Florida HOA Reserve Studies

Florida draws a sharp line after Surfside. The state built a tough reserve regime around condominium and cooperative buildings that climb past a threshold height, and it left most Chapter 720 planned communities under a far looser, largely optional set of rules.

Section 1: Overview, reserve study requirements in Florida

Florida built a hard, post-Surfside reserve regime for condominium and cooperative buildings that reach a threshold height — anchored by the Structural Integrity Reserve Study, mandatory milestone inspections, and structural reserves that members can't vote away — while Chapter 720 planned communities stay under a much weaker framework where reserves are largely optional.¹ Three separate statutes do the governing: Chapter 718, the Condominium Act (§ 718.101 et seq.); Chapter 719, the Cooperative Act (§ 719.101 et seq.); and Chapter 720, the Homeowners' Association Act (§ 720.301 et seq.).² For condominium and cooperative buildings three or more habitable stories tall, the SIRS requires a visual inspection and a funded plan for the major structural components; the milestone inspection under § 553.899 requires a structural assessment when a building turns 30 (or 25 near salt water, if a local agency decides as much); and, for budgets adopted on or after December 31, 2024, members may no longer waive or reduce the reserves for SIRS structural components.^1,3 Typical Chapter 720 planned communities face no SIRS and no milestone mandate; reserves there are required only where the developer established them or the membership voted to create them.² The Legislature has amended this framework repeatedly since the original Senate Bill 4-D in 2022 — through SB 154 (2023), HB 1021 (2024), and HB 913 (2025) — and this page reflects the statutes as amended through the 2025 session.⁴ The sections that follow set out the reserve framework, the specific compliance duties by chapter, the recent legislative and judicial activity, and Florida's place among the states.

Section 2: The reserve framework under Florida law

2A. Chapter 718 condominium reserves and the post-Surfside regime

Chapter 718 actually contains two separate reserve regimes. The first is the traditional statutory requirement in § 718.112(2)(f): every annual budget has to include reserve accounts for roof replacement, building painting, and pavement resurfacing — regardless of cost — plus any other item whose deferred maintenance or replacement cost tops $25,000 (or the inflation-adjusted figure the Division posts).⁵ HB 913 is what raised that threshold, lifting it from $10,000 to $25,000, and it directs the Division to adjust the number every year for inflation and post it by February 1, 2026, and each year after.^4,5

The second regime is the SIRS itself, in § 718.112(2)(g). A residential condominium association has to complete a SIRS at least every 10 years for each building three or more habitable stories tall, working from a visual inspection.¹ HB 913 changed the trigger from "three stories" to "three habitable stories" — a distinction that can exclude buildings whose lower levels are parking or mechanical space.⁴ At a minimum, the study has to cover the roof; the structure, including load-bearing walls and the primary structural members and systems; fireproofing and fire-protection systems; plumbing; electrical systems; waterproofing and exterior painting; windows and exterior doors; and any other item with a deferred maintenance or replacement cost above $25,000 whose failure would affect those listed components.¹ A SIRS has to be performed or verified by an engineer licensed under chapter 471, an architect licensed under chapter 481, or someone certified as a reserve specialist or professional reserve analyst by the Community Associations Institute or the Association of Professional Reserve Analysts.¹ Associations that existed on or before July 1, 2022 had to complete the initial SIRS by December 31, 2025; where a milestone inspection is due on or before December 31, 2026, the SIRS can be done at the same time — but never later than December 31, 2026.¹

Milestone inspections live in § 553.899, and they reach condominium and cooperative buildings three or more habitable stories tall. The inspection has to happen by December 31 of the year a building turns 30, and every 10 years after that. The original SB 4-D set an automatic 25-year trigger for coastal buildings; the current statute drops that automatic rule and instead lets a local enforcement agency decide that proximity to salt water calls for inspection at 25 years.³ Phase one is a visual examination by a licensed architect or engineer, finished within 180 days of written notice. Phase two — the destructive or nondestructive testing — kicks in only if phase one turns up substantial structural deterioration.³

On funding, members of a unit-owner-controlled association that must obtain a SIRS may not, for budgets adopted on or after December 31, 2024, provide no reserves — or reserves that fall short of what the SIRS structural components require — with a narrow exception for multicondominium associations using a Division-approved alternative funding method.⁵ Non-SIRS reserves stay waivable by a majority vote of the total voting interests.⁵ Reserves for SIRS items can be funded through regular assessments, special assessments, lines of credit, or loans; a special assessment, line of credit, or loan needs a majority vote of the total voting interests.⁵ Two relief valves exist. If the local building official declares an entire building uninhabitable after a natural emergency, the board may pause or reduce reserve funding until habitability returns. And for budgets adopted on or before December 31, 2028, an association that finished a milestone inspection within the previous two calendar years may vote to pause or reduce reserve funding for no more than two consecutive annual budgets to pay for milestone repairs — after which it has to perform a SIRS before resuming.⁵

