Owners of units in aging buildings are facing a cost explosion.
By Della Hale
Original Air Date: November 29, 2024
Host: New rules for condos 30 years and older along Florida’s coast will take effect in one month. This makes life for hundreds of people in Sarasota-Manatee much more expensive, if not impossible. It’s also depressing the condo market. News intern Della Hale investigates.
Federal committee chair: The whole goal of this investigation is to learn from it and bring about improvements in codes and changes in practice to minimize the chance that a disaster like this terrible tragedy could happen again.
Della Hale: This is the chair of a federal committee investigating the causes of the 2021 Champlain Towers condominium collapse. In response to the devastating collapse and other structural failures, Florida enacted stringent laws to improve the safety of aging condominiums. House Bill 1021 introduces changes, which impact thousands of condo buildings across the state. They are particularly significant in Sarasota due to its high concentration of older, coastal properties. The updated regulations kick in at the end of the year, and they require milestone inspections and structural integrity reserve studies for all buildings over three stories tall that are at least 30 years old, or 25 years if less than 3 miles from the coast. These measures aim to identify structural deterioration and make sure homeowners associations have sufficient financial reserves for repairs, with initial compliance deadlines set for December 31.
The new legislation is reshaping Sarasota’s real estate landscape, and creates tensions between the need for safety and the lack of affordable housing. This legislation, prompted by Surfside and the bad shape of other buildings , reflects Florida’s broader effort to prioritize structural integrity. Investigators at Surfside concluded that deferred maintenance, saltwater exposure, and insufficient oversight contributed to the tragedy, reinforcing the urgency of these reforms. The economic impact and the social challenges it poses as Sarasota approaches the December 2024 compliance deadline is unclear. While the law addresses critical safety concerns, there is no help from the state or Sarasota County for condo owners who cannot afford higher condo association fees.
Many owners in South Florida, which has a high density of aging high-rise condos along its beaches, now have to sell or even file for bankruptcy. In response, Miami-Dade County has set up a special program that provides financial assistance. Under the “Condominium Special Assessment Program”, owners making less than 140 percent of area median income can get up to $50,000 in assistance to pay for these assessments.
Thousands of condominiums in Sarasota are affected by Florida’s new law and its mandatory inspections and reserve requirements. Experts predict that these rising costs will result in an increase in older condos hitting the market as owners look to avoid costly assessments and reserve contributions.
The expenses associated with complying with the legislation—such as milestone inspections, structural repairs, and fully funded reserves—can range from tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars per unit. This financial pressure is already leading to more properties being listed for sale. The trend is expected to intensify as the December 2024 compliance deadline approaches and buyers become more cautious about the long-term costs of older condos.
The new leaders of the State Legislature have already said they will not call for a special session on the condo issue. They are expected to discuss the consequences of the law and how to best deal with them in the regular session, which begins in March.
This has been Della Hale, reporting for WSLR News.
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