Florida Governor Floats Condo Relief Session; Condo Captive Idea Flagging

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis urged lawmakers to weigh ideas on providing condominium owners with relief ahead of a Jan. 1 deadline that requires condo buildings to be inspected and repaired in the wake of the Surfside condo collapse that killed 98 people in 2021.

At a roundtable discussion and a news conference Monday, the governor hinted that a special session of the Legislature could be called to address the big expenses facing condominiums and associations, according to news reports. The deadline, imposed by a 2022 law that brought major reforms to Florida’s lax condominium reserves funding and repair rules, requires structures to have an engineer inspect buildings and calculate the cost of critical repairs.

But many condo owners and associations, who also are facing higher insurance premiums, have said the new costs will force them to move. DeSantis suggested the Jan. 1 deadline may need to be pushed back, or that the state could offer low-interest loans to condo owners or associations.

Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples, in August rejected the idea of a special condo session, but the governor could call one later this year. He said the issue cannot wait until spring, when the regular, 2025 session of the Legislature begins, the Miami Herald and South Florida Sun Sentinel reported.

The governor did not mention potential property insurance law changes to help condominiums. But others in the condo world have discussed the idea of condo associations forming their own captive insurance companies.

State law already allows three or more condominiums to form captives, if approved by the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation. Those familiar with the idea have said that discussions have been underway for months, but so far, little has materialized.

Top photo: FILE -The Champlain Towers South condo building on July 4, 2021, in Surfside, after the collapse. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)

Topics Florida