Florida's condominium laws mandate milestone inspections at key intervals to safeguard the well-being of residents and protect property investments. These inspections play a pivotal role in maintaining the structural integrity and safety of your condominium, and our licensed engineers are here to ensure your property complies with these important state regulations.

The new law primarily addresses mandatory structural inspections and reserves for condominiums and cooperatives with buildings three (3) stories or greater in height. Local enforcement agencies will be required to determine and notify condominium and cooperative associations if they require a milestone inspection.

The milestone inspection must be completed within 180 days of receipt of notice from local enforcement agencies. Completion of phase one occurs when the engineer or architect submitted the inspection report to the local enforcement agency.

All condominium and cooperative buildings must complete a milestone inspection by December 31st of the year the building reaches 30 years of age from the building’s original receipt of its certificate of occupancy, and every 10 years thereafter. Therefore, buildings with certificates of occupancy on or before July 1, 1992, must complete the inspection before December 31, 2024.

All condominium and cooperative buildings within three (3) miles of the coastline must complete inspections by December 31st of the year in which the building reaches 25 years of age, and every 10 years thereafter. Therefore, buildings within 3 miles of coastline with certificates of occupancy on or before July 1, 1997, must complete the inspection before December 31, 2024.

A licensed architect or engineer authorized to practice in the state of Florida shall perform a visual examination of habitable and non-habitable areas of the building, including the major structural components of the building, and provide an assessment of the structural conditions of the building.

Phase two inspection may involve destructive or nondestructive testing at the inspector’s direction. The inspection may be as extensive or as limited as necessary to fully assess areas of structural distress in order to confirm that the building is actually sound and safe for its intended use and to recommend a program for fully assessing and repairing distress and damaged portions of the building.

If the architect or engineer performing the inspection, does not find signs of substantial structural deterioration to any building components under the visual examination, phase two of the inspection is not required.