Florida condominium reserve study requirements

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Florida condo reserve study requirements Following the 2021 partial collapse of Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Florida enacted statewide rules requiring condominium associations to plan and fund long-term repairs to critical building systems. These rules center on a “Structural Integrity Reserve Study” (SIRS), a reserve-planning study tied to building safety components and conducted on a recurring cycle for covered buildings. 

Scope and frequency

Florida Statutes chapter 718 require a condominium association to obtain a SIRS at least every ten years after a condominium’s creation for each building that is three stories or more in height, as determined by the Florida Building Code. The study must be based on a visual inspection and, at minimum, evaluate: the roof; the structure (including load-bearing walls and other primary structural members and systems); fireproofing and fire protection systems; plumbing; electrical systems; waterproofing and exterior painting; windows and exterior doors; and any other item with a deferred-maintenance or replacement cost exceeding US$10,000 whose failure would negatively affect those components.

Who may perform the study

A SIRS may be performed by any qualified person, but the visual-inspection portion must be performed or verified by a Florida-licensed engineer or architect, or by a professional holding a recognized reserve-study credential (such as Reserve Specialist or Professional Reserve Analyst). The report must identify each inspected item, estimate remaining useful life and replacement or deferred-maintenance costs, and provide a funding schedule that reaches the estimated cost by the end of the remaining useful life.

Funding and budgeting

For associations required to obtain a SIRS, reserves must be maintained for the items identified in the statute, and the reserve amounts must be based on the association’s most recent SIRS. For budgets adopted on or after 31 December 2024, unit-owner-controlled associations that must obtain a SIRS may not waive or reduce reserves for the listed components (with limited, statute-specified exceptions). Associations must distribute the completed study (or notice of its availability) to owners within 45 days of receipt and report completion to the state Division of Condominiums within the same timeframe.

Relationship to milestone inspections

Florida also mandates “milestone” structural inspections for certain buildings under section 553.899, Florida Statutes. If a qualifying milestone (or comparable local inspection) was performed within the previous five years and meets statutory criteria, an association may use that inspection in place of the SIRS’s visual-inspection portion.

Deadlines and later amendments

The 2022 Building Safety Act (SB 4-D) and 2023 amendments (SB 154) initially set a deadline of 31 December 2024 for associations existing on or before 1 July 2022 to complete their first SIRS for each covered building, with an outside backstop of 31 December 2026 when paired with a milestone inspection.

In 2025, House Bill 913 (ch. 2025-175, Laws of Florida) revised the program. Among other changes, HB 913 extended the initial SIRS deadline for eligible owner-controlled associations from 31 December 2024 to 31 December 2025 and directed state agencies to develop a standard SIRS format. It also refined applicability to buildings of three “habitable” stories or more and added procedural requirements (including an officer or director affidavit acknowledging receipt of a completed SIRS). Most provisions took effect 1 July 2025.

Administration and guidance

The Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares and Mobile Homes (Department of Business and Professional Regulation) publishes SIRS guidance and reporting instructions for associations, including plain-language summaries of study purpose, component scope and filing expectations.