Article
Courtesy of WINK NEWS
By
Annette Montgomery
Published February 13, 2023
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In the wake of 2021’s tragedy in Surfside, when 98 people died in a
condominium collapse, a Floridian group is working to pass new laws that
would change how frequently buildings are inspected and make sure there is
money to make repairs when needed.
Supporters of Senate
Bill 1702 say they just want to make sure tragedies like the
collapse of Champlain Towers in Surfside never happen again.
One of those supporters, Martin Langesfeld, lost his sister
and brother-in-law that day and says he wants more
restrictions when it comes to inspections at high-rise
condominiums.
The bill would require milestone inspections for
multi-family buildings taller than three stories. It would
also require these buildings to be inspected 30 years after
they are built and then every 10 years after that. Leaders
with the Community Associations Institute are advocating for
this bill and say it will help to ensure there are no more
catastrophes on the scale of Surfside.
“It doesn’t matter how many years it
takes for the inspection, there has to be a common ground
and things need to get stricter,” Langesfeld said. |
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“What needs to happen is these buildings need to be inspected,” said Dawn
Bauman, executive director of the Foundation for Community Association
Research. “And these buildings need to be inspected in a timely period of
time and they need to make sure that there’s funding available for regular
maintenance.”
While they could not say for sure whether or not this bill would have
prevented the Surfside collapse if it had been in place in 2021, these
supporters do say this bill is a step in the right direction. Leaders with
CAI say that without a reserve fund, some condos are forced to put
maintenance projects on hold, even when they are critically important.
This is why they’re pushing for Senate Bill 7042 to be passed. It would give
condo boards the authority to make investments for required maintenance
projects.
“[There] has to be the ability to have, whether it be a line of credit, or
an approved special assessment… or some funding source in place to ensure
that the necessary projects can be funded at a time when they need to be
funded,” said Michael Bender, chair of the Florida Legislative Action
Committee of CAI.
“Forcing the maintenance to be done on time, forcing the reserve study to
identify what needs to be fixed when and repaired when and replaced is super
important for the safety of these buildings,” Bauman said.
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