Condominium owners shouldn’t expect financial “bailouts” to cover increased costs as condo associations try to comply with state laws passed after the 2021 collapse of the Champlain Towers South building in Surfside that killed 98 people, key lawmakers said Tuesday.

With the Legislature discussing potential changes in condo laws, House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, and Rep. Vicki Lopez, a Miami Republican working on the issue, said new proposals won’t involve direct financial assistance.

“I do have to balance that with my responsibility as the speaker and make sure that we don't bail out and use taxpayer dollars for people that are in private homes,” Perez said Tuesday morning after an appearance at a Florida Chamber of Commerce Legislative Fly-In event at Tallahassee’s Donald L. Tucker Civic Center.

“I look at a condominium the same way I look at a residential home. It's private property,” Perez said. “Bailing them out with taxpayer dollars is not something that I'm open to.”

Lopez, a condo resident who is chairwoman of the House State Administration Budget Subcommittee, echoed Perez’ comments as she said legislation will soon be introduced for this year’s regular legislative 2025 session, which will begin March 4.

“We are not clear as to what will be included in the bill,” Lopez told the Chamber of Commerce crowd. But she was emphatic that it won’t provide “any financial bailouts.”

“The Legislature is not in the business of bailing condo owners out, especially when they haven't done what they should have done over the years,” Lopez said. “If you live in a single-family (home) and you have to replace your roof or your exterior doors and windows, I'm sure you’d be asking, ‘Well, where's my bailout?’”

Laws passed after the Surfside collapse require “milestone inspections” of older buildings and “structural integrity reserve” studies to determine how much money condo associations should set aside for future major repairs. Any “substantial structural deterioration” found by engineers or architects requires more-detailed inspections.

An initial law passed in 2022 and was tweaked in 2023. The Legislature last year passed a measure that targeted wrongdoing by members of association boards.

Milestone inspections were supposed to be completed by Dec. 31 for certain older buildings that are three stories or higher. Some condo associations have hit owners with whopping assessments in the race to comply with the requirements, while many associations also grapple with higher property-insurance costs.

Senate President Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula, expressed hope that lawmakers will craft legislation that helps condo owners.

“You never know when a new idea gets better than the last idea,” Albritton said after an appearance at the Chamber of Commerce event. “And what I would say to you is that we're searching for those ideas right now.”

DJ Wizkidd

MAY 20th, 2020