What SB-4D is and why it exists

On June 24, 2021, Champlain Towers South in Surfside collapsed, killing 98 people. Before that night, Florida had no uniform statewide framework for structural recertification of condominium buildings - Miami-Dade and Broward counties ran local 40-year recertification programs, but the rest of the state had nothing comparable. SB-4D, signed into law in May 2022, created a uniform statewide system for milestone inspections and structural reserves, codified at Florida Statute 553.899 (milestone inspections) and FS 718.112(2)(g) (SIRS). The law has since been amended several times - most significantly by SB-154 (2023), HB 1021 (2024), and HB 913 (effective July 1, 2025) - and the framework below reflects the law as it stands heading into 2026.

The law's intent is straightforward: catch structural deterioration before it becomes catastrophic, and make sure associations actually have the money to fix what an inspection turns up.

Milestone inspections: the 30-year rule

The milestone inspection requirement applies to residential condominium and cooperative buildings that are three or more habitable stories in height as measured under the Florida Building Code.

Updated by HB 913 (effective July 1, 2025): the statute now specifies "habitable" stories, meaning floors used exclusively for parking, storage, or mechanical equipment may not count toward the three-story threshold. If your building has, for example, two residential floors above a parking podium, the podium typically does not count.

Single-family homes, townhomes, duplexes, triplexes, four-unit buildings, and HOA-only communities are not subject to the milestone requirement, even if they exceed three stories.

The initial milestone inspection is generally required by December 31 of the year the building turns 30, based on the date the original certificate of occupancy was issued. Subsequent inspections are required every 10 years. The deadlines were phased in to handle the large volume of older buildings:

• Buildings that reached 30 years of age before July 1, 2022 were required to complete the initial inspection by December 31, 2024 (now passed).
• Buildings that reached 30 years of age between July 1, 2022 and December 31, 2024 must complete it by December 31, 2025.
• Buildings reaching 30 years of age on or after January 1, 2025 must complete it by December 31 of the year they turn 30.
• All buildings are subject to a follow-up milestone inspection every 10 years.

The coastal carve-out

Updated by HB 1021 (2024): under SB-4D as originally enacted, buildings within three miles of the coastline were required to undergo their initial milestone inspection at 25 years, not 30. HB 1021 changed this. The 25-year requirement is no longer automatically mandatory statewide. Instead, the local enforcement agency may determine - based on environmental conditions such as proximity to salt water - that the earlier 25-year timeline is required. Many South Florida coastal jurisdictions have elected to keep the 25-year threshold, so the practical answer in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach often remains "yes, 25 years." Always confirm with the local building department.

The inspection itself runs in two phases. Phase 1 is a visual examination by a Florida-licensed professional engineer (under Chapter 471) or licensed architect (under Chapter 481) of the building's structural elements - foundation, primary structural frames and load-bearing walls, floor systems, roof structure, exterior walls, balconies and walkways, and any integral parking structure. If no substantial structural deterioration is identified, the inspector seals a Phase 1 report and the building has no further obligation until the next 10-year cycle. Phase 2 is triggered only when Phase 1 reveals substantial structural deterioration, and involves more invasive testing - concrete coring, exposed reinforcement, ground-penetrating radar, ultrasonic and half-cell testing, infrared thermography, lab analysis, and engineering load calculations - and concludes with a sealed report and a recommended repair program.

The completed report is delivered to the local building official and to the association; the association then has 14 days to distribute a summary to unit owners. Local enforcement agencies are responsible for identifying qualifying buildings and sending written notice to the association by certified mail - but the absence of a notice does not relieve the association of its compliance obligation.

Also updated by HB 913 (effective July 1, 2025):

• Building owners must commence repairs identified in a Phase 2 report within 365 days of receiving the report, unless the local governing body requires a shorter timeline.
• Design professionals who bid on performing a milestone inspection must disclose in writing whether they also intend to bid on the repair work - a conflict-of-interest provision intended to keep inspections objective.
• Local enforcement agencies must report milestone inspection data to the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR), enabling statewide compliance tracking for the first time.

The Structural Integrity Reserve Study (SIRS)

Separate from the milestone inspection, every condominium association with a building of three or more habitable stories must have a Structural Integrity Reserve Study performed by a licensed engineer or architect. The SIRS identifies the structural items the association is required to fund reserves for. Per the current statute, the SIRS must address - at a minimum - the roof, load-bearing walls and primary structural members, floor, foundation, fireproofing and fire protection systems, plumbing, electrical systems, waterproofing and exterior painting, and windows and exterior doors, along with any other item with a deferred-maintenance or replacement cost exceeding $10,000 the failure of which could negatively affect any of those items. The SIRS must then be updated at least every 10 years.

