An influential group of real estate attorneys that advised Florida lawmakers after a residential tower partially collapsed in Surfside saw an opportunity to rein in condo associations, while realizing their advice would lead distressed unit owners in older buildings to sell to developers.
Rather than focusing on what may have caused the Champlain Towers South to fail, attorneys on a task force of a Florida Bar law section encouraged the Legislature to force condo associations to save money for future building maintenance. The recommendation became a crucial component in the state Legislature’s response to the tragedy — and a driver of the burgeoning financial crisis for condo owners in South Florida and across the state.
With unit owners now seeking relief, Miami lawmakers in key positions in state government are pushing back, saying they won’t soften a law created to prevent another catastrophic building failure. But a Herald/Times investigation shows that experts who advocated for the key component of the law viewed it not necessarily as a means to prevent another collapse, but as an opportunity to force associations to invest in their buildings, knowing it would be financially impractical for a number of unit owners…