Frequently Asked Questions

On June 24, 2021, Champlain Towers in Surfside, FL partially collapsed, tragically taking the lives of 98 people and displacing hundreds of condominium owners.  Florida has taken swift action to ensure condominiums throughout the state are structurally and financially sound to prevent another devastating tragedy. The Florida Legislature passed Senate Bill (SB) 4-D (special session May 2022), SB 154 (June 2023), and House Bill (HB) 1021, all of which have been signed into law.

SB 4-D increases the safety of Florida’s condominiums by requiring inspections for all condominiums and cooperative buildings that are three stories or higher. SB 4-D requires the following for condominiums and cooperatives:

• Condominiums and cooperatives must conduct a Structural Integrity Reserve Study (SIRS) for buildings that are three stories or higher to ensure that necessary funding is available for any future structural repairs that may be needed. This study must be completed at least every 10 years after the condominium’s creation, regardless of the condominium’s age.
• Structural milestone inspections are required for condominium and cooperative buildings of a certain age, depending on their distance from the coastline.
• To increase transparency and accountability, all structural inspection reports and reserve studies are required to be part of the condominium association’s’ official record and must be provided to potential purchasers of a condo unit.

SB 154 revised the requirement for condominiums to collect reserves and allows a majority of voting residents to elect not to provide reserves or to provide less reserves than required. However, this legislation prohibits waiving or reducing reserve funding for repairs and maintenance of structural components identified in the SIRS.

Additionally, SB 154 refined the requirements of the SIRS to provide clarification on the items required in a SIRS and expanded who can perform a SIRS.

SB 154 allowed a specific type of condominium (multi-condominium with 25 condominiums or more) to provide no reserves or less reserves than required if an alternative funding method was approved by the Division of Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes. The Division received funding to contract with a third-party to review alternative funding methods submitted to the Division for review and approval.

HB 1021 increases transparency and accountability through changes to meeting requirements, voting, education for condominium directors, recordkeeping and reporting, and support from the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR). Additionally, HB 1021 introduced criminal penalties for board members who act in bad faith, increased DBPR’s ability to address resident complaints through investigations, and established a criminal referral process to streamline accountability for individuals that have engaged in criminal activity.

DBPR is dedicated to an efficient, transparent and complete implementation of House Bill 1021. The Department proactively established an implementation team and began to meet the first week of March 2024 to best prepare the Department for potential implementation.

HB 1021 appropriated the Department 65 new positions to conduct investigations on the newly added areas of jurisdiction and enhance public engagement by educating the public on the requirements outlined in Chapter 718, Florida Statutes (F.S.).

In addition to enhancing education, Division of Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes will create and establish a criminal referral unit responsible for referring any individual the Division believes has engaged in fraud, theft, embezzlement, or any other criminal activity to local law enforcement. The Division must have evidence to support an allegation relating to criminal activity before a referral can be made.

In total, the CTMH Division will gain 53 staff members to investigate complaints, provide education, and address condominium constituent concerns. Of these new positions, 20 will join the Division’s Doral office, for a total of 29 CTMH employees in such office. Additionally, the Division has 35 CTMH employees in its Ft. Lauderdale office.

For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2023, the Division received 2,383 condominium complaints. For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2022, the Division received 1,598 condominium complaints. For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2023, the Division received 1,464 condominium complaints.

The Division of Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes (CTMH)  strives to complete an investigation within 90 days of receipt by the division. Learn more about the complaints and investigations process here.

If evidence is provided to support an allegation related to criminal activity, the Division of Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes will refer the case and all supporting documentation to law enforcement for potential criminal prosecution.

If evidence is provided to support an allegation related to criminal activity, the Division will refer the case with documentation provided to law enforcement for potential criminal prosecution. If a legal violation is found, the Division proceeds with enforcement.

In accordance with s. 718.501(1)s, F.S., the Division shall submit an annual report to the Governor, the President of the Florida Senate, the Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives, and the chairs of the legislative appropriations committees. The report shall be submitted by September 30 following the end of the fiscal year.

Click here to review the Division’s past reports.

Constituents can submit a complaint by mail or through our online form on our the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) website. We encourage residents to utilize our checklist, a helpful guide that details the items needed for filing a complaint.

Additionally, a constituent may file a complaint at any of the Division’s five (5) regional office locations. View our locations here.

