What Are Florida’s Condo Milestone Inspection and SIRS Requirements?
Florida requires condo and co-op buildings of three or more stories to pass a milestone structural inspection at 30 years old, then every 10 years. Associations must also complete a Structural Integrity Reserve Study (SIRS) and fully fund those reserves — owners can no longer vote to waive them.
What the Milestone Inspection Is
After the 2021 Surfside collapse, Florida enacted Senate Bill 4-D (2022), later refined by SB 154 (2023), HB 1021 (2024), and HB 913 (2025). Together they require a milestone inspection of every condominium (Chapter 718) and cooperative (Chapter 719) building that is three or more habitable stories tall. A licensed engineer or architect performs a Phase 1 visual inspection when the building turns 30 years old (measured from its certificate of occupancy) and every 10 years after that. If the Phase 1 inspection finds substantial structural deterioration, a more detailed Phase 2 inspection follows.
What SIRS Is and the Eight Components
A Structural Integrity Reserve Study (SIRS) is a reserve study focused on the parts of the building that keep it standing. The law requires it to evaluate eight components: the roof; load-bearing walls and primary structure; fireproofing and fire protection; plumbing; electrical systems; waterproofing and exterior painting; windows and exterior doors; and any other item that costs $25,000 or more and whose failure would affect those systems. The study sets how much the association must set aside to repair or replace each one.
The Deadlines and the End of Reserve Waivers
Associations in existence on or before July 1, 2022 were required to complete their first SIRS by December 31, 2025. Just as important, beginning with budgets adopted on or after January 1, 2025, associations must fully fund the SIRS reserves and can no longer vote to waive or reduce them. For many older buildings that ended years of underfunded reserves overnight, which is why special assessments and higher monthly dues have become so common across Florida.
How This Affects Buying or Selling a Condo
These rules have reshaped condo transactions. A seller must give a buyer the building’s milestone inspection report and SIRS before closing, and lenders — along with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — now demand them. A building that has not completed its inspections or that shows major deficiencies can be deemed non-warrantable, which blocks conventional financing. And because a special assessment generally falls on whoever owns the unit when it is levied, buyers need to read the reports, the budget, and recent board minutes before committing.
The 25-Year Coastal Question
The original law required an earlier, 25-year inspection for buildings within three miles of the coast. HB 1021 (2024) removed that automatic statewide trigger: the default is now 30 years everywhere, but a local enforcement agency may still require the first inspection at 25 years when local conditions, such as salt-air exposure, justify it. Many South Florida coastal jurisdictions have kept the 25-year timeline, so the practical answer depends on your specific city or county — always check the local rule.
Milestone and SIRS Compliance in Miami-Dade County
Miami-Dade has one of the oldest and densest condo stocks in the state, so a large share of its buildings are at or past the 30-year mark, and several coastal municipalities here enforce the 25-year timeline. If you are buying into a building and cannot get a straight answer about its milestone or SIRS status, or you are a board member trying to comply, that uncertainty is worth resolving before you sign or vote. Arturo R. Alfonso P.A. has handled Miami-Dade real estate matters in English and Spanish for over 35 years. Buyers, sellers, and boards searching for a real estate attorney near me in Miami are welcome to schedule a consultation.
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