Florida compliance

Florida Milestone Inspections & SIRS: What Actually Applies in 2026

Florida requires a milestone structural inspection of any residential condominium building three habitable stories or more by December 31 of the year it turns 30, then every 10 years. A Structural Integrity Reserve Study was due by December 31, 2025 — December 31, 2026 at the latest if done with the milestone inspection. Associations subject to a SIRS can no longer vote to waive those reserves. The 2026 session changed none of this.

Last reviewed: September 2026 · First published 2026-08-01 · Cited to the 2026 Florida Statutes · Not legal advice

What changed after Surfside

The Champlain Towers South collapse in Surfside on June 24, 2021 produced four consecutive legislative rewrites. Each one amended the last, which is why so much published guidance is out of date. Here is the full chain, with what each bill did and whether it still controls.

Who must get a milestone inspection?

The operative text is s. 553.899(3)(a), Fla. Stat.[1] The word habitable matters — it was added by HB 913 in 2025 and narrowed the population of covered buildings relative to the original 2022 language.

The 25-year trigger is local and discretionary

Under s. 553.899(3)(b), the local enforcement agency may determine that local circumstances — "including environmental conditions such as proximity to salt water" — require the milestone inspection be performed by December 31 of the year the building reaches 25 years of age.[1]

This is the practical takeaway for boards and managers: you cannot answer the 25-year question from the statute alone. You have to check with the building department in your jurisdiction. A 26-year-old oceanfront building in one county may be on a different clock than an identical building one county over.

What are the actual deadlines?

Extensions are available "upon a showing of good cause" that the inspection cannot be timely completed, under s. 553.899(3)(c). Inspections performed before July 1, 2022 may be accepted if they substantially comply, under s. 553.899(3)(d).[1]

Where a phase two report identifies substantial structural deterioration, repairs must be commenced within 365 days after receiving the report (s. 553.899(11)), unless a local ordinance sets a shorter period.[1]

Owner notice runs on its own clock under s. 718.112(2)(h): within 14 days of the local enforcement agency's written notice that a milestone inspection is required, the association must tell owners the inspection is required and its deadline; within 45 days of receiving a phase one or phase two report, it must distribute the inspector-prepared summary to every owner, whatever the findings.[2]

What is a SIRS, and what must it cover?

A SIRS must address, at minimum:[2]

• Roof
• Structure, including load-bearing walls and primary structural members and systems
• Fireproofing and fire protection systems
• Plumbing
• Electrical systems
• Waterproofing and exterior painting
• Windows and exterior doors
• Any other item with a deferred maintenance or replacement cost above the statutory threshold whose failure would affect one of the items above

That threshold was raised from $10,000 to $25,000 by HB 913 (2025) and is adjusted annually for inflation, with the Division posting the figure each year. DBPR's posted 2026 threshold is $25,675.[4]

Within 45 days after receiving the SIRS, the association must (1) distribute a copy — or a notice that it is available — to each unit owner, and (2) give the Division a statement, on the Division's form, that the study was completed and made available to owners.[2][6] Separately, every condominium association had to create a Division online account by October 1, 2025 (s. 718.501(3)).[15] HB 913 also requires the study to include a recommended funding schedule based on a baseline funding plan and to separately identify items for which reserves are not required.[2] SIRS and milestone inspection reports are official records that must be kept for 15 years (s. 718.111(12)(a)).[12]

Can an association still waive or pause reserves?

The no-waiver rule in s. 718.112(2)(f) survived the 2026 session intact. SB 722 (2026), which would have let certain associations waive or reduce reserve contributions by majority vote, died in the Regulated Industries committee on March 13, 2026.[7]

But HB 913 (2025) materially softened how the obligation can be met:

Two-budget pause for milestone repairs

On approval of a majority of the total voting interests, the board may temporarily pause or reduce reserve contributions for no more than two consecutive annual budgets, for the purpose of funding repairs recommended by the milestone inspection. Requires a milestone inspection completed within the previous two calendar years, and applies only to budgets adopted on or before December 31, 2028. Not available to a developer-controlled association, one where non-developer owners have been in control for less than a year, or one controlled by bulk assignees or bulk buyers.[2]

