Article Courtesy of The Florida Phoenix

By Jay Waagmeester

Published  September 14, 2024

Gov. Ron DeSantis said he is “ready, willing, and able” to find a solution with the Legislature for spiking condominium costs before the end of the calendar year.

Legislative action following the 2021 collapse of a condominium in the Miami suburb of Surfside that killed 98 people has resulted in financial strains on condominium owners and residents, participants said during a Monday roundtable discussion in Miami Lakes with the governor and Lieutenant Gov. Jeanette Nuñez.

During a 2022 special session, the Legislature passed a law requiring increased inspections for condominium buildings of three or more stories. The law was intended to prevent association boards from delaying structural inspections and repairs — problems blamed for the collapse of Champlain Towers South.

The law requires buildings at least 30 years old to be inspected before the end of 2024. After 2024, buildings under 30 years old must be inspected once they reach the three-decade threshold. Buildings are subject to recurring inspections following the 30-year inspection.

Condominium building and unit owners and residents have and will face increased costs in fees due repairs required by inspections.

In some instances, poor management has resulted in buildings not having reserve funds available to make the repairs, requiring even further increased fees to residents. DeSantis said some condo associations have “ruthless politics.”

“I stand ready, willing, and able to work with the Legislature to make sure that we’re able to make the proper solutions so that folks have peace of mind and are able to continue to enjoy living in the free state of Florida,” DeSantis said.

DeSantis convened a condo building owner, condo resident, condo association president, and state Rep. Tom Fabricio to “solicit input” to potentially make changes before the end of the year.

“My challenge to the Legislature is, people like Tom and others, keep talking to your constituents, let’s get the best ideas,” DeSantis said.

“But, we do need to do something this year. I don’t think this is something that you can just put off to next March or April, I think there are a lot of looming deadlines and we’ve got to have a plan forward to be able to keep people in their units if that’s what they want to do. And we want to continue to stand strong for safety.”

A special session to address problems related to condos was not in order, as of Aug. 16, according to a statement from outgoing Senate President Kathleen Passidomo.

Monday, Fabricio said the problems surrounding condos rank among the state’s top priorities. He’s a Republican representing part of Miami-Dade County.

“I believe there’s an appetite to address this issue; I believe personally that this is probably the most important issue in the state of Florida at this time,” Fabricio said.

Soliciting solutions

According to DeSantis, coming up with a solution has in part been a struggle without a definitive report on what caused the Surfside collapse from the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

“I said at the time, when you don’t have all the facts about what happened, it’s very possible that you’re going to need to go back and tweak some of the legislation or do additional things to be able to help get where we need to go,” the governor said.

“Now this legislation was well intended. The Legislature engaged in a good faith effort, but it sounds, and this is feedback we’ve been receiving now, for many months, it sounds like there are a lot of condo unit owners who are just not in the financial position to pay large assessments on such short deadlines,” DeSantis said.

Kevin Patrick Cortina, a Hialeah resident and condo association president, agreed.

“Inflation is kind of paramount over the last few years, so now we’re looking at having to, you know, raise the maintenance to a place where it’s in line with inflation, but also to incur the reserves, and then the reserves is [sic] more than likely going to be a 90% increase, or double,” Cortina said.

A point emphasized by Passidomo and DeSantis is that many condo residents are older, retired people on fixed incomes who may not have the flexibility to pay increases in assessments on short notice.

While emphasizing a need to maintain safe living conditions, the group discussed offering low interest loans to either condo building or unit owners.

“We are going to be back, hopefully, to be able to announce that we’ve got a pathway forward on the condos,” DeSantis said.

“Like I said, I think that that it needs to be done this calendar year. I don’t think you can wait until the spring, when the Legislature meets for regular session. They are going to be back for organizational session a bunch of different times between now and the end of the year. I know these deadlines are approaching. We’re very sensitive to that, and we expect and hope that that the Legislature agrees and will want to move accordingly.”