Buying a Florida condo: the SIRS, milestone inspections and your 7-day review
Since the Surfside collapse in 2021, Florida requires condo buildings three stories or taller to have structural inspections and to fund reserves for structural repairs in full. Many associations have raised dues or levied special assessments to catch up. Before you buy, the documents tell you whether the building has caught up, or whether you'd be paying for it.
What changed
Florida's condo safety laws apply to residential condo and co-op buildings three habitable stories or taller. They require two things:
- Milestone inspections: a structural inspection by a licensed engineer or architect by December 31 of the year the building turns 30, then every 10 years. The local building department can require it at 25 years instead, for example near salt water.
- Structural integrity reserve studies (SIRS): a study, at least every 10 years, of the parts that keep the building standing and dry, with a plan for funding their repair and replacement.
For budgets adopted on or after December 31, 2024, owners in these buildings can no longer vote to skip or reduce reserves for the items in the SIRS. That's why dues have gone up sharply in many older buildings.
The milestone inspection
Phase one is a visual inspection of the building. If the engineer or architect finds substantial structural deterioration, a phase two inspection follows, which can include testing, and the report recommends repairs. The association must give every owner the inspector's summary of the report. Repairs for deterioration found in phase two must start within 365 days of the report.
The SIRS
A SIRS covers eight areas: the roof; the structure, including load-bearing walls; fireproofing and fire protection; plumbing; electrical systems; waterproofing and exterior painting; windows and exterior doors; and any other item costing more than $25,000 whose failure would damage those. For each one, it estimates the remaining life and the replacement cost, and it recommends how much to put in reserves each year. It must be done or checked by an engineer, an architect, or a certified reserve specialist or professional reserve analyst.
Most associations had to finish their first SIRS by December 31, 2025. Those with a milestone inspection due by the end of 2026 could do both together, but every first SIRS must be done by December 31, 2026. The money can come from regular dues, special assessments, lines of credit or loans; a special assessment, line of credit or loan for these repairs needs a majority vote of all the owners.
What the seller must give you
Once you're under contract on a resale condo, Florida law entitles you to these at the seller's expense:
- The declaration of condominium, the association's articles of incorporation, and its bylaws and rules.
- The annual financial statement and annual budget.
- The inspector's summary of the milestone inspection report, if there is one.
- The most recent SIRS, or a statement that the association hasn't completed one.
- The turnover inspection report, for buildings handed over by the developer after July 1, 2023.
- The "Frequently Asked Questions and Answers" sheet: leasing and use limits, the regular assessment, and any lawsuit where the association could owe more than $100,000.
You're also entitled to the state's governance form, which explains how the association is run.
Your 7-day review
Your contract must include one of two clauses. Either you confirm you had the documents more than 7 days before signing, not counting weekends and legal holidays, or you can cancel in writing within 7 such days after you sign and receive them. You can also push back closing by up to 7 of those days to finish reading. Any waiver of this right has no effect, and the right ends at closing.
Ask for the documents in writing as soon as you sign; the 7 days run from when you receive them. For contracts signed after December 31, 2024, the contract must also say whether the association has completed its milestone inspection and SIRS, isn't required to, or was required to and hasn't.
Red flags
- No SIRS for a building three stories or taller. Without one, nobody has priced the structural repairs, and owners will pay for them later.
- A phase two milestone inspection. The engineer found substantial structural deterioration. Find out which repairs are required, what they'll cost and how they'll be paid for.
- Reserves below the SIRS funding plan. Compare the budget's reserve line with the SIRS recommendation. The law requires an updated SIRS before a budget that departs from the plan, and a gap usually means higher dues or a special assessment soon.
- Loans or lines of credit for repairs. Owners repay them through assessments, often for years.
- Special assessments in the minutes. Approved or only discussed, they're often thousands of dollars per unit. Who pays one approved before closing depends on your contract, so check with your agent, and see the special assessments guide.
- Trouble getting a loan. Fannie Mae won't back loans in buildings that need critical repairs, so open structural repairs can limit you to cash or a lender that keeps the loan itself. See what lenders check.
How HOA Fine Print helps
Upload the package, including the SIRS, the milestone summary, the budget and recent minutes. The report flags special assessments, reserve shortfalls and lawsuits with the page each comes from, runs the lender checks, and lists what's missing from a Florida package, such as the SIRS, the milestone summary or the Q&A sheet, with an email to the association asking for them.
This guide is general information about Florida Statutes sections 553.899, 718.112 and 718.503 as of 2026, not legal advice. Ask a Florida real estate attorney about your contract.