As of July 1, 2024, the Division of Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes has jurisdiction over the following:

1. Procedural aspects relating to financial issues: annual financial reporting requirements, assessments for common expenses, fines, commingling of reserve and operating funds, unintended debit cards use, the annual operating budget and the allocation of reserve funds, and financial records, including any needed to determine the revenues and expenses of the association.
2. Elections, including election and voting requirements, recall of board members, electronic voting, and elections that occur during an emergency.
3. The maintenance of and unit owner access to association records listed in statute.
4. The procedural aspects of meetings, including unit owner meetings, quorums, voting requirements, proxies, board of administration meetings, and budget meetings.
5. Conflicts of interest discourse related to the operation of the condominium including kickbacks, contracts or other transactions with the association.
6. The removal of a board of director or officer under statute guidelines.
7. The procedural completion of a structural integrity reserve studies.
8. Any written inquiries by unit owners to the association as outlined in statute.

Below you will find a timeline of what you can expect after you file a complaint.

48 Hours – Within 48 hours of submitting the complaint, the Intake Unit completes a review of the case to determine 1) If the case is jurisdictional. 2) If the allegation is a potential violation. 3) If any supporting documentation was provided. The team will contact the constituent by phone to provide an update.

7 – 10 Days – A letter will be sent to the constituent within 7 days after the review is completed notifying the constituent if the case is being closed, or that the case is being transferred to a regional office for further review. If the case is transferred to a regional office, the investigator will provide a process checklist outlineing what to expact over the course of the investigation.

30 Days – The investigator will send out the process checklist every 30 days while the case is under investigation to notify the constituent of the case’s status.

60 Days – The investigator strives to complete the investigation within 60 days.

90 Days – The statutory deadline to complete an investigation is 90 days from the date the investigation was opened.

To file a complaint, complete our online Condominiums/Cooperatives Form and submit it via the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation’s (DBPR) online portal or by mailing it to DBPR’s Tallahassee headquarters. Complaints can also be filed by calling DBPR’s Customer Contact Center at (850) 487-1395 or calling or visiting any of the Division of Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes offices. View their locations and contact information here.

The Division of Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes will perform this review, which involves verifying whether the inspection was performed and whether it was performed by one of the licensed professionals detailed in statute. This review is not a substantive verification of the contents of the inspection report.

The complainant will be contacted to confirm the allegations that will be investigated and the investigator will provide a process checklist which outlines what stage the investigation is in and what to expect next.

The Division of Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes has a team of investigators who review and analyze the complaint. The intake team will review the complaint for three things: 1) is the allegation jurisdictional; 2) is the allegation a violation; and 3) was documentation provided with the complaint. If it is determined that a case should proceed, the case is sent to a regional office for investigation.

The SIRS requirements do not apply to buildings less than three stories in height; single-family, two-family, or three family dwellings with three or fewer habitable stories above ground; any portion or component of a building that has not been submitted to the condominium form of ownership; or any portion or component of a building that is maintained by a party other than the association.

A residential condominium association must complete a SIRS for every building in the condominium that is three stories or higher, as determined by the Florida Building Code.

Unit owner-controlled associations existing on or before July 1, 2022, must have a SIRS completed by December 31, 2024. A residential condominium must have a SIRS completed at least every 10 years after the condominium’s creation.

An association required to complete a milestone inspection on or before December 31, 2026, may complete the SIRS simultaneously with the milestone. However, in no event may the SIRS be completed after December 31, 2026.

The date of existence is based on the date the certificate of occupancy was issued for the condominium by your local building department or enforcement agency.

The recommendation for reserves in each SIRS is determined by the professional who completes the SIRS. For items with a remaining useful life of 25 years or more, the SIRS may recommend that reserves may be maintained or may recommend deferred maintenance costs.

For budgets adopted on or after December 31, 2024, a majority of the association’s total voting interests is required to waive reserves or to use reserves for another purpose. However, associations that are subject to the SIRS requirements may not waive reserves for the SIRS items delineated in ss. 718.112(2)(g) and 719.106(1)(k), F.S., relating to condominium or cooperative associations, respectively, or to use such reserves for other purposes.

Additionally, under certain circumstances, the Division may approve an alternative funding method for multicondominium associations operating at least 25 condominiums or more pursuant to section 718.112(2)(f)(2)(a), Florida Statutes.

