SB154/Milestone Inspections

By: Erum S. Kistemaker, Managing Partner (Attorney), Juris Doctorate

• A milestone inspection is a mandatory inspection that is required when a condominium reaches a certain age. The association is required to visually inspect all buildings, three stories or more, for substantial structural deterioration per SB 4D that was passed in the 2022 legislative session. If any is detected, the association must perform testing and/or repairs. SB-4D set the initial deadline for milestone inspections as December 31, 2024, or by the end of the year in which the condominium turns 25 or 30 years old, depending on its vicinity to the coastline. According to some experts, this instantly triggered the inspection requirement for over 20,000 condominiums across the state. Therefore, making Compliance by December 31, 2024 UNreasonable or UNachievable under SB 4-D. For example, milestone inspections had to be performed directly by a limited pool of licensed architects or engineers *WHICH HAS BEEN CHANGED UNDER SB 154. In addition, the 25-year deadline for certain coastal condominiums had already passed, or the method of computation caused the inspection outside date to be sooner than the end of 2024. SB 4-D also permitted local enforcement agencies to send compliance notices, but it was unclear whether the notices could effectively shorten or extend the statutory deadlines. Causing numerous concerns with enforcement and implementation of the milestone inspection requirements *SEVERAL OF MY CONDOS IN DAYTONA BEACH HAVE STARTED TO RECEIVE THESE NOTICES FROM THE CITY OF DAB. SB 154 attempts to address these concerns.
• First, milestone inspections can now be performed by a “team of professionals” working under a licensed architect or engineer.
• The initial deadline for condominiums reaching 30 years old between July 1, 2022 and December 31, 2024, was extended to December 31, 2025. This addressed the deadlines that had already passed, or those with outside dates sooner than December 31, 2024. Therefore, the notices become moot.
• SB 154 also removed the strict 25-year deadline for coastal condominiums, and instead, authorized local enforcement agencies to impose a 25-year deadline for any applicable condominium because of local circumstances, such as the proximity to saltwater.
• SB 154 revised the notice procedure for local enforcement agencies, which can now extend the milestone inspection deadline for a condominium that shows
• good cause (e.g., a pending contract for a milestone inspection that cannot be reasonably completed by the deadline).

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