What HB 913 changed

Milestone inspections

• Habitable stories. The law covers buildings three habitable stories or more in height, as the Florida Building Code determines (s. 553.899(3)(a), F.S.). Whether a floor is habitable is a Florida Building Code question, and no public record we use answers it for most buildings.
• Deadlines. Unchanged: December 31 of the year the building turns 30, with buildings that reached 30 before July 1, 2022 due before December 31, 2024 and those reaching 30 between July 1, 2022 and December 31, 2024 due before December 31, 2025 (s. 553.899(3)(a)).
• 25 years. Unchanged: a local enforcement agency may set it (s. 553.899(3)(b)). There is no automatic 3-mile rule.
• Repairs. Each county or city must adopt an ordinance requiring repairs for substantial structural deterioration to be scheduled or commenced within a set time, and commenced within 365 days after the agency receives the Phase 2 report (s. 553.899(11)).
• Local reporting. Local agencies report counts to DBPR by December 31 each year starting in 2025, and OPPAGA compiles them (s. 553.899(13)). The Senate summary says October 1, 2025; the enrolled statute says December 31, and we follow the statute.
• Conflicts. An architect or engineer who bids on a milestone inspection must disclose in writing an intent to bid on resulting repair work, and a firm that bids on the repairs can't hold an interest in the inspection firm unless disclosed. Otherwise the contract is voidable (s. 553.899(12)).

Structural integrity reserve studies

• Habitable stories. The SIRS requirement follows the same three-habitable-story test, and four-family dwellings of three or fewer habitable stories are exempt (s. 718.112(2)(g)1., (g)5.).
• Deadline. December 31, 2025, moved from December 31, 2024. An association that must complete a milestone inspection on or before December 31, 2026 may do the study at the same time, and no study may be completed after December 31, 2026 (s. 718.112(2)(g)7.).
• Other items. The dollar threshold for "any other item" rose from $10,000 to $25,000, adjusted yearly for inflation (s. 718.112(2)(f)2.a., (f)6., (g)1.h.).
• Baseline plan. The study must include a baseline funding plan that keeps the reserve cash balance above zero (s. 718.112(2)(g)4.).
• Delay after a milestone inspection. An association that completes a milestone inspection may delay the SIRS for up to 2 consecutive budget years (s. 718.112(2)(g)9.).
• Reserve pause. For a budget adopted on or before December 31, 2028, an association that completed a milestone inspection in the previous 2 calendar years may, by majority vote of the total voting interests, pause or reduce reserve contributions for no more than 2 consecutive annual budgets, then must have a SIRS before resuming (s. 718.112(2)(f)2.e.).
• Funding. Reserves for the SIRS items may be funded by regular assessments, special assessments, lines of credit or loans, each of the last three needing a majority vote (s. 718.112(2)(f)2.c.).
• Officers. Officers or directors sign an affidavit acknowledging receipt of the completed study (s. 718.112(2)(g)10.).

Also changed

The same law moved DBPR's jurisdiction to cover milestone inspection completion and SIRS reporting, required associations to create an online account with DBPR, and required community association managers to list the associations they serve in an online account. We found no public export of those lists, so none appears on this site. See the SIRS guide for the filing rules.

Questions

Source: Florida Senate summary of CS/CS/HB 913, statute text from leg.state.fl.us. Not legal advice.