If you own in a Florida condominium building that is three or more habitable stories tall, your association must have a structural milestone inspection and a Structural Integrity Reserve Study (SIRS). After the Surfside collapse, the Legislature made both mandatory and made it illegal to waive the reserves that fund the repairs the SIRS identifies. As an owner, you have the right to see these studies, to get the required disclosures, and to hold the board accountable for meeting the deadlines.
The milestone inspection is in Florida Statute 553.899. The SIRS is in 718.112(2)(g).
Milestone inspection (Florida Statute 553.899)
A milestone inspection is a structural inspection of a building's load-bearing elements by a licensed architect or engineer. It applies to condominium and cooperative buildings that are three habitable stories or more in height.
- The initial milestone inspection must be completed by December 31 of the year the building turns 30 years old (based on the certificate of occupancy date), and then every 10 years after that.
- A local building official may require the first inspection earlier, by December 31 of the year the building turns 25 years old, based on local conditions such as proximity to salt water. This is now a local-agency judgment call, not a fixed "within 3 miles of the coast" rule. Local officials also have authority over timing, so confirm your building's exact deadline with your city or county building department. Deadlines have shifted with recent legislation, so do not rely on a generic date.
- The inspection is done in two phases. Phase One is visual. If the inspector finds signs of substantial structural deterioration, Phase Two is a deeper investigation.
The association must distribute a summary of the inspector's report to all owners and, for buildings that must post records online, publish it. You have the right to see the full report as an official record under 718.111(12).
Structural Integrity Reserve Study, SIRS (Florida Statute 718.112(2)(g))
A SIRS is a reserve study focused on the structural components of the building. It applies to condominium buildings three habitable stories or more and must be completed at least every 10 years.
The SIRS must study, at a minimum, these components: the roof; load-bearing walls or other primary structural members; the floor; the foundation; fireproofing and fire protection systems; plumbing; electrical systems; waterproofing and exterior painting; windows and exterior doors; and any other item with a deferred maintenance or replacement cost exceeding $25,000 (raised from $10,000 by HB 913 in 2025) whose failure would negatively affect those listed items.
The rule that gives the SIRS teeth: for budgets adopted on or after December 31, 2024, the association cannot waive or underfund the reserves for the components covered by the SIRS. Owners can no longer vote to skip funding these reserves. This is a major change from the old system, where owners could waive reserves year after year until a building fell behind on critical repairs. Special assessments to catch up are now common, and lawful, when reserves were historically underfunded.
The 2025 update (HB 913, effective July 1, 2025) added flexibility without bringing back waivers: it extended the deadline to complete the first SIRS to December 31, 2025, and, after a milestone inspection, an association may pause or reduce reserve contributions for up to two budget years to prioritize the repairs the inspection found, or fund the reserves through a special assessment, line of credit, or loan with owner approval.
How to tell if the board is out of compliance
- Your building is three or more habitable stories and has no completed milestone inspection, or missed its deadline (confirm the date with the local building department).
- The board will not give you the milestone report or the SIRS.
- The budget adopted after December 31, 2024, waives or fails to fund the structural reserves the SIRS requires.
- The association is not distributing the required inspection summary to owners.
Step by step
- Get the documents. Request the milestone inspection report, the SIRS, and the reserve line items in the current budget with a records request (/documents/records-inspection-request). These are official records.
- Confirm the deadline. Call your city or county building department and ask for your building's milestone inspection due date. Do not assume.
- Check the reserves. Compare the SIRS components against the budget. For any budget adopted on or after December 31, 2024, the structural reserves cannot be waived.
- Raise it at a meeting. Put the missing inspection or the underfunded reserve on the agenda, and get the board's position in the minutes.
- Escalate to DBPR. Financial and records issues are within DBPR's post-turnover jurisdiction; file complaint form 33-032 (/documents/dbpr-complaint-guide). For a building safety concern, also contact your local building official, who enforces 553.899, and, if you believe there is an immediate danger, do not wait.
- Get an attorney for safety or foreclosure stakes. Building safety and large special assessments are high-stakes. A licensed Florida attorney can move faster than an administrative complaint when a structure is at risk.
What you can do next
Pull the milestone report, the SIRS, and the reserve budget with a records request (/documents/records-inspection-request), and confirm your building's inspection deadline directly with the local building department. If reserves for SIRS components were waived in a post-2024 budget, that is a violation you can take to DBPR on form 33-032 (/documents/dbpr-complaint-guide), and, for safety, to your local building official.