Florida's bill to exempt shorter condo buildings from reserve studies died without a hearing
Florida's bill to exempt shorter condo buildings from reserve studies died without a hearing
2026-09-10 · Florida · Legislation · Did not pass
What happened. SB 722, which would have narrowed Florida's structural integrity reserve study mandate and restored an owner vote to waive reserves, died in the Senate Regulated Industries Committee on 13 March 2026. It was filed on 3 December 2025, introduced on 13 January 2026, referred to three committees — Regulated Industries, Community Affairs and Rules — and never placed on an agenda in any of them.1
What the bill proposed
Sen. Rosalind Osgood's bill did three things. It defined “structural integrity reserve study.” It required a SIRS only for associations governing a building of a specified height, and provided expressly that associations governing buildings below that height are not required to conduct one. And it authorised certain condominium associations to elect, by majority vote, to waive or reduce reserve contributions.
That third element is the one that would have moved the most money. Since budgets adopted on or after 31 December 2024, s. 718.112(2)(f)2.b has provided that members of a unit-owner-controlled association required to obtain a SIRS “may not determine to provide no reserves or less reserves than required by this subsection for items listed in paragraph (g).”
What still applies, because the bill failed
The current requirement reaches buildings three habitable stories or higher. The word “habitable” is doing real work there — it was inserted by HB 913 in 2025, and it takes out buildings whose third level is a parking podium or other non-habitable space.
A SIRS must cover the roof; structure; fireproofing and fire protection; plumbing; electrical; waterproofing and exterior painting; windows and exterior doors; and any other item whose deferred maintenance or replacement cost exceeds a threshold the Division now indexes annually. Failure is not merely a compliance problem: under s. 718.112(2)(g)10, a willful and knowing failure “is a breach of an officer's or director's fiduciary relationship to the unit owners under s. 718.111(1).”2
The relief that does exist — and it is not a waiver
The reserve-waiver ban is widely described as absolute. It is not, and boards under assessment pressure should know precisely what the statute already allows, because it is narrower and more procedural than SB 722 would have been.
A two-budget pause, tied to a milestone inspection. Under s. 718.112(2)(f)2.e, for a budget adopted on or before 31 December 2028, if the association has completed a milestone inspection under s. 553.899 within the previous two calendar years, the board — “upon the approval of a majority of the total voting interests of the association” — may temporarily pause, “for a period of no more than two consecutive annual budgets,” reserve contributions or reduce reserve funding, for the purpose of funding repairs recommended by that inspection. An association that pauses must obtain a SIRS before resuming contributions. Developer-controlled associations, associations under non-developer control for less than a year, and bulk-assignee or bulk-buyer-controlled associations are excluded.
A pause with no owner vote, after a natural emergency. Under s. 718.112(2)(f)2.d, if the local building official determines the entire building is uninhabitable due to a natural emergency, the board may pause or reduce reserve funding on a vote of its own members until the building is determined habitable again, and may spend reserve funds to make it habitable.
Borrowing. Under s. 718.112(2)(f)2.c, reserves for SIRS items may be funded by regular assessments, special assessments, lines of credit or loans, with a majority of total voting interests required. Note the trap in the second sub-subparagraph: a loan taken to fund milestone or SIRS capital expenses “must be sufficient to fund the cumulative amount of any previously waived or unfunded portions” as well as the current study. An association with a long history of waivers will find the required loan considerably larger than its repair estimate.
Pooling. Reserve accounts may be pooled across two or more required components, and no member vote is needed for the board to switch to pooled or straight-line accounting. SIRS components may only be pooled with other SIRS components.
The financing consequence boards keep missing
Any of these manoeuvres now interacts with a mortgage rule that changed in 2026. Fannie Mae's Selling Guide, at the Full Review section, now states that a project budget “must include the highest recommended reserve allocation amount in the reserve study,” and that the baseline funding method — a plan that lets the reserve balance approach but never fall below zero — “may not be used to waive the 10% reserve requirement.”3
Florida's SIRS statute requires the opposite as a floor: s. 718.112(2)(g)4.a says the study “must include a recommendation for a reserve funding schedule based on a baseline funding plan.” An association that funds exactly to its statutory baseline is compliant with Florida law and simultaneously fails the mortgage exception. A paused or reduced reserve line is precisely what a Full Review now examines.
What to watch next
No SIRS bill has been filed for 2027, and no condominium bill of any kind has been. The 2027 Regular Session convenes 2 March 2027, with the Senate filing deadline at noon that day.
The nearer date is 31 December 2026. That is the absolute statutory wall for completing a SIRS — “in no event may the structural integrity reserve study be completed after December 31, 2026” — and it is also the milestone deadline for buildings reaching 30 years during 2026. Boards waiting for legislative relief have run out of the argument and have roughly sixteen weeks.
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