Pause where the building is uninhabitable

Separately, a pause created by HB 1021 (2024) applies where the local building official determines the entire condominium building is uninhabitable due to a natural emergency. As the statute now reads, the board may pause or reduce reserve funding until the building is determined habitable — no member vote is required — and must resume contributions immediately once it is.[2][8]

Funding by assessment, line of credit, or loan

Reserves for SIRS items "may be funded by regular assessments, special assessments, lines of credit, or loans." A special assessment, line of credit, or loan requires approval of a majority vote of the total voting interests.[2]

Higher item threshold

$10,000 → $25,000, CPI-adjusted annually; $25,675 for 2026.[4]

What did the 2026 legislative session change?

• SB 722 — SIRS reserve waiver/reduction. Died in Regulated Industries, 3/13/2026.[7]
• CS/SB 1498 — Community Associations. Died in Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and General Government, 3/13/2026.[9]
• CS/SB 1706 and CS/HB 1497 — My Safe Florida Condominium Pilot Program expansion. Both died 3/13/2026.[10]

The one 2026 enactment that reaches community associations is CS/CS/HB 797, Chapter 2026-168 (effective July 1, 2026), and it does so because associations are chapter 617 nonprofit corporations — not through chapter 718. It adds "qualified directors," director liability immunity, one-year default terms with holdover, proxy defaults, and merger authority.[11] Its only direct touch on chapter 718 is a reenactment of s. 718.111(1)(d) to pick up the amended chapter 617 references.

The other 2026 change to chapter 718 is SB 104, Chapter 2026-14, the annual reviser's bill (effective May 12, 2026). It amended ss. 718.111 and 718.112 only to correct cross-references to subunits renumbered by HB 913 — no change in substance.[16]

How this connects to insurance

The post-Surfside laws are structural laws, not insurance laws. Their effect on insurance is mostly indirect but substantial: mandatory inspections surface deferred maintenance, mandatory reserves compete with the operating budget, and both feed into what carriers will write and at what price.

There is one direct change. HB 913 (2025) amended s. 718.111(11)(a) so that every condominium association must carry adequate property insurance "regardless of any requirement in the declaration of condominium" for certain coverage by the association. It also changed the replacement-cost basis from must to may be based on an independent appraisal, with the replacement cost determined at least once every three years.[12]

One 2026 insurance law matters for master policies: CS/CS/SB 1028, Chapter 2026-150, requires Citizens Property Insurance to set up commercial-lines clearinghouses by January 1, 2027. New applications and renewals for commercial residential risks — the category that includes condominium association policies — must first be offered to private insurers, and a risk becomes ineligible for Citizens if it receives an offer of comparable coverage within the bill's price thresholds (20% above Citizens for authorized insurers, 15% for approved surplus lines insurers).[17] Boards insured through Citizens should expect their renewal to route through the clearinghouse.

What none of these bills did is create a statutory requirement that unit owners carry HO-6 insurance. That obligation comes from the declaration and from mortgage lenders, not from a statewide mandate — which is a frequent point of confusion for boards. We cover it in detail in Florida condo insurance requirements.

Board and manager checklist

1. Determine the building's age and whether it is three habitable stories or more.
2. Call the local enforcement agency about a 25-year determination — this cannot be answered from the statute.
3. Confirm the milestone inspection is done, or that a good-cause extension is on file.
4. Confirm the SIRS is complete, that owners received a copy or notice, and that the completion statement went to the Division within 45 days.
5. Confirm the association has a Division online account.
6. Check the budget funds SIRS items — no waiver is available. If you are pausing for milestone repairs, confirm the vote and that the budget is adopted on or before December 31, 2028.
7. If you are insured through Citizens, ask your agent now how the January 1, 2027 commercial clearinghouse will affect your master policy renewal.
8. If a phase two report found substantial structural deterioration, diary the 365-day repair-commencement date.
9. Retain milestone and SIRS reports for 15 years.