Authored by: Rimkus Built Environment Solutions Marketing Team
Published 19 June 2026
Associations had until the December 31, 2025 deadline for completing a structural integrity reserve study. Florida law applied this obligation to condominium associations and cooperative associations that govern buildings of three or more habitable stories. Boards that missed the deadline may now face questions from owners and the state about their compliance status.
The rules have changed multiple times since 2022 House Bill 913, raised the catch-all cost threshold from $10,000 to $25,000, narrowed the applicability standard to habitable stories, and revised the funding and coordination rules.
Florida law continues to evolve, and the details below are specific to Florida and subject to future legislative change.
Key Takeaways: Understanding Florida’s structural integrity reserve study rules
Florida’s structural integrity reserve study requirement applies to condominium and cooperative buildings of three or more habitable stories. The rules changed multiple times since 2022, and the current framework under House Bill 913 differs from earlier versions widely cited.
What the rule covers
- Applies to condominium and cooperative buildings of three or more habitable stories, with updates at least every 10 years
- Evaluates structural and life safety components including roofs, structural members, plumbing, electrical, and waterproofing
- Owners cannot vote to waive or reduce structural reserves for budgets adopted on or after December 31, 2024
Key compliance changes
- House Bill 913 raised the catch-all threshold to $25,000 and changed the height standard to habitable stories
- The general deadline was December 31, 2025, with limited exceptions for milestone inspection coordination
For guidance on these requirements, Contact us.
Structural integrity reserve study fundamentals
Florida requires a structural integrity reserve study (SIRS) to analyze the money an association must set aside for future major repairs and replacement of a building’s structural and life safety components. It focuses only on the parts of the building that affect its structural integrity and safety.
Under Florida Statutes Section 718.112, as amended through House Bill 913, a residential condominium association must complete this study at least every 10 years for each building on the property that reaches three or more habitable stories. The parallel cooperative statute applies the same standard to cooperative associations.
For each covered component, the study identifies the estimated remaining useful life, the estimated replacement cost or deferred maintenance expense, and the recommended annual reserve amount needed to reach full funding by the end of that component’s useful life. The study also must include a baseline funding plan that keeps the reserve cash balance above zero.
Legislative background and current rule changes
Without dedicated funding for structural and life safety components, deferred maintenance can accumulate until repairs become urgent or unaffordable. Structural integrity reserve studies require associations to plan reserve funding for structural and life safety components. The requirement grew out of one of the deadliest building failures in recent United States history.
On June 24, 2021, Champlain Towers South, a 12-story condominium in Surfside, Florida, partially collapsed at approximately 1:30 a.m., causing 98 confirmed fatalities. In technical findings released in June 2026, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) concluded that the failure most likely began about three weeks earlier, in early June 2021, when two connections between garage columns and the pool deck slab failed and redistributed their loads to adjacent connections that could not support them. The pool and parking deck began collapsing at least seven minutes before the tower. NIST attributed the building’s low margins against failure primarily to severe deviations in the original structural design from the codes and standards of the day, along with deviations in construction from the design drawings, with added loads and long-term corrosion further reducing capacity. NIST’s recommendations for building codes and standards are expected in its final report.
The Florida Legislature responded in a special session with Senate Bill 4-D, titled “Building Safety.” The Governor signed it on May 26, 2022. The bill created two pillars of Florida’s post-Surfside framework at the same time: the milestone inspection requirement and the structural integrity reserve study requirement.
Senate Bill 4-D listed 10 components and set the catch-all cost threshold at $10,000. Senate Bill 154 reduced the list to eight by folding floor and foundation into a defined term for primary structural members and systems. House Bill 913 made further changes to the standard, described in the sections below. Any source still describing a ten-component list or a $10,000 threshold is citing law that no longer applies.
Building applicability and compliance timing
For covered condominium and cooperative buildings, compliance depends on how Florida law measures building height and how the deadlines and update cycle apply. Both the height determination and the timing rules have changed since the original 2022 legislation.
Applicability and the habitable-stories threshold
The threshold applies to each building on condominium property that is three habitable stories or higher, as determined by the Florida Building Code. House Bill 913 changed the standard from “three stories or more” to “three habitable stories or more.” This means non-habitable areas, such as ground-floor open parking structures or crawl spaces, do not count toward the story count. The change narrows the rule and may exempt some buildings that the prior language would have covered.
Current Florida law excludes several categories from the requirement. The following are not subject to the structural integrity reserve study mandate:
- Buildings less than three habitable stories in height
- Single-family, two-family, three-family, or four-family dwellings with three or fewer habitable stories above ground
- Any portion or component of a building not submitted to the condominium form of ownership
- Any portion or component that a party other than the association maintains
- Homeowners associations governed by Chapter 720, which fall entirely outside the mandate
These exemptions mean the requirement applies specifically to Chapter 718 condominiums and Chapter 719 cooperatives that meet the height standard.
Compliance deadlines and the 10-year update cycle
Associations had until December 31, 2025, to meet the current general deadline, and they must repeat the study at least every 10 years thereafter. The current deadline replaced the earlier December 31, 2024 deadline set by Senate Bill 4-D.
