HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STAFF ANALYSIS
BILL #: CS/CS/HB 1395 Management and Safety of Condominium and Cooperative Buildings
SPONSOR(S): Commerce Committee, Regulatory Reform & Economic Development Subcommittee, Lopez,
V.
TIED BILLS: IDEN./SIM. BILLS: CS/CS/SB 154
REFERENCE ACTION ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR or
BUDGET/POLICY
CHIEF
1) Regulatory Reform & Economic Development 11 Y, 0 N, As CS Wright Anstead
Subcommittee
2) State Administration & Technology 13 Y, 0 N Helpling Topp
Appropriations Subcommittee
3) Commerce Committee 19 Y, 0 N, As CS Wright Hamon
SUMMARY ANALYSIS
On June 24, 2021, Champlain Towers South, a 12-story beachfront condominium building in the Town of Surfside,
partially collapsed resulting in the death of 98 people. In response, during Special Session, 2022D, SB 4 -D was
enacted to provide building safety inspection requirements (milestone inspections) and reserve requirements
(structural integrity reserve study, or SIRS) for condominium and cooperative association buildings.
The bill clarifies provisions created by SB 4-D. Specifically, the bill:
 Requires certain condominium and cooperative buildings to have a milestone inspection when they reach 25
years of age, without regard to location, and allows local governments to extend the deadline to complete a
milestone inspection, under certain circumstances.
 Allows condominiums and cooperatives to use prior inspection reports completed within the last 5 years for
both the milestone inspection and SIRS, under certain circumstances.
 Requires phase 2 of milestone inspections to begin within 180 days of completing phase 1, if necessary.
 Allows a certified reserve specialist or professional reserve analyst by the Community Associations Institute
or the Association of Professional Reserve Analysts to perform the SIRS visual inspection.
 Limits setting mandatory reserves for only those SIRS items that have 25 years or less of useful life left.
 Requires the Florida Building Commission to create a building safety and inspection program.
 Requires milestone inspection and SIRS reports and disclosures to be included in sales co ntracts.
 Allows unit owners to utilize pre-suit mediation to resolve certain disputes related to milestone inspections
and SIRS.
 Allows certain multicondominiums to utilize an alternative funding method approved by the Department of
Business and Professional Regulation in lieu of maintaining reserves for SIRS items.
 Provides that the responsibility to maintain certain common elements may be assigned to the unit owner by
the declaration.
Regarding new flood insurance coverage requirements in SB 2 -A from Special Session 2022A, the bill delays such
requirements until January 1, 2027, and provides exemptions from such requirements for certain Citizens Property
Insurance Corporation policyholders who own or reside in a condominium.
The bill may have an insignificant negative fiscal impact on state government and does not appear to affect local
governments. The bill provides for $1,301,928 in recurring funds, $67,193 in nonrecurring funds, and 10 FTEs. See
Fiscal Analysis & Economic Impact Statement.
Except as otherwise provided, the bill is effective upon becoming law.
This docum ent does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill sponsor or House of Representatives .
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 FULL ANALYSIS
I. SUBSTANTIVE ANALYSIS
A. EFFECT OF PROPOSED CHANGES:
Community Associations – Background
The Florida Division of Condominiums, Timeshares and Mobile Homes (“Division”), within the
Department of Business and Professional Regulation (“DBPR”), provides consumer protection for
Florida residents living in regulated communities through education, complaint resolution, alternative
dispute resolution, and developer disclosure. The Division has regulatory authority over:
 Condominium associations.
 Cooperative associations.
 Florida mobile home parks and related associations.
 Vacation units and timeshares.
 Yacht and ship brokers and related business entities.
 Homeowners’ associations (limited to the arbitration of election and recall disputes).
Condominiums
A condominium is a form of real property ownership created under ch. 718, F.S., the “Condominium
Act.” Persons own condominium units along with an undivided right of access to the condominium’s
common elements.1 A condominium is created by recording a declaration of condominium, which
governs the relationship between condominium unit owners and the condominium association, in the
public records of the county where the condominium is located. 2 All unit owners are members of the
condominium association, and the association is responsible for common elements operation and
maintenance.3 The condominium association is overseen by an elected board of directors, commonly
referred to as a “board of administration,” which is responsible for the association’s administration. 4
Cooperatives
A cooperative is a form of property ownership created under ch. 719, F.S., the “Cooperative Act,” in
which the real property is owned by the cooperative association and individual units are leased to the
residents, who own shares in the association.5 The lease payment amount is the pro-rata share of the
cooperative’s operational expenses. Cooperatives operate similarly to condominiums, and the laws
regulating cooperatives are largely identical to those regulating condominiums.