2B. Chapter 720 HOA reserves and Chapter 719 cooperative reserves

Chapter 720 treats reserves very differently. Under § 720.303(6), a homeowners' association isn't automatically required to keep reserves at all; statutory reserves arise only where the developer first established them or the membership later voted to create them.² Where those statutory reserves do exist, the board has to fund them using the statutory formula — unless a majority of the total voting interests votes to waive or reduce funding for the year — and the budget has to carry the statutory disclosure stating whether reserves are funded.² Reserve funds can be used only for authorized reserve expenditures unless a majority of a quorum approves another use.² There's no SIRS and no milestone-inspection mandate for typical Chapter 720 planned communities.²

Chapter 719 tracks the condominium regime closely for cooperative buildings. Section 719.106(1)(k) requires a SIRS at least every 10 years for each cooperative building three or more stories tall, with the same component list, the same December 31, 2025 initial deadline (and the December 31, 2026 backstop where it's coordinated with a milestone inspection), and the same rule barring any waiver of SIRS-component reserves for budgets adopted on or after December 31, 2024.⁶ Cooperative buildings also fall squarely under the § 553.899 milestone-inspection program, right alongside condominiums.³ The central point is hard to miss: this post-Surfside structural regime is a condominium-and-cooperative phenomenon tied to building height — not a Chapter 720 requirement.⁶

2C. Disclosure, the DBPR Division, manager licensing, and the declaration

Condominium disclosure runs through § 718.503. Developers and non-developer sellers alike must hand prospective buyers the inspector-prepared summary of the milestone inspection report and the association's most recent SIRS — or a statement that no SIRS has been completed. HB 913 stretched the non-developer resale rescission window to seven days.⁷ The Chapter 720 disclosure summary under § 720.401, by contrast, covers only the duty to join the association, the recorded covenants, and the assessments, and it expressly doesn't apply to associations regulated under Chapter 718 or Chapter 719.⁸ The Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes — housed within the Department of Business and Professional Regulation — regulates Chapter 718 condominiums and Chapter 719 cooperatives, fields complaints on whether milestone inspections and SIRS were procedurally completed, and can impose civil penalties; it does not regulate Chapter 720 planned communities.⁹ Community association managers and management firms have to be licensed under Chapter 468, Part VIII (§ 468.431 et seq.) once an association exceeds 10 units or a $100,000 budget.¹⁰ And the statutory reserve regime works alongside the recorded declaration and the board's fiduciary duty: reserve amounts for SIRS items have to match the most recent study, and a willful, knowing failure to complete a SIRS or milestone inspection is a statutory breach of the directors' fiduciary relationship to the owners.¹

Section 3: Compliance obligations

A. Study and inspection obligations

SIRS (Ch. 718 condominiums): A residential condominium association with a building three or more habitable stories must complete a SIRS at least every 10 years, covering the statutory components and based on a visual inspection by a qualified preparer (§ 718.112(2)(g)).¹

Milestone inspections (§ 553.899, condominiums and cooperatives): Condominium and cooperative buildings three or more habitable stories must undergo a milestone inspection by December 31 of the year the building turns 30, then every 10 years, with phase two only when substantial structural deterioration shows up.³

Cooperative-building parallels (Ch. 719): A cooperative association must complete a SIRS at least every 10 years for each building three or more stories under § 719.106(1)(k), on the same timeline as condominiums.⁶

B. Funding obligations

Non-waivable structural reserves (Ch. 718 condominiums / Ch. 719 cooperatives): For budgets adopted on or after December 31, 2024, members of an association required to obtain a SIRS may not provide no reserves, or reduced reserves, for the SIRS structural components (§ 718.112(2)(f); § 719.106(1)(k)); full funding of those reserves takes effect with budgets adopted for 2026.⁵

Traditional reserves (Ch. 718 condominiums): Roof replacement, building painting, and pavement resurfacing must be reserved regardless of cost, along with other items above the $25,000 inflation-adjusted threshold (§ 718.112(2)(f)).⁵

Funding deadlines and borrowed funding (Ch. 718 / Ch. 719): Reserves may be funded by regular or special assessment, line of credit, or loan; an uninhabitable-building pause and a two-year post-milestone pause (for budgets adopted on or before December 31, 2028) supply limited relief (§ 718.112(2)(f)).⁵

Chapter 720 funding: A planned community must fund statutory reserves only where they've been established, and members may waive or reduce them by majority vote (§ 720.303(6)).²

C. Disclosure obligations

Condominium resale disclosure (Ch. 718): Sellers must give the milestone inspection summary and the most recent SIRS — or a statement that none exists — to prospective buyers (§ 718.503).⁷

HOA disclosure summary (Ch. 720): A prospective parcel owner must receive the § 720.401 disclosure summary before signing a contract, with a three-day cancellation right; the summary doesn't address reserve studies, SIRS, or milestone inspections.⁸

