Florida Condo Special Assessments in 2026: Milestone Inspections and SIRS

Florida’s post-Surfside condo laws center on two reports and the bill that follows. Condo and co-op buildings three or more habitable stories tall need a milestone inspection at 30 years and a structural integrity reserve study (SIRS) at least every 10 years. Owners pay for the work those reports require, often through special assessments. As a buyer, you’re entitled to both reports. On a resale, you have 7 days after signing and receiving the documents to walk away. This is where the rules stand as of October 2026.

This is general information, not legal advice. For questions about a specific building or contract, call a Florida real estate attorney.

What is a milestone inspection, and which buildings need one?

A milestone inspection is a structural review by a Florida-licensed architect or engineer. It’s required for condo and co-op buildings three or more habitable stories tall at 30 years, then every 10 years.

The details are in s. 553.899:

• The deadline is December 31 of the year the building turns 30, based on its certificate of occupancy. Buildings that turned 30 before July 1, 2022 were due by December 31, 2024. Those that turned 30 between July 1, 2022 and December 31, 2024 were due by December 31, 2025.
• The local building official may require the first inspection at 25 years because of conditions such as proximity to salt water. This replaced the automatic trigger for buildings within 3 miles of the coast, which SB 154 removed in 2023. Check with the city or county building department to learn whether it uses the 25-year option.
• Phase one is a visual inspection. Phase two takes a closer look and is required only when phase one finds substantial structural deterioration. Once the local building department receives a phase two report, repairs must start within 365 days.
• The association has 45 days after receiving the report to send every owner the inspector’s summary.

One- to four-family dwellings with three or fewer habitable stories are exempt.

What is a SIRS, and why does it lead to special assessments?

A SIRS is a reserve study for a building’s structural and life-safety components. It determines how much the association must save for them. Those reserves can’t be waived, so a building that under-saved for years has to catch up. That’s often where the special assessments come from.

The study has to cover:

• the roof
• the structure, including load-bearing walls and primary structural members and systems
• fireproofing and fire protection systems
• plumbing and electrical systems
• waterproofing and exterior painting
• windows and exterior doors
• any other item whose deferred maintenance or replacement cost tops $25,000, a figure indexed to inflation

A SIRS is due at least every 10 years. For associations that existed on or before July 1, 2022, the first study was due by December 31, 2025. A study done alongside a milestone inspection can’t be finished after December 31, 2026 (HB 913 analysis). Associations must report a completed SIRS to the state within 45 days (DBPR timeline).

HB 913 took effect July 1, 2025 and gave boards some room to move the money:

• Reserves for SIRS items can’t be waived unless owners vote to terminate the condominium.
• For budgets adopted through December 31, 2028, a majority of all voting interests can vote to pause or reduce reserve contributions for up to two consecutive budgets. The association must have completed a milestone inspection within the previous two calendar years, and the money must go toward repairs recommended in that inspection. A new SIRS is required before contributions resume.
• With owner approval, the association can fund reserves through special assessments, lines of credit or loans. Any line of credit or loan must appear in the financial statement given to prospective buyers.
• Every SIRS must include a baseline funding plan.

I put it bluntly in my July video: the flexibility doesn’t make the cost disappear. It only changes the bill and how it arrives. Joe’s seen that bill up close. In his June 2026 video, he discussed assessments of $40,000, $60,000 and six figures landing on owners without warning.

There is another side, which we covered in our August 2026 video. Some older coastal buildings paid for Ian repairs and then paid for their structural study. If a building has already collected its assessments and finished the ugly work, it can be a real opportunity.

Which laws changed what?

What documents does a Florida condo seller have to give you?

