Florida Senate - 2025 SB 690 By Senator Osgood 32-00437-25 2025690__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to condominium structural integrity 3 reserve studies; amending s. 553.899, F.S.; defining 4 the term structural integrity reserve study; 5 requiring condominium associations that govern a 6 building of a specified height to conduct a structural 7 integrity reserve study for a specified purpose; 8 providing that condominium associations that govern a 9 building that does not meet such specified height 10 requirement are not required to conduct a structural 11 integrity reserve study; authorizing certain 12 condominium associations to elect, by a majority vote 13 of their members, to waive or reduce reserve 14 contributions; providing construction; providing an 15 effective date. 16 17 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 18 19 Section 1.Present paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of 20 section 553.899, Florida Statutes, is redesignated as paragraph 21 (c), present subsections (3) through (13) of that section are 22 redesignated as subsections (4) through (14), respectively, a 23 new paragraph (b) is added to subsection (2) of that section, a 24 new subsection (3) is added to that section, and paragraph (d) 25 of present subsection (3) and present subsections (6) and (7) of 26 that section are amended, to read: 27 553.899Mandatory structural inspections for condominium 28 and cooperative buildings. 29 (2)As used in this section, the terms: 30 (b)Structural integrity reserve study has the same 31 meaning as in s. 718.103. 32 (3)(a)Condominium associations that govern a building that 33 is six stories or more in height, as determined by the Florida 34 Building Code, must conduct a structural integrity reserve study 35 of the building for the purpose of estimating future 36 maintenance, repair, and replacement costs of common elements 37 and funding adequate reserves based on the findings of the 38 study. 39 (b)Condominium associations that govern a building that is 40 five stories or less in height, as determined by the Florida 41 Building Code, are not required to conduct a structural 42 integrity reserve study of the building and may, by a majority 43 vote of the unit owners present at a duly called meeting, elect 44 to waive or reduce reserve contributions. 45 (c)A structural integrity reserve study conducted pursuant 46 to this subsection must comply with the standards established 47 under s. 718.112(2)(g). 48 (4)(3) 49 (d)The local enforcement agency may accept an inspection 50 report prepared by a licensed engineer or architect for a 51 structural integrity and condition inspection of a building 52 performed before July 1, 2022, if the inspection and report 53 substantially comply with the requirements of this section. 54 Notwithstanding when such inspection was completed, the 55 condominium or cooperative association must comply with the unit 56 owner notice requirements in subsection (10) (9). The inspection 57 for which an inspection report is accepted by the local 58 enforcement agency under this paragraph is deemed a milestone 59 inspection for the applicable requirements in chapters 718 and 60 719. If a previous inspection and report is accepted by the 61 local enforcement agency under this paragraph, the deadline for 62 the buildings subsequent 10-year milestone inspection is based 63 on the date of the accepted previous inspection. 64 (7)(6)Phase one of the milestone inspection must be 65 completed within 180 days after the owner or owners of the 66 building receive the written notice under subsection (6) (5). 67 For purposes of this section, completion of phase one of the 68 milestone inspection means the licensed engineer or architect 69 who performed the phase one inspection submitted the inspection 70 report by e-mail, United States Postal Service, or commercial 71 delivery service to the local enforcement agency. 72 (8)(7)A milestone inspection consists of two phases: 73 (a)For phase one of the milestone inspection, a licensed 74 architect or engineer authorized to practice in this state shall 75 perform a visual examination of habitable and nonhabitable areas 76 of a building, including the major structural components of a 77 building, and provide a qualitative assessment of the structural 78 conditions of the building. If the architect or engineer finds 79 no signs of substantial structural deterioration to any building 80 components under visual examination, phase two of the 81 inspection, as provided in paragraph (b), is not required. An 82 architect or engineer who completes a phase one milestone 83 inspection shall prepare and submit an inspection report 84 pursuant to subsection (9) (8). 85 (b)A phase two of the milestone inspection must be 86 performed if any substantial structural deterioration is 87 identified during phase one. A phase two inspection may involve 88 destructive or nondestructive testing at the inspectors 89 direction. The inspection may be as extensive or as limited as 90 necessary to fully assess areas of structural distress in order 91 to confirm that the building is structurally sound and safe for 92 its intended use and to recommend a program for fully assessing 93 and repairing distressed and damaged portions of the building. 94 When determining testing locations, the inspector must give 95 preference to locations that are the least disruptive and most 96 easily repairable while still being representative of the 97 structure. If a phase two inspection is required, within 180 98 days after submitting a phase one inspection report the 99 architect or engineer performing the phase two inspection must 100 submit a phase two progress report to the local enforcement 101 agency with a timeline for completion of the phase two 102 inspection. An inspector who completes a phase two milestone 103 inspection shall prepare and submit an inspection report 104 pursuant to subsection (9) (8). 105 Section 2.This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.