D. Account and governance obligations

Reserve account use (Ch. 718 / Ch. 719): Reserve funds may be used only for authorized reserve expenditures, and SIRS-component reserves may not be diverted for budgets adopted on or after December 31, 2024 (§ 718.112(2)(f)3.).⁵

Member vote requirements (Ch. 718 / Ch. 720): Waiving non-SIRS reserves, or using a special assessment, loan, or line of credit for reserves, takes a majority vote of the total voting interests under Chapter 718; waiving statutory reserves in a Chapter 720 community likewise takes a majority vote (§ 718.112(2)(f); § 720.303(6)).^2,5

Board duties (Ch. 718): A willful, knowing failure to complete a SIRS or milestone inspection is a breach of the directors' fiduciary duty under § 718.111(1).¹ And many condominium disputes must first go to Division pre-suit nonbinding arbitration, or pre-suit mediation, under § 718.1255 — though disputes over the levy of an assessment and alleged breaches of fiduciary duty fall outside that definition.¹¹

Section 4: Recent legislative and judicial activity

Florida's reserve rules haven't sat still. The Legislature has revisited them in three consecutive sessions, and the courts have started to test how far a board's funding duty really runs.

A. Recent bills

The recent bills all point the same direction: tightening the post-Surfside structural reserve regime while handing associations a few practical tools to fund it.

B. Recent appellate rulings

The courts are starting to mark the outer limits of a board's reserve-funding duty — and who can be held to answer for it.

C. Active legislative debates

The main relief from condominium-funding strain arrived in 2025, when HB 913 pushed the reserve-study deadline back a year and authorized that two-year pause in reserve contributions after a milestone inspection. The 2026 regular session, which ended March 13, 2026, passed no further condominium reserve relief — which leaves the 2026 full-funding mandate firmly in force.⁴

Section 5: National positioning and related coverage

Florida sits among the hardest of the hard-mandate states. Alongside California — whose Civil Code § 5550(a) requires a reserve study built on a visual inspection at least once every three years where the replacement value of major components is at least half the association's gross budget — Florida runs one of the two most developed and prescriptive reserve frameworks in the country. It's one of roughly a dozen states that statutorily require condominium reserve studies, and its post-Surfside structural regime is the most prescriptive in the nation for condominiums.¹⁵ That puts Florida well above disclosure- and policy-mandate states like Colorado, which under CCIOA § 38-33.3-209.5 requires a written reserve-study policy rather than a funded study, and far above no-mandate states like Alaska and Arkansas, where reserves are left to fiduciary duty and the governing documents.¹⁵ What makes Florida distinctive is the split: Chapter 718 condominiums and Chapter 719 cooperatives carry the structural reserve and milestone mandate once a building hits a threshold height, while Chapter 720 planned communities carry no such duty at all. For a multi-state operator running Florida condominium portfolios, that means any building three or more habitable stories tall demands a compliance posture closer to California's than to the optional-reserve regimes of most other states.

Federal frameworks — FHA, ADA, FDCPA, SCRA, and OTARD — also reach Florida associations regardless of the state framework.

1. Fla. Stat. § 718.112(2)(g) (2025), Structural integrity reserve study ↩
2. Fla. Stat. § 720.303(6) (2025), Homeowners' association budgets and reserves ↩
3. Fla. Stat. § 553.899 (2025), Mandatory structural inspections for condominium and cooperative buildings ↩
4. CS/CS/HB 913 (2025), Condominium and Cooperative Associations, ch. 2025-175 ↩
5. Fla. Stat. § 718.112(2)(f) (2025), Annual budget and reserves ↩
6. Fla. Stat. § 719.106(1)(k) (2025), Cooperative structural integrity reserve study ↩
7. Fla. Stat. § 718.503 (2025), Developer and nondeveloper disclosure prior to sale ↩
8. Fla. Stat. § 720.401 (2025), Prospective purchasers; disclosure summary ↩
9. Fla. Stat. § 718.501, Authority and duties of the Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes ↩
10. Fla. Stat. ch. 468, Part VIII (§ 468.431 et seq.), Community Association Management ↩
11. Fla. Stat. § 718.1255 (2025), Alternative dispute resolution; mediation; nonbinding arbitration ↩
12. CS/CS/CS/HB 1021 (2024), Condominiums, ch. 2024-244 ↩
13. SB 154 (2023), Condominium and Cooperative Associations, ch. 2023-203 ↩
14. Grand Harbor Cmty. Ass'n v. GH Vero Beach Dev., LLC, No. 4D2023-1191 (Fla. 4th DCA Oct. 2, 2024) ↩
15. Fla. Stat. § 718.112(2)(g) (2025) (Florida SIRS mandate); cross-reference Cal. Civ. Code § 5550(a) (California reserve study requirement) ↩