Florida Legislature Finally Settles Its Differences On Condo Bill

by Jackie Llanos, Florida Phoenix

Lawmakers in both chambers of the Florida Legislature voted unanimously Wednesday to pass a bill addressing rising fees for condominium owners, which is one of the items that has sprouted criticism from Gov. Ron DeSantis.

With the scheduled end of the session looming mere days away, the Legislature approved a bill, HB 913, that allows condominium associations to secure credit lines and invest funds to pay for building repairs instead of immediately raising large amounts of cash from owners.

But lawmakers sponsoring the legislation acknowledged that they will likely have to continue making changes in the future in light of escalating fees following last year’s deadline for condominiums to complete studies detailing how much each needs to save to pay for roof and structural maintenance.

“This incredible bill addressing the condominium crisis we have all heard about for the last year gives a lot of financial relief,” Miami Republican Rep. Vicki Lopez said. She’s the bill’s main sponsor in the House. Fleming Island Republican Sen. Jennifer Bradley filed the Senate’s proposal.

Lawmakers passed legislation requiring those studies and milestone inspections 30 years after a building’s construction, following the 2021 collapse in Surfside of a 12-story condo that killed 98 people.

The passage comes amid DeSantis’ continued bashing of the Legislature, with emphasis on the House, over their inaction on condos. He called lawmakers to Tallahassee at the beginning of the year for a special session on immigration, condos, hurricane relief, and citizen-led constitutional amendments. The Legislature ended up only addressing immigration ahead of their scheduled session opening in March.

“We have this condo issue, that legislation that caused these crushing assessments,” DeSantis said during a Wednesday press conference about Hope Florida in Fruitland Park. “We know people need relief from that. We’ve gotta do it. The Senate’s got a great product that can do it.”

Senators waited a week to take up the House’s proposal, with changes requiring both chambers to make concessions. For example, Bradley’s idea to allow condo associations to invest money meant for repairs is still in the bill, but the compromise limits those investments to certificates of deposit. The House’s push to allow associations to pay for repairs with credits will also require support from the majority of owners of condo units.

The legislation provides some flexibility for associations, carving out condos with only three residential stories from the building inspection requirements and letting associations pause contributions to reserve funds for repairs for up to two years after a milestone inspection, required 30 years after the buildings’ construction.

With the bill headed to the governor’s desk, DeSantis could still harbor objections to it, particularly regarding electronic voting. A quarter of condo owners could petition their association to hold an electronic vote under the bill, which DeSantis has said would incite fraud.

Still, one provision that intensified disagreement between the sponsors early made its way to the Senate floor’s discussion despite the House abandoning the idea earlier in the process. Lopez originally wanted to prohibit Citizens Property Insurance Corp., the state’s property insurer of last resort, from issuing or renewing policies for condominium buildings that haven’t completed their building inspections.

“Obviously, ensuring compliance is important, but such a provision would devastate owners in an already weak condo market,” Bradley said, adding that she brought up the removed provision because other senators still raised concerns about it.

Both Lopez and Bradley received compliments from their colleagues. Senators made multiple references to constituents yelling at them over the heightened fees.

“Condo meetings are not where you wanna go with a thin skin. I assure you of that,” Bradley said.

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