2026-08-24 · Delaware · Compliance

Delaware still has no statewide condominium inspection mandate. Rehoboth Beach now has its own. On June 8, 2026 commissioners voted unanimously to adopt an aged building safety inspection programme covering roughly 25 buildings in the city, at the owners' expense.

What it requires

Covered buildings: four stories or taller, or more than 50 feet in height, and older than 30 years. Detached single-family homes are excluded.¹

Structural inspection: every 10 years, with the initial inspection when the building turns 30.

Exterior and façade inspection: every 5 years.

Smaller buildings with ageing balconies or visible exterior damage can be pulled in for a limited inspection.

Who inspects, and who pays: a licensed Delaware engineer, engaged and paid for by the property owner. The city does not perform the inspections. Owners get one year from notification to complete the initial inspection.

Appeals go to the board of adjustment — but an appeal does not pause enforcement of unsafe or imminently dangerous conditions.

The ordinance includes language discouraging owners from passing costs to tenants; the city conceded it cannot enforce that. No new city staff are required.

What prompted it

The mayor tied it directly to the 2021 Champlain Towers South collapse in Surfside, Florida. The local trigger was closer to home: the 2025 demolition of the Sirocco Motel, where interior steel framing was found rusted away in places. A commissioner described the building as “literally leaning onto one of our main streets and held up by rust.”²

1. “Rehoboth approves high-rise inspection ordinance,” Cape Gazette, June 16, 2026 — unanimous vote June 8, 2026; thresholds, intervals, cost allocation and appeals ↩
2. “Rehoboth considers high-rise inspections,” Cape Gazette, April 21, 2026 — origin of the ordinance, Sirocco Motel demolition, appeals path ↩
3. 25 Del. C. ch. 81, subch. III — §§ 81-315, 81-316, 81-324 (reserves, assessments, budget ratification) ↩