Five years ago on June 24, the Champlain Towers South condominium in Surfside collapsed, killing 98 people. The tragedy forced the entire country to realize that a building could meet all of its required inspections and still be on the verge of disaster.
Since then, Florida has rolled out some of the strictest building safety rules in the nation. Under legislation like Senate Bill 4-D, condo boards are now forced to schedule regular milestone inspections. They also have to conduct structural integrity reserve studies to figure out exactly how much money they need to save for long-term structural repairs. The overall goal is to make engineers look past surface-level paint and give owners a clear picture of their building’s actual health.
It is a massive shift for the state, but a prominent local expert says lawmakers still left a major blind spot…