Fiduciary Relationship
Board members and officers of a condominium or cooperative association have a fiduciary relationship
with the unit owners in their condominium or cooperative. This fiduciary relationship requires board
members and officers to act in good faith and in the best interests of the unit owners. Under the
“business judgment rule,” the board must act within the scope of its authority, in a reasonable manner,
and must perform its duties with the care and responsibility that an ordinarily prudent person would
exercise under similar circumstances.6
Board members and officers can be the subject of a cause of action for a breach of their fiduciary duty.
However, a person bringing such action must prove that the board member or officer had a fiduciary
1 S. 718.103(11), F.S.
2 S. 718.104(2), F.S.
3 S. 718.103(2), F.S.
4 S. 718.103(4), F.S.
5 S. 719.103(2), (26), F.S.
6 Ss. 718.111(1) and 719.104(8), F.S.
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 duty that was breached that caused damages and rose to the level of criminal activity, fraud, self-
dealing, unjust enrichment, or other improper personal benefit. 7
To determine if a board member or officer breached his or her fiduciary duty, Florida courts look to see
if the board member or officer violated the business judgment rule by determining if the association had
the contractual or statutory authority to perform the relevant act and if the decision was reasonable. The
business judgment rule generally will protect association board members and officers, as long those
board members or officers act within the scope of their authority and in a reasonable manner. 8
It is a breach of a board member or officer’s fiduciary duty if an association fails to complete a
milestone inspection or structural integrity reserve study.
Florida Building Code
In response to the destruction of Hurricane Andrew, in 1998, the Legislature approved a single state
building code and enhanced the oversight role of the state over local code enforcement. In 2000, the
Legislature authorized the implementation of the Building Code (Code), and that first edition replaced
all local codes on March 1, 2002, making it the first statewide building code in the United States. 9
The “Florida Building Codes Act” was created to provide a mechanism for the uniform adoption,
updating, interpretation, and enforcement of a single, unified state Code. The Code must be applied,
administered, and enforced uniformly and consistently from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. 10
The Florida Building Commission (Building Commission) was statutorily created to implement the
Code. The Building Commission, which is housed within DBPR, is a 19-member technical body made
up of design professionals, contractors, and government experts in various disciplines covered by the
Code. The Building Commission reviews several International Codes published by the International
Code Council, the National Electric Code, and other nationally adopted model codes (model codes) to
determine if the Code needs to be updated and adopts an updated Code every three years. 11
Local Enforcement of the Florida Building Code
It is the intent of the Legislature that local governments have the power to inspect all buildings,
structures, and facilities within their jurisdiction in protection of the public’s health, safety, and welfare.12
Every local government must enforce the Building Code and issue building permits. 13 It is unlawful for a
person, firm, or corporation to construct, erect, alter, repair, secure, or demolish any building without
first obtaining a permit from the local government enforcing agency or from such persons as may, by
resolution or regulation, be directed to issue such permit, upon the payment of reasonable fees as set
forth in a schedule of fees adopted by the enforcing agency. 14
Any construction work that requires a building permit also requires plans and inspections to ensure the
work complies with the Building Code. The Building Code requires certain building, electrical, plumbing,
mechanical, and gas inspections.15 Construction work may not be done beyond a certain point until it
7 Harris B. Katz, Condo column: Can board members be sued and how can an association remove a director? , TC Palm (Oct. 17,
2019) https://www.tcpalm.com/story/news/local/florida/2019/ 10/ 17/can-condo-board-members-sued-and-how-can-association-
remove-director/3907749002/ (last visited Mar. 19, 2023).
8 Id.; Hollywood Towers Condominium Association v. Hampton , 40 So. 3d 784, 787 (Fla. 4th DCA 2010).
9 Id.
10 See s. 553.72(1), F.S.
11 Ss. 553.73 and 553.74, F.S.
12 S. 553.72, F.S.
13 Ss. 125.01(1)(bb), 125.56(1), and 553.80(1), F.S.
14 Ss. 125.56(4)(a) and 553.79(1), F.S.
15 2020 Florida Building Code (7th ed.), s. 110.
