Florida condominium safety reforms Tag Archives

June 5, 2022

Miami Herald Real Estate Column by Roberto Blanch: “Lawmakers Deliver Huge Milestone in Evolution of Florida’s Condo Laws”

by Siegfried Rivera

Siegfried Rivera

The firm’s latest Real Estate Counselor column in today’s Miami Herald is authored by Roberto C. Blanch and titled “Lawmakers Deliver Huge Milestone in Evolution of Florida’s Condo Laws.” The article focuses on the state legislature’s passage of the most far-reaching condominium safety reforms in Florida since Hurricane Andrew. It reads:

. . . The changes include many of the proposals from engineering, legal and community association industry task forces aimed at studying the perceived shortcomings that led to the Surfside catastrophe. They require inspections for buildings three stories or higher 30 years after completion and every 10 years thereafter. Buildings within three miles of the coast must be inspected at 25 years, then every 10 years. The first buildings impacted are slated to be those constructed before July 1, 1992, as they must complete their first structural inspections prior to Dec. 31, 2024.

The inspections are aimed at identifying any substantial structural deterioration that may present life-safety dangers, and whether remedial or preventive repairs are recommended. The reports on their findings will be required to be distributed to association unit owners, prospective buyers and local building departments, which may then require the start of repairs within specified timeframes if substantial deficiencies are identified.

Associations will also be required to conduct reserve studies every 10 years for the funding of structural repairs and, most important, beginning by 2025 they will no longer be allowed to waive funding of many reserve components.

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May 25, 2022

Roberto Blanch Quoted in Today’s Miami Herald Article Headlined “Legislature Reaches Deal on Condos”

by Siegfried Rivera

Siegfried Rivera

The firm’s Roberto Blanch was the first independent expert source quoted in a report in today’s Miami Herald on a new bill filed yesterday during Florida’s legislative special session on home insurance that appears to be on track to be the most significant overhaul of the state’s condominium laws in decades. It was passed by the full Senate yesterday and is poised to be approved by the House today.

The proposed measures, which are in direct response to the horrific Champlain Towers tragedy that claimed 98 lives, include statewide inspections for aging condominium buildings and requirements for condo associations to hold money in reserves to pay for repairs. The bill also requires developers of new buildings to fund reserves, and it imposes legal liabilities on board members who ignore inspection requirements.

The Miami Herald article, which appears under the headline “Legislature Reaches Deal on Condos,” reads:

. . . [The bill] would require condominium associations to conduct reserve studies every decade to make sure they have the resources to finance needed structural repairs. Starting in 2025, they would be barred from waiving a requirement that they put money in reserves to make structural repairs, although they could continue to waive collecting reserve funds for other improvements.

There are hundreds of condo buildings in South Florida and more across the state that would need to ramp up funding quickly if the bill passes, said Roberto Blanch, a Miami-based condo attorney for Siegfried Rivera.

“That is very likely going to impart upon [condo associations] a heavy financial burden,” Blanch said. “It’s kind of like quitting smoking cold turkey. There’s not going to be any gradual step-down for these folks. That could, in some buildings, become a very tough pill to swallow.”

April 14, 2022

The Path Forward for Florida Condo-Safety Reforms

by Roberto C. Blanch

Roberto C. Blanch

Florida’s legislature has received very poor marks for its failure to pass any condominium-safety reforms after the horrific Champlain Towers tragedy. Many condominium residents and community association attorneys expected the state’s lawmakers would strike a deal on a bill to revamp Florida’s existing condo regulations by requiring periodic inspections of buildings.

Pundits and newspaper columnists are lamenting the fact that the two chambers ultimately could not agree on whether to require condominium associations to maintain financial reserves for major structural maintenance and repairs. Given the horrific tragedy that claimed 98 lives, not-to-mention the significant number of aging buildings across the state with potential structural deficiencies, it is no surprise that there has been an outcry after the legislature failed to act.

Taking into consideration that this year’s legislative session began just over six months after the collapse, the legislature’s inability to establish mandatory safety reforms and require specific funding conditions for condominiums throughout the state was actually not very surprising. The issues of high-rise structural inspections, condominium association financial reserves, and mandatory fire sprinklers have flummoxed lawmakers in Florida and other states for decades.

