Florida condo compliance, explained

Statewide · Fla. Stat. §553.899

The milestone inspection is a mandatory structural safety inspection created by Senate Bill 4-D in 2022 after the Champlain Towers South collapse in Surfside, and refined by SB 154 (2023), HB 1021 (2024), and HB 913 (2025). It is codified in Florida Statute §553.899 and applies in every Florida county.

Who it applies to

• Condominium and cooperative buildings that are three or more habitable stories.
• Single-family homes and duplexes are exempt.

When it is due

• 30 years after the certificate of occupancy — then every 10 years.
• Coastal jurisdictions (within three miles of the coast) may require the first inspection at 25 years; your local building department confirms which applies.

How it works

• Phase 1 — a visual inspection by a Florida-licensed engineer or architect.
• Phase 2 — triggered only if Phase 1 finds substantial structural deterioration; closer, sometimes invasive, evaluation and a repair plan.
• The report goes to the association and the local building official, and a summary goes to every unit owner.

Statewide · Fla. Stat. §718.112(2)(g)

A SIRS is a reserve-planning study required for the same 3-story-plus condo and co-op buildings, at least every 10 years. It inventories the building's major components, estimates each one's remaining useful life and replacement cost, and sets a plan to fund those repairs — so associations aren't caught without reserves when a system fails.

What must be studied and reserved for

• Roof; load-bearing walls and primary structure; floor; foundation.
• Fireproofing and fire-protection systems; plumbing; electrical.
• Waterproofing and exterior painting; windows and exterior doors.
• Any other item with a deferred-maintenance or replacement cost of $10,000 or more.

Reserves for these structural items generally can no longer be waived. Some timing relief lets a SIRS align with the milestone inspection — confirm current deadlines with the Florida DBPR.

County · Miami-Dade & Broward (HVHZ)

Long before the state law, Miami-Dade (since 1975) and Broward (since 2006) required aging buildings to pass a structural and electrical safety inspection by a Florida-licensed engineer or architect, then again every 10 years. These High-Velocity Hurricane Zone programs still run in addition to the state milestone inspection.

Miami-Dade

• Administered under County Code §8-11(f); the county sends a Notice of Required Recertification, and you have 90 days to file the engineer's report.
• After the 2022 update, coastal condo/co-op towers can be due as early as 25–30 years; many others at 40, then every 10.
• Exempt: single-family, duplexes, and buildings ≤ 2,000 sq ft with an occupant load of 10 or fewer.
• Miami-Dade building recertification →

Broward

• Buildings 40 years and older, then every 10 years; structural + electrical.
• Exempt: single- and two-family dwellings, buildings under 3,500 sq ft, and certain government, school, and tribal buildings.
• Broward building safety program →

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On the coast, most structural deterioration starts with the reinforcing steel, not the concrete. Salt air and moisture drive chlorides through the concrete to the rebar; the steel corrodes and expands up to several times its volume, and that pressure cracks and spalls the surrounding concrete. The spall you can see is the symptom — the corroding steel is the cause.

How a proper repair is done

• Remove all deteriorated and delaminated concrete back to sound material.
• Clean, treat, or replace the corroded reinforcing steel; apply corrosion inhibitors.
• Rebuild the section to its original strength with repair mortar, dry-pack, or shotcrete.
• Re-establish waterproofing so water stops reaching the steel — the step that protects everything else.

Typical scopes include spall repair, post-tension remediation, balcony and slab-edge repair, structural steel treatment, and full waterproofing systems. See the full list on our services.

Every system has a useful life. Mapping them lets a board plan reserves, time the work, and avoid paying twice. Waterproofing is usually the highest-return item, because it protects almost everything else.

• Painting — about every 10 years.
• Structural repairs / recertification cycle — about every 10 years.
• Waterproofing (horizontal surfaces) — 10–20 years, and the most often neglected.
• Roofing — about 20 years.
• Windows & glass doors — about 30 years.
• Metal doors — about 40 years.