Updated: the original SB-4D set the initial SIRS deadline at December 31, 2024. Subsequent legislation pushed the deadline to December 31, 2025 for unit owner-controlled associations existing on or before July 1, 2022. Associations that are required to complete a milestone inspection on or before December 31, 2026 may complete their SIRS at the same time - but under no circumstances may the SIRS be completed after December 31, 2026 for associations that existed on or before July 1, 2022.

Many older buildings reached these deadlines with reserve gaps in the millions.

The end of reserve waiving

This is the change with the biggest financial impact. Before SB-4D, Florida condo associations could vote - sometimes by a simple owner majority - to waive or reduce reserve contributions. Many older buildings ran for decades on minimal reserves on that basis, deferring large structural costs into the indefinite future.

Updated, effective January 1, 2025: for the structural items identified in the SIRS, associations subject to the SIRS requirement can no longer allow unit owners to vote to waive or reduce reserve contributions. This is the most consequential financial change in the law. Operational, non-structural items may still be reduced or waived under certain owner-vote conditions, but the SIRS structural-reserve floor is fixed by statute. The only remaining flexibility on the structural side is whether the association uses the component (straight-line) method or the pooling method to calculate contributions - both methods must produce the same required total funding.

Associations that ran for years on the old model now have to catch up - sometimes with hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars in additional funding per building.

What it costs owners: special assessments and higher fees

The post-SB-4D financial reality has been painful in many older buildings. Associations close the gap between current reserves and required funding either with special assessments - one-time charges, sometimes payable over months or a few years - or by sharply raising monthly maintenance fees. Both have been common.

In Miami-Dade, owners of 1970s and 1980s waterfront condos have faced per-unit assessments ranging from tens of thousands to, in extreme cases, hundreds of thousands of dollars. The result is a noticeable softening of the older-condo market, owners who cannot pay being forced to sell, and a flight by buyers toward newer or already-compliant buildings.

What buyers should look at before signing

Before signing a contract on a Florida condo, the buyer should request and read carefully:

• The milestone inspection report (Phase One - and Phase Two, if one was triggered).
• The SIRS.
• The association's last two years of financial statements and the current year's budget.
• The reserve account balance and the reserve funding plan going forward.
• Board meeting minutes from the past 12 months.
• Any pending, planned, or recently completed special assessments.
• The association's insurance coverage and any pending litigation.

Florida law also gives buyers of resale condo units a statutory right to cancel the contract within a defined window after receiving the association's disclosure documents - a protection worth understanding before you sign.

What sellers must disclose

Florida's condo disclosure requirements (under FS 718.503) require sellers of a resale condo to provide the buyer with the association's governing documents, recent financial statements, and information on any pending special assessments. A seller who fails to disclose a known pending assessment can give the buyer grounds to cancel the contract. For sellers, the takeaway is simple: disclose what the association has on record, and let the buyer's contract-period diligence run its course.

Warrantable vs. non-warrantable: the lending angle

A building's SB-4D status affects whether it qualifies as "warrantable" for conventional financing. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac maintain lists and standards for condo project eligibility; buildings with significant deferred maintenance, unfunded structural reserves, large pending assessments, or unresolved SIRS items can fall off those lists and become non-warrantable.

For buyers, non-warrantable usually means no conventional 30-year mortgage - only cash, larger down payments through portfolio lenders, or non-QM loans at higher rates. This is one of the biggest single reasons certain older Miami condos have lost value: not the assessment itself, but the shrinking pool of buyers who can finance them.

A real Miami example

Consider a composite case. A 1970s oceanfront condo on Miami Beach is now over 50 years old. The milestone inspection turns up significant concrete spalling on balconies and structural columns; Phase Two is triggered, and the engineer's report estimates $14 million in restoration work, plus a backlog of deferred items the SIRS now requires fully funded.

The association calculates a per-unit special assessment of $180,000, payable over three years, on top of an increase in monthly fees. Some owners can pay; others sell. Most lenders treat the building as non-warrantable until the work is completed and reserves restored, so the only buyers in the door are cash buyers and specialty lenders. The building's per-square-foot value drops, and stays down until the work is finished and the financials normalize.

The figures here are illustrative - every building is different, and outcomes turn on the specific inspection findings, the association's reserves, and the local market.

Working with Real Hodge Group

For buyers, the most useful thing we do on a Florida condo purchase is sit down with the association's documents and walk through them with you. We flag what to ask about, what to push back on, and where the building stands on milestone compliance, reserve funding, and warrantability. We are not attorneys or accountants, but we coordinate with experienced Florida condo attorneys and CPAs when you need a specific legal or financial read. For sellers in older buildings, we help you assemble the disclosure package and price the unit against the realities of the building's SB-4D status. Contact Real Hodge Group before you make an offer - or list - so the building is understood before the contract starts running.