Under s. 718.503(2), a buyer under contract is entitled, at the seller’s expense, to current copies of:

• the declaration of condominium, articles of incorporation, bylaws and rules
• the annual financial statement and annual budget
• the inspector-prepared summary of the milestone inspection, if one applies
• the most recent SIRS, or a statement that the association hasn’t completed one
• the turnover inspection report, if the inspection happened on or after July 1, 2023
• the “Frequently Asked Questions and Answers” sheet covering leasing and use restrictions, assessments by unit type and lawsuits with potential liability over $100,000
• the state’s condominium governance form

Also ask for the estoppel certificate (s. 718.116). It itemizes what’s owed on the unit, including scheduled special assessments, open violations and any approval or right-of-first-refusal requirements. The association has 10 business days to issue it.

Recent board minutes can show what the board is discussing before it becomes an assessment. And the seller’s flood disclosure, required since October 1, 2025 under s. 689.302, covers known flood damage, flood claims and federal flood aid received during the seller’s ownership.

Associations with 25 or more units must post the SIRS and inspection reports on a website, but only owners can log in. Buyers receive them through the seller.

How long do you have to cancel a condo purchase?

For a resale, you have 7 days after signing the contract and receiving the required documents. Weekends and legal holidays don’t count. The right ends at closing.

HB 913 extended the period from 3 days to 7 as of July 1, 2025. If you’re buying from a developer, you have 15 days.

Seven days goes fast when a full SIRS lands in your inbox. Start earlier. Joe tells his buyers to request the reserve study and the last three years of HOA financials before writing an offer. If the seller or agent can’t produce them within 48 hours, he says to walk away.

In my September video, I put it more simply: Are assessments coming up, or are there even rumors of assessments?

What should you ask the association?

These questions come straight from the statutes above:

1. Is the SIRS complete, and is the budget funding it at the level the study recommends?
2. Did owners use the HB 913 options to pause or reduce reserve contributions, or to approve a loan or line of credit?
3. Did the milestone inspection proceed to phase two, and have repairs started within the 365-day window?
4. What special assessments are approved or planned? Check the estoppel against the meeting minutes.
5. Does the local building department require the 25-year inspection for buildings near salt water?

Will a lender finance the unit?

Maybe not, even if the building complies with Florida law. Conventional lenders conduct their own project reviews, and Fannie Mae’s rules are the ones most buyers encounter.

• Fannie Mae’s Selling Guide, published August 5, 2026, requires the project budget to put at least 10% toward replacement reserves. An exception applies when a reserve study shows adequate reserves and the project funds them at or above the study’s recommendations. Florida requires every SIRS to include a baseline funding plan, but that method can’t be used to waive Fannie Mae’s minimum.
• Under Lender Letter LL-2026-03, the minimum rises to 15% for loan applications dated on or after January 4, 2027. An association may instead fund reserves at the highest level recommended by a study completed or updated within the past three years (HousingWire, Condo-Approval.com).
• A project is ineligible if it needs critical repairs or has unfunded repairs costing more than $10,000 per unit that should be completed within 12 months.
• Lenders must also review any structural or mechanical inspection completed during the past three years.

This is the point I pushed in July. If an association can’t meet Fannie Mae’s rules, fewer buyers can get conventional financing. A smaller buyer pool makes the unit harder to sell.

Talk with a licensed lender about your situation before committing to a building. Our financing page is a good place to start.

How are Naples condos doing after the deadline?

Buyers returned after the December 31, 2025 SIRS deadline passed. The Naples Area Board of REALTORS® reported 714 pending condo sales in February 2026, up 82% from 392 one year earlier (NABOR, March 20, 2026).

In August 2026, the median closed condo price was $417,500, up 2.7% from August 2025. Condo inventory fell 15.2% to 2,099 units (NABOR, September 25, 2026). NABOR’s figures cover Collier County outside Marco Island.

Those figures describe the broader market, not your building. Two towers on the same stretch of beach can have very different reserve pictures.

If you’re looking at condos in Naples, on Marco Island, in Bonita Springs or among beachfront buildings, I’ll pull the SIRS, milestone summary and budget for each property on your list. Then we’ll go through them together.

If the condo would be a second home, our posts on snowbird second homes and homestead and domicile cover the tax side. You can also browse communities or reach me directly.