What is SB 4-D and why might it make your older condo suddenly unaffordable?
If you own a Florida condo over three stories tall and over three decades old, you may be seeing some serious association fee hikes coming soon.
After a 12-story Surfside condo partially collapsed without warning in 2021, killing 98 people, new regulations were rushed into place to require all condo developments over 30 years old — which is about two-thirds of all condos in Florida — to undergo inspections, address critical issues and build up reserve funds for future repairs. That may end up being pricey.
According to the SB 4-D bill, the deadline for inspecting buildings 30 years old and older is Dec. 31, 2024.
What is SB 4-D?
After the Surfside tragedy, Florida legislators took aim at a condo law that allowed associations to defer critical maintenance and avoid holding back reserves for repairs and maintenance. During a special legislative session in May 2022 to address the tanking property insurance market, they passed SB 4-D, Building Safety, which addressed roof repairs but also laid out inspection rules for condos meeting certain specifications. Under the bill:
Condo and coop association buildings three or more stories high must have a phase one visual "milestone inspection" by an architect or engineer when the building is:
30 years old, and every 10 years after that, or
25 years old and every 10 years after if the building is within three miles of a coastline.
If the first inspection turns up evidence of "substantial structural deterioration" a deeper, phase two inspection is required.
Full inspection reports must be published online and provided to owners, tenants and prospective buyers.
The condo association must begin repairs within one year of receiving a report calling for work to be done. If not, local enforcement must review and determine if the building is safe for human occupancy.
Condo association directors who “willfully and knowingly” fail to have structural inspections performed are liable to civil suits.
Associations of affected buildings or developers of new ones must complete a study every 10 years to determine the reserve funds needed for future major repairs or replacement of common elements including load-bearing walls or other primary structural members, floor, foundation, fireproofing and fire protection systems, plumbing, and any item with a deferred maintenance or replacement cost that exceeds $10,000.
Associations must fully fund the reserve fund and use it for structural repairs.
Designed to fail: How Florida’s lack of condo board oversight could mean another Surfside
What happened to the Surfside condo?
On June 24, 2021, a large part of the 12-story Champlain Towers South condo building in Surfside suddenly collapsed at approximately 1:20 in the morning when most of the residents were asleep. Only two teenagers and a woman survived the collapse and no survivors were found in the 40-foot high pile of rubble despite the best efforts of an international coalition of rescue workers working 24 hours a day for two weeks.
About three dozen people were able to escape from the rest of the building that remained up, but 98 people died in the disaster.
What happened in Surfside? Damage photos, wreckage, search and rescue from Surfside devastation
Why did the Surfside condo collapse?
Investigators said the building had been unstable and in need of structural repair. One expert hired by the city of Surfside found that the south tower had been built with different materials than the north side, which didn't collapse. A study by the Florida International University discovered that below-ground saltwater assaults from rising seas against the tower had more than doubled over 26 years.
An engineer hired in 2018 to prepare for an inspection found a "major error" in the design that was allowing water to settle in areas, saying “abundant cracking and spalling of varying degrees was observed in the concrete columns, beams, and walls.” The condo board delayed addressing the issue for years and a Miami-Dade County grand jury advised the state to pass sweeping reforms to keep that from happening again.
But there may be multiple causes, including the fact that the buildings built in the 50s, 60s and 70s were meant to last 20-30 years and are slowly deteriorating.
'Major problems': There were many warnings before the Florida building collapsed
How many old condos are in Florida?
Florida has more than 1.5 million condo units, more than any other state in the country.
In 2021 a USA TODAY Network analysis of property records in the coastal Florida communities of Miami Beach, Fort Myers Beach, Daytona Beach and Palm Beach showed over a thousand condos close to the water that were three stories or taller and more than 30 years old.
Will SB 4-D and condo inspections cause my association fees to rise?
Almost certainly.
Previously the Florida Condominium Act allowed developers and condo boards to waive the obligation to fund reserves for maintenance and repairs. A 2021 study by the Florida Bar task force found it wasn't unusual for condo associations to waive reserves every year, and some had done so for decades.
Beginning Dec. 31, 2024, the deadline for the first round of those structural inspections to be completed, condo boards in Florida must show their financial reserves are fully funded for maintenance, inspections and potential future repairs. Many associations may face repair and replacement costs in the millions.
That means increased monthly association fees and special assessments to catch up, and that could make condo living too expensive for many people, especially retirees living on fixed incomes. Some condo owners may find it easier and cheaper to sell the buildings.
'Save lives, not just money': Surfside collapse grand jury report calls for reforms, warns of further troubles
Clayton Park, The Daytona Beach News-Journal, contributed to this article.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Florida condominium safety: New regulations have December deadline
