Skyline Sunny Isles Beach, Surfside, Florida, shows dozens of high-rise apartments and luxury hotel buildings in this December 2024 photo. Lynne Sweet/ap Closed subtitles
Florida lawmakers have sent the governor a measure designed to provide relief to thousands of apartment owners.
A law passed a law shortly after a residential tower collapsed in Surfside, outside Miami in 2021, placing strict new requirements on the condominium association. The law requires apartment associations in buildings over 30 to conduct regular structural integrity checks and provide full funding for required repairs.
Many apartment associations missed the first deadline for compliance with the law in December. In some older buildings, apartment owners are asked to perform steep special assessments, which can force some people to leave their homes. These restrictions help slow down apartment sales statewide, especially units in old buildings. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis urged the Legislature to take action.
In response, Florida's House and Senate raised different bills and this week, finally agreed to a compromise measure. The bill now grants the governor signature, which delays the deadline for completing structural integrity checks and allows the condominium association to spend a two-year grace period in its full funding reserve. It also allows apartment associations to obtain approval from most members to ensure loans and lines of credit to fund repairs.
“We are trying to strike a delicate balance between the safety of our constituents and understand the incredible financial implications of these specific bills we pass,” said Vicki Lopez, sponsor of the bill, representing parts of the coast of Miami.
The Florida legislature passed a law to address the structural integrity of aging apartment buildings in 2022 and amended one year later. The Condominium Association delayed about $15 million in repairs to address structural losses in the building before the collapse of the Champlain Towers South building in Surfside.
Legislators say apartment safety measures may require more attention in the upcoming meeting. "I'm sure we have to come back and do more work," Sen. Shevrin Jones, a Democrat representing Broward County, said in the Florida Senate.