the rules apply and are urging the Legislature to update the guidelines in 2023. According to Manatee County, 510 buildings meet the inspection criteria. Over 100 of them fall under the county’s jurisdiction, while the other 400 are in Manatee municipalities. Florida’s new law requires a qualifying condominium’s first milestone inspection to be completed by December 2024. A ‘milestone inspection’ is the structural inspection of a building by a licensed architect or engineer. The purpose is to ensure a building’s safety through an assessment of its structural components and condition, according to the county. Officials with Manatee’s Development Services Department plan to send postcards to the 105 condominiums within their jurisdiction. The postcards include a link to a survey requesting specific information, such as the name of the condo association, its mailing address and the number of floors in the building.

Landmark at Pointe West is one of several Manatee County condo associations that will need to complete a full building inspection under a new Florida law in response to the June 2021 Surfside collapse.

 

Manatee leaders plan condo inspections
 

Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth said the Anna Maria Island city of about 3,000 people also plans to conduct similar outreach to condominium associations. She hailed the new law as a much-needed measure to ensure the safety of Florida residents.

“It’s a necessary evil that the state had to get involved,” Titsworth said.

The city of Bradenton is also discussing what its condo inspection program will look like. In an interview with the Bradenton Herald, City Administrator Rob Perry pointed to the Surfside collapse as the impetus for the new rules.

“Surfside obviously was the horrific incident that drew people’s attention to structural stability and the damages it poses to human life,” Perry said. “We want to make sure we keep people safe.”

Manatee County Administrator Scott Hopes compared the new condo inspection law to building codes that have been updated over the years to make Florida buildings more resilient against hurricanes. As time passes, it becomes more important to determine whether a building is safe, he said.

“These inspections are going to result in some findings that will probably end up saving people’s lives,” Hopes predicted.

Condo experts frustrated by rules

The sudden requirement to perform full inspections could jeopardize Manatee County condos, according to experts who spoke with the Bradenton Herald.

Structural inspections, which can range from $10,000 to $30,000 depending on the building, could place a significant burden on local condo owners, said Kelly Helm, president of At the HELM Property Management.

Helm said the inspection requirement has also caused confusion among condo board members scrambling to determine what the rules are. For example, said Helm, it’s unclear whether the law applies to a three-story condo with a garage on the first floor and two stories of units above.

“The ones that it does apply to, they are being very proactive and putting steps in place to do some preventative maintenance before they have the structural inspection done,” Helm said.

Helm also criticized the Legislature’s decision to issue a blanket rule, instead of an approach that gives more leeway to older buildings that are not built on a barrier island.

“I do think it should apply to some, but not all,” said Helm, who manages several Manatee County condos that will be required to pursue a full structural inspection under the new law. “My in-town properties, it just seems absurd that they would have to apply the same way an island property would.”

Patricia Staebler, a certified reserve specialist who performs condo inspections, also panned the new law as a “horrible mistake” by lawmakers who have “zero clue.”

“Instead of haphazardly putting into law rules that would bankrupt an association, they should have come to us to get more information on what they need to do to make this work,” Staebler said.

What do Florida condo inspections require?

Under Florida’s condo inspection law, inspections must be completed in two phases. In the first phase, a condo association must hire a properly licensed architect or engineer to perform a visual examination of the entire building. The inspection must include a review of “major structural components” and provide an assessment of the structural conditions of the building at that time.

If no issues are found, the inspector finalizes the report to share with the condo association and the local government’s building official.

However, if the inspection reveals “substantial structural deterioration,” a second inspection is required.

In the second phase, the inspector would be required to fully assess “areas of structural distress” to determine whether the building is structurally sound. That report must also be shared with the condo association and the local building official.

The inspection report must determine whether the building’s structural deficiencies make it unsafe and recommend repairs for damaged areas.