Florida lawmakers approve changes to condo safety law passed after Surfside collapse

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida lawmakers gave final approval Wednesday to a bill aimed at reforming a condominium safety law passed in 2022 in the wake of the partial collapse of Champlain Towers South, which killed 98 people in Surfside in June 2021.

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Condo owners have been facing higher costs because of the 2022 law, which requires condo associations to have sufficient reserves to cover major repairs and to conduct a survey of reserves every decade.

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Sponsors of this year’s bill said further changes were needed to allow for more flexibility and to lessen the burden of new costs shouldered by residents, while ensuring protections remain in place to prevent another potential collapse.

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“Without moving one step backwards on safety, this bill provides options, flexibility, and relief so condo owners and associations can prioritize the most important repairs first,” said Republican state Sen. Jennifer Bradley, a sponsor of the bill.

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Residents and attorneys say regulations prior to 2022 allowed condo associations to keep fees low by failing to save money for future repairs, only to hit residents with steep special assessments when repairs couldn’t be put off any longer. The mounting cost of funding deferred maintenance and building up reserves has strained residents in the condo haven of South Florida, especially retirees and those living on fixed incomes.

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In Hallandale Beach, condo owner Kelli Roiter sympathizes with people having trouble paying the higher fees, but said she supports rules requiring associations maintain reserves for needed repairs.

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Her building was built in 1971 and sits a few miles from Champlain Towers South.

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“I’m concerned that this building will collapse,” Roiter told The Associated Press in December. “There are nights I wake up hearing a creak, and I jump. And then I remind myself that, no, no, no, we’re safe. But am I safe?”

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The bill, which now heads to the desk of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, would allow certain condo associations to fund their reserves through a loan or line of credit, give residents greater flexibility to pause payments to their reserves while they prioritize needed repairs, extends the deadline by which associations have to complete structural integrity studies and exempts some smaller buildings from having to do those analyses.

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“We have strived to reach that delicate balance between the safety of our constituents that live in condominiums, as well as understanding the incredible financial impact that sometimes these particular bills that we pass have,” said bill sponsor state Rep. Vicki Lopez, a Miami Republican.

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“I will continue this work as long as we need to do so,” she added.

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___ Kate Payne is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

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