(The Center Square) – The Florida Legislature passed compromise legislation this week intended to help condominium owners deal with massive repair assessments.

A compromise was reached by the chambers between Senate Bill 1742 and House Bill 913 and the conference report passed unanimously in both chambers on Wednesday. It is headed to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ desk for a possible signature.

During floor debate, SB1742’s sponsor, Fleming Island Republican Sen. Jennifer Bradley, said the measure came from a “lot of listening to condo owners talk about how they know their building needs to be safe, but pleading that the process be fair and workable, worried that developers would take advantage of the situation, worried that things not be implemented so quickly that they can’t financially catch up.”

“To all of those owners, we heard you, and this bill is the relief you’re asking for,” Bradley said.

Rep. Vickie Lopez, R-Miami, sponsored the House legislation.

The 191-page bill addresses a lot of issues, including a prohibition of conflict of interests with community association managers and structural inspectors, along with requirements on milestone safety inspections for buildings with three habitable stories or greater (the previous law was three stories). 

Communities would also be required under the legislation to have adequate property insurance for full insurable value as determined by an independent insurance appraisal or an update of a previous appraisal.

Condo associations would be required to propose a substitute budget that excludes any discretionary spending if the proposed budget exceeds 115% of the assessments of the previous year. This new budget would have to be presented to property owners before it could be adopted.

The measure would also remove “assessments for the betterment of the community” as part of that 115% cap and limit those added expenses to repairs required by structural integrity reserve studies. 

Many condo owners are dealing with crippling assessments that DeSantis said can be as much as $100,000 per unit. These are required by laws passed in a May 2022 special session in the wake of the 2021 collapse of the Champlain Towers condominium building in Surfside that killed 98 people. 

Lawmakers balked at tackling condo issues at a special session called by DeSantis to tackle immigration enforcement earlier this year. 

“This legislation is the product of many months of work, led by Senator Bradley and Senator Pizzo, to address concerns and incorporate feedback from condo owners, associations, local governments, state regulators, our dedicated partners in the Florida House and many other stakeholders,” said Senate President Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula, in a news release, referring to Sen. Jason Pizzo. “Condominium living is, particularly in our coastal areas, an iconic and highly sought-after way of life, including for many seniors retiring to our state.

“Everyone shares the goal of ensuring our condos are safe for residents who have made significant investments in these properties.”