The statewide reckoning that followed the 2021 collapse of Champlain Towers South in Surfside revealed plenty of cracks in the infrastructure of Florida’s condos — and the regulations around them. The tragedy led to one of the most aggressive overhauls in condo safety policies in the country.
The new legislation took huge steps, mandating inspections with immediate repairs, and requiring condo associations to set aside large reserve funds for future maintenance expenses, requirements lawmakers hoped would help prevent a similar disaster. But according to some experts and even the law’s own drafters, had the new regulations been in place prior to the Surfside tragedy, it’s not clear that the mandates would have ensured the issues with Champlain Towers South were caught before the collapse.
Many condo owners soon found themselves swamped with new costs and fees. As the condo safety crisis was gradually overshadowed by an affordability crisis, Florida residents called on lawmakers to fix the law to balance both concerns…