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Article
Courtesy of FOX 13 Tampa Bay
By Nancy Gay
Published June 24, 2025
The Brief
- Governor Ron DeSantis spoke in
Clearwater on Monday morning.
- The governor signed a condo relief
bill and the My Safe Florida Condominium Pilot Program bill
at the Island Way Grill.
- The ‘condo relief’ bill takes effect
on July 1, 2025, and the My Safe Florida Condominium Pilot
Program bill will be effective immediately.
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CLEARWATER - Florida
Governor Ron DeSantis signed two bills at Clearwater’s
Island Way Grill on Monday morning that will impact condo
owners.
The governor kicked off Monday’s press conference by talking
about the June 2021 Surfside condo collapse that killed
almost 100 people.
Afterward, the legislature enacted provisions to ensure
nothing like that happened again.
DeSantis said while it was well-intentioned, there were a
lot of people who had concerns about how some of the
assessments were being done, whether people could afford to
stay in their units, etc.
The governor stressed that home values have gone up across
the board, so while condo owners may be able to sell their
units, they wouldn’t have anywhere to go because prices are
up across the board. |
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Governor DeSantis signs condo relief bill in
Clearwater
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DeSantis said he called for condo relief and reform last
year and now he is signing a ‘condo relief’ bill.
The ‘condo relief’ bill DeSantis signed in Clearwater will change the
regulation of condos and cooperatives. He said it would increase
transparency and accountability for condominium associations and provide
financial relief for condo owners.
"People need to be able to afford to live in these units, especially if they
are getting assessments on things that maybe they do need to be done, but it
isn’t like the integrity of the structure is at risk here," DeSantis said.
"They need to be able to work those out, and you shouldn’t have this mandate
apply in that way. The bill also enhances accountability for condo
associations. Very, very treacherous governance with these condo
associations. Good Lord, the politics, no, thank you for wading into that,
so we want to have accountability if those associations are not living up to
what they are supposed to do. This also makes sure that our department in
Florida of professional regulation will be able to prohibit association
managers whose licenses have been revoked from holding any role in a
management firm or being licensed for 10 years."
DeSantis said the bill also empowers condo owners to be more involved in the
decision-making of the associations and gives owners access to the
association’s financial records.
While in Clearwater, DeSantis also signed HB 393, to make improvements to
the My Safe Florida Condo Pilot Program to tailor the program more to the
condo owners. It makes condo associations and condos eligible for grants to
make improvements for resiliency against extreme weather events.
"When you do have those protections, it makes a difference," DeSantis
stated. "We’ve had six major hurricanes in Florida in seven years…When you
have the improvements made. When there are things that are protective
against hurricanes, whether it’s against surge or the winds, those
structures do better. There’s just no question."
The condo relief bill takes effect on July 1, 2025, and HB 393 will take
effect immediately.
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