green palm trees near high rise buildings under blue sky during daytimeRecently Governor DeSantis signed into law Senate Bill 154 (SB 154). This was an amendment to SB4D One of the more significant updates to the Florida Condominium Act, SB 4D is viewed by many experts in the fields as a crucial step toward preventing another catastrophic incident similar to the Surfside tragedy. SB 154 attempts to clarify ambiguities in SB 4D.
Here are some of the changes that could affect our clients
  1. Milestone Inspections: The Florida law revises milestone inspection requirements, focusing on residential condominium and cooperative buildings. It clarifies responsibilities, cost-sharing, and reporting requirements for associations. It also provides an option for local enforcement agencies to set a 25-year inspection requirement based on environmental conditions. In Western Washington we don’t have the same number of older high rise buildings that Florida does so I don’t see a statewide requirement. However for any multi-story building I see the long term benefit of this type of inspection.
  2. Reserves and Structural Integrity Reserve Study (SIRS): The law introduces an alternative funding method for multi-condominium associations to fulfill reserve funding obligations. It revises requirements for reserve funding, SIRS recommendations, and reserve assessments. Certain buildings and portions/components may be exempt from SIRS requirements.
    I believe that Washington State will require Structural Integrity Reserve Studies in the near future. Many of the condominiums is the larger cities are getting older and don’t get inspected on a regular basis. This just make sense
  3. Maintenance Obligations of the Association: The law specifies maintenance responsibilities for condominium and cooperative associations, including the repair and replacement of applicable property. After turnover of control, the association must maintain property as specified by the developer until new maintenance protocols are obtained.
  4. Presale Disclosures: Developers and sellers of condominiums must provide prospective buyers with statements regarding milestone inspections, SIRS, and reserve studies, if applicable. The law introduces additional presale notice requirements in contracts to ensure buyer awareness. Washington State already has pretty good disclosure laws so I don’t see a big change here.