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 passes an inspection. Generally speaking, a permit for construction work that passes the required
inspections is considered completed or closed. 16
The Florida Building Code does not contain mandatory requirements for the maintenance and
inspection of existing buildings in the state. Mandatory inspections of existing condominium buildings
were once required by Florida law, but the law was repealed shortly after enactment. In 2008, the
Legislature mandated that every condominium greater than three stories in height be inspected for
maintenance, useful life, and replacement costs of the common elements every five years by an
engineer or architect licensed in the state. 17 A condominium association could waive this requirement
for five years by a majority vote of interests present at a properly called meeting of the association. 18
This provision was repealed in 2010.19
Threshold Buildings
In 1981, a “five-story Harbour Cay Condominium building in Cocoa Beach, Florida, collapsed during the
placement of concrete for the roof slab, killing 11 workers and injuring 23 more.” 20 In response to this
tragedy, the Legislature instituted threshold building inspections, requiring licensed “special inspectors”
to conduct structural inspections for all threshold buildings.21 A special inspector is a licensed architect
or registered engineer to conduct inspections of threshold buildings. 22
A threshold building is defined as any building which is greater than three stories or 50 feet in height, or
which has an assembly occupancy classification, as defined in the Building Code, which exceeds 5,000
square feet in area and an occupant content of greater than 500 persons. 23 An enforcing agency must
require a special inspector to perform structural inspections on a threshold building during new
construction or during repair or restoration projects in which the structural system or structural loading
of a building is being modified.24
For a building that qualifies as a threshold building, a structural inspection plan must be submitted by
the special inspector and the design professional of record to the enforcing agency prior to the issuance
of a building permit for the construction of or modification to the building. 25 However, a fee-simple
owner may declare a building a threshold building even when it does not meet the definitions. 26
The inspection plan for a threshold building provides specific inspection instructions or the adequate
inspection of construction. The owner must retain the services of a special inspector who must inspect
the building according to the special inspection plan. In addition, the inspector must determine that a
professional engineer who specializes in shoring design has inspected the shoring and reshoring for
conformance with the shoring and reshoring plans submitted to the enforcing agency. 27 Special
inspectors report directly to local building administrators. The role of threshold building inspectors is
unique to Florida.28
16 Doug Wise, Closing Inactive & Excluded Building Permits, Palm Beach County Planning, Zoning & Building Department,
Building Division, at: http://discover.pbcgov.org/pzb/building/BuildingCodes/PBO-
126%20%E2%80%93%20Closing%20Inactive%20and%20Excluded%20Building%20Permits.pdf (last visited Mar. 19, 2023).
17 Ch. 2008-28, L.O.F.
18 Id.
19 Ch. 2010-176, s. 59, L.O.F.
20 National Institute of Standards and Technology, Harbour Cay Condominium Collapse Florida 1981,
available at https://www.nist.gov/el/harbour-cay-condominium-collapse-florida-1981 (last visited Mar. 19, 2023).
21 Florida Building Commission, Florida Building Construction Standards available at
https://www.floridabuilding.org/fbc/commission/FBC_ 0413/Co mmission_Education_POC/ 173/173-1-MATERIA L%20.pdf (last
visited Mar. 19, 2023).
22 See s. 553.71, F.S.
23 Id.
24 S. 553.79(5)(a), F.S.
25 Id.
26 Id.
27 Id.
28 Florida Board of Professional Engineers, What Are Threshold Building Inspectors?, available at https://fbpe.org/what-are-threshold-
building-inspectors/ (last visited Mar. 19, 2023).
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 Champlain Towers South and SB 4-D (Special Session D 2022)
On June 24, 2021, Champlain Towers South, a 12-story beachfront condominium building in the Town
of Surfside, which was completed in 1981, partially collapsed resulting in the death of 98 people.
In response, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) within the United States
Department of Commerce launched a full investigation into the cause of the building’s failure.
According to NIST, it will provide regular progress updates, but because of the amount of evidence
and, the investigation could take multiple years to complete.29
Despite the fact that the investigations to determine the cause of the building’s failure may take months
if not years to complete, the condition of the building prior to collapse and released documentation
about the building’s history have revealed potential factors that may have caused or contributed to the
building’s collapse,30 including issues with the pool deck31 and building design flaws.32 According to
news reports, the association also delayed the repairs of the issues identified in the engineering reports
because of infighting among members of the association. 33
In response to the Champlain Towers South collapse, during the Special Session D, 2022, SB 4-D34
was enacted to revise the laws related to building safety. The bill provided building safety inspection
requirements for condominium and cooperative association buildings (milestone inspections), increased
the rights of unit owners and prospective unit owners to access information regarding the condition of
such buildings, and revised the requirements for associations to fund reserves for the continued
maintenance and repair of such buildings (structural integrity reserve study).
SB 4-D required the Building Commission to make recommendations to the Governor and Legislature
regarding the inspection requirements in the bill. This report was completed on December 14, 2022,
and some of the recommendations were included in the bill.
SB 4-D also required associations to report to the Division on or before January 1, 2023, the number of
buildings that are three stories or higher in height and the total number of units in such buildings and