Senate Bill 154 created a conditional outer limit of December 31, 2026 for associations whose milestone inspection aligned with that timing, and that limit may still apply to some associations. House Bill 913 added a coordination mechanism for associations that have completed their milestone inspection. Such associations may delay the structural integrity reserve study for the two consecutive budget years following the inspection.
Reserve funding requirements
Post-Surfside funding changes eliminated the owner vote to waive or reduce reserves for covered structural components. Under prior Florida law, unit owners could vote by majority to eliminate or reduce reserve funding, including for structural items. That waiver right no longer applies to the components a structural integrity reserve study covers.
For a budget adopted on or after December 31, 2024, members of an association that must obtain this study may not vote to provide no reserves or fewer reserves than required for the covered items. Reserve amounts must be based on the findings of the association’s most recent study.
Members also may not vote to use these reserve funds for any purpose other than the replacement or deferred maintenance of the covered components. Associations may pool these reserves only with other covered components, not with traditional reserve accounts. House Bill 913 added limited funding flexibility and two narrow temporary pauses, but the no-waiver rule remains in effect.
Standard reserve studies and structural integrity reserve studies
A traditional reserve study and a structural integrity reserve study serve different purposes and follow different rules. A traditional reserve study is a broad capital planning tool covering all common elements, such as pools, landscaping, elevators, and pavement. The structural integrity version covers only structural and life safety components and carries stricter funding requirements.
The clearest practical differences involve how often the study is required and whether owners can reduce funding. Condominium associations may be subject to general reserve requirements, and owners may vote to reduce or waive certain general reserves where Florida law permits. Associations must repeat the structural study at least every 10 years, and owners cannot waive it for budgets adopted on or after December 31, 2024.
SIRS and milestone inspections
The structural integrity reserve study and the milestone inspection are two distinct but linked requirements created by the same 2022 legislation. The milestone inspection is a physical life safety structural assessment of the building’s condition, while the reserve study is a financial planning exercise that calculates the funding needed to repair or replace the structural components.
The requirement applies when a building reaches 30 years of age. Under a 2024 amendment, the initial inspection may be required at 25 years where the local enforcement agency determines that local circumstances, such as proximity to the coast, warrant it.
Required SIRS components
A structural integrity reserve study must evaluate at least seven enumerated components plus a catch-all category, all as they relate to the structural integrity and safety of the building. The list below reflects Florida Statutes Section 718.112 as amended through House Bill 913.
- Roof
- Structure, including load-bearing walls and other primary structural members and primary structural systems as defined in Florida Statutes Section 627.706, which now includes floor and foundation
- Fireproofing and fire protection systems
- Plumbing
- Electrical systems
- Waterproofing and exterior painting
- Windows and exterior doors
- Any other item with a deferred maintenance expense or replacement cost exceeding $25,000, or the inflation-adjusted amount, whichever is greater, if the visual inspection determines that the item’s failure would negatively affect the components above
House Bill 913 raised the catch-all threshold from $10,000 to $25,000. The Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes adjusts the figure annually based on the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers and posts the current amount on its website by February 1 each year, so the operative threshold for a given budget year is the posted amount.
Florida reserve requirements remain subject to change
These requirements are specific to Florida and remain subject to further legislative change.
For boards and property managers working to understand where their buildings stand under these requirements, experienced engineering and reserve professionals can help clarify the applicable obligations and the condition of the components involved.
With 40+ years of experience and 900+ experts on staff, Rimkus provides structural engineering, milestone inspection, and reserve study services for Florida condominium and cooperative associations. To discuss structural integrity reserve study requirements with a qualified expert, Contact us.
Frequently asked questions about structural integrity reserve studies
How much does a structural integrity reserve study typically cost?
Professional SIRS fees vary by building and scope. Cost drivers include building size and complexity, coastal or harsh-climate exposure, age and deterioration level, scope of deliverables, and local professional rates in the market.
Who is qualified to perform a structural integrity reserve study?
Florida law does specify who may perform the visual inspection portion of a SIRS. Under Florida Statutes Section 718.112, it must be performed or verified by a licensed engineer, a licensed architect, a reserve specialist credentialed by the Community Associations Institute (RS), or a professional reserve analyst credentialed by the Association of Professional Reserve Analysts (PRA). For buildings with significant structural components, associations often engage a licensed engineer or architect with structural experience, verify current licensure through the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, and request examples of prior studies.
What are the consequences if an association fails to complete a required SIRS?
Florida statutes do not specify dollar penalties for SIRS noncompliance, but associations may face regulatory enforcement, civil lawsuits for breach of fiduciary duty, and difficulty obtaining insurance or financing. Directors are generally not personally liable for ordinary negligence, but they can face personal liability when their conduct involves heightened wrongdoing, such as recklessness, bad faith, fraud, self-dealing, willful misconduct, or wanton disregard for safety or property.
This article is intended to provide general information and insights into prevailing industry practices. It is not intended to constitute, and should not be relied upon as, legal, technical, or professional advice. The content does not replace consultation with a qualified expert or professional regarding the specific facts and circumstances of any particular matter.