The Division will perform this review, which involves verifying whether the inspection was performed and whether it was performed by one of the licensed professionals detailed in statute. This review is not a substantive verification of the contents of the inspection report.

If your budget is adopted on or before December 31, 2024, you may vote to waive or provide less than the required SIRS reserves with a majority vote of the total voting interest of the association. You will need to begin funding your SIRS reserves in accordance with the reserve study January 1, 2026.

If your budget is adopted on or after January 1, 2025, you may not waive your SIRS reserves and need to begin funding your SIRS reserves in accordance with the reserve study.

Within 45 days after receiving the SIRS, the association must provide the division with a statement indicating the study was completed and provided to the unit owners.

A SIRS can be submitted to the Division by email, postal mail, or online. Learn more here.

An association that is required to complete a MI in accordance with section 553.899, Florida Statutes, on or before December 31, 2026, may complete the SIRS simultaneously with the milestone inspection (MI). However, in no event may the SIRS be completed after December 31, 2026.

If the MI required by section 553.899, Florida Statutes, or an inspection completed for a similar local requirement, was performed within the past 5 years and meets the SIRS requirements, such inspection may be used in place of the visual inspection portion of the SIRS.

A milestone inspection is a structural inspection of the building, including the load-bearing elements.

A SIRS is based off a visual inspection of the items required in s. 718.112(2)(g), F.S. and is a budget planning tool that identifies components of a condominium that are the responsibility of the association to maintain and replace and includes a plan to fund future maintenance and repairs.

Any complaints against architects or engineers related to the failure to properly perform the MI or SIRS inspections must be submitted to the  Board of Architecture and Interior Design or the Florida Board of Professional Engineers, respectively. The Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares and Mobile Homes oversees the procedural requirements related to the SIRS when under unit-owner control and the MI when under developer control.

As an important note, DBPR’s Division of Professions regulates building code administrators, inspectors, plans examiners, and architects.  The Board of Professional Engineers regulates professional engineers in the State of Florida.

By requiring independent reserve studies, this law ensures each condominium is properly prepared to keep its occupants safe. In order to ensure flexibility for condominium associations, unless there is an immediate safety problem, the law does not require reserves to be fully funded at the completion of the reserve study.

The amount that needs to be reserved is calculated based on the estimated remaining useful life and estimated replacement cost of the item.

For example: If the cost required to replace the roof in 10 years is $100,000, the association is not required to have $100,000 immediately reserved for repairs. Instead, the association must reserve sufficient funds each year to have the required funding available at the time of anticipated repairs. The required reserve studies help Floridians living in a condominium to be aware of the condition of their building and provide a clear guideline for budgeting to ensure repairs can be completed when necessary.

For budgets adopted on or before December 31, 2024, a majority of the association’s total voting interests is required to waive the collection of reserves. However, associations that are subject to the structural integrity reserve study requirements (Condos with a building that is 3 or more stories in height) may not waive the collection of reserves for certain structural items or use reserves for other purposes.

The SIRS will indicate which items needs to be reserved for and what the remaining useful life of each structural component is. The association should rely on the SIRS for guidance on how to fund each component.

Moreover, with respect to items for which an estimate of useful life is not readily ascertainable or that have an estimated remaining useful life of greater than 25 years, an association is not required to reserve replacement costs, but an association must reserve the amount of deferred maintenance expense, if any, that is recommended.

Yes.

As of January 1, 2023, associations with any buildings three stories or higher, are required to submit information to the Division.

Yes, the Division is still accepting submissions to the database.

Yes, the form can be found here.

Yes, the database can be found here.

The meeting notice requirement depends on the type of meeting being held. Here is a list of the condominium meeting notice requirements.

Notice of all board meetings along with the agenda must be posted conspicuously on the condominium or cooperative property at least 48 hours prior to the meeting, except in an emergency. However, notice of board meetings in which non-emergency special assessments or amendment to rules regarding unit use, will be considered must be mailed, delivered, or electronically transmitted to the unit owners and posted conspicuously on the condominium or cooperative property not less than 14 days prior to the meeting. Condominium: Section 718.112(2)(c), Florida Statutes Cooperative: Section 719.106(1)(c), Florida Statutes.

The notice requirement depends on the meeting type. For example, an election requires the first notice of election to be mailed at least 60 days prior to the scheduled election and the second notice of election to be mailed no less than 14 days but no more than 34 days before the election.