Florida’s legislators should now take the time to work through the difficult details of condominium high-rise safety reforms during the remainder of the year and the pre-session legislative meetings for the 2023 session. There may not be a one-size-fits-all solution for condominium buildings of varying heights and stages in their lifespan.

March 27, 2022

Firm’s Miami Herald Real Estate Column: “What’s Next for Condo-Safety Reforms After Legislature Fails to Act?”

by Siegfried Rivera

Siegfried Rivera

The firm’s latest Miami Herald “Real Estate Counselor” column authored by Gary M. Mars appears in today’s Neighbors section and is titled “What’s Next for Condo-Safety Reforms After Legislature Fails to Act?”. The article focuses on the very poor marks that the state legislature has received in newspaper editorials from the Herald and across the state for its failure to pass any condominium-safety reforms after the horrific Champlain Towers tragedy. It notes the editorials lament that the two chambers ultimately could not reach bicameral agreement on whether to require condominium associations to maintain financial reserves for major structural maintenance and repairs, and they are certainly correct to bemoan the legislative shortfall. Gary’s article continues:

. . . However, from the point of view of someone who has kept a finger on the pulse of the state’s condominium laws for the past 30 years, the failure of the legislators to pass reforms during the session that began just over six months after the collapse was not surprising. Lawmakers in Florida as well as other states have been grappling with the issues of high-rise structural inspections and condominium association financial reserves for decades, not-to-mention fire sprinkler and suppression systems that can be very difficult and expensive to retrofit into older buildings.

It was perhaps overly auspicious of lawmakers to propose sweeping reforms without having first ironed out many of the important aspects of the proposals in the pre-session legislative meetings. They put forth many of the recommendations from task forces from engineering/construction trade groups and The Florida Bar, but they ultimately could not agree on the details of inspection dates and reserve funding levels.

Even with no changes to the state’s laws, significant condo-safety reforms are being implemented by lenders after major changes in underwriting requirements from government-sponsored Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. In fact, many associations have already been struggling to comply with the new requirement from these quasi government agencies for lenders to have the condominium associations for mortgage applicants complete an eight-page form. For towers in their teen years that have never conducted any kind of major engineering inspections, association directors are completely unequipped to attest to their buildings’ current structural integrity in these questionnaires, and the potential legal liabilities would preclude them from making such representations.

January 23, 2022

Firm’s New “Real Estate Counselor” Column in Miami Herald: All Eyes on Florida Legislature for High-Rise Condo Safety Reforms

by Siegfried Rivera

Siegfried Rivera

When the editors of the Miami Herald decided they would like to feature a new column to provide timely legal knowledge on real estate topics for the readers of its Neighbors community news section that appears on Sundays, they turned to the attorneys of Siegfried Rivera as the exclusive contributors for the newspaper’s new Real Estate Counselor. The inaugural edition of the new monthly column authored by the firm’s Gary M. Mars appears in today’s edition and as is titled “All Eyes on Florida Legislature for High-Rise Condo Safety Reforms.” It focuses on the status of reforms after the horrific tragedy of the Champlain Towers South collapse. Gary’s article reads:

. . . So far, the most significant changes have come at the federal level from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two government-sponsored companies that acquire residential loans to offer mortgage-backed securities for investors in the secondary market. They both have a massive influence over the terms for mortgages offered by lenders, and they recently released new requirements for loans for residences in high-rise buildings with five or more attached units to meet their standards for acquisition. The changes, which are now being adopted and implemented by major residential lenders, place a heavy focus on structural and financial stability, and they reinforce the importance of meticulous documentation of all appraisals, meeting minutes, financial statements, engineering reports, inspection reports and reserve studies.

Fannie’s new requirements are already in effect, while Freddie’s will take effect for all mortgages with settlement dates on or after Feb. 28. Its new standards will exclude from eligibility any condo loans for units in communities with what it considers to be critical repair needs, which are defined as those that significantly impact a community’s safety, soundness, structural integrity or habitability, and/or that impact unit values, financial viability or marketability. These include all life-safety hazards, violations of any laws or ordinances, building code violations, fire-safety deficiencies and others.

Subsequently, properties that have already identified elements requiring attention and begun their remediation efforts may become ineligible until such work is completed.