On this page 9 sections
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We re-read the listed sources on this date. This is not attorney review, and it is not legal advice.
General information, not legal advice. Statutes and rules change; the official sources are linked below.
Florida condominium boards carry two structural duties that are easy to confuse. A milestone inspection is a structural safety inspection, by a Florida-licensed architect or engineer, of a condo or co-op building three habitable stories or taller: due by December 31 of the year the building turns 30, then every 10 years (§553.899). A structural integrity reserve study (SIRS) is a visual inspection and funding plan for listed building components, required at least every 10 years (§718.112(2)(g)). One asks whether the building is sound. The other asks whether the association is saving enough to keep it that way.
Both came out of the Legislature's response to the June 24, 2021 collapse of Champlain Towers South in Surfside, which took 98 lives (DBPR timeline). This guide puts them side by side, then covers how to run them as projects.
What changed in 2025 and 2026
- HB 913 (2025), effective July 1, 2025: raised the SIRS catch-all threshold from $10,000 to $25,000, allowed a temporary reserve pause after a milestone inspection, allowed pooled reserves for SIRS items, required an officer or director to sign an affidavit acknowledging receipt of the SIRS, and required every condo and co-op association to open an online account with the Division by October 1, 2025 (HB 913 final bill analysis).
- December 31, 2025: the general SIRS deadline passed.
- 2026 session: no substantive change. §553.899 was not amended in 2026; §718.112 received only the reviser's technical corrections (ch. 2026-14). We re-read both in the 2026 statutes on October 4, 2026.
For the other 2024 and 2025 changes, including director education and video conference meetings, see What changed for Florida condo associations in 2024 and 2025.
What is the difference between a milestone inspection and a SIRS?
| Milestone inspection | Structural integrity reserve study (SIRS) | |
|---|---|---|
| Question it answers | Is the structure safe, and what repairs are needed? | What will listed components cost to maintain and replace, and how much goes into reserves each year? |
| Applies to | Buildings three habitable stories or more under condo or co-op ownership; one- to four-family dwellings of three or fewer stories excluded | Each building on the condominium property three habitable stories or higher |
| Cycle | First by December 31 of the year the building turns 30 (or 25), then every 10 years; catch-up deadlines in 2024–2025 for older buildings | At least every 10 years |
| Responsible professional | Florida-licensed architect or engineer | Performed or verified by a Florida-licensed engineer or architect, or a reserve specialist or professional reserve analyst certified by CAI or APRA |
| Deadline | Phase one within 180 days after owners receive the local agency's notice | December 31, 2025, or December 31, 2026 when done with a milestone due by then |
| Owner notice | Inspector's summary to every owner within 45 days, by mail or personal delivery, electronically to owners who consented, and posted on the property | A copy, or notice that it is available, to every owner within 45 days |
| Record posting | Full report and summary on the association's website, if it must have one | Most recent SIRS is one of the 18 posted categories for associations with 25 or more units |
| Who gets the report | The engineer or architect submits a sealed report and summary to the association and the local building official | The association, which sends a statement to DBPR within 45 days |
| Source | §553.899 | §718.112(2)(g) |
DBPR puts the difference this way: a milestone inspection "is a structural inspection of the building, including the load-bearing elements," while a SIRS is based on a visual inspection and is "a budget planning tool" (DBPR condominium FAQs).
What is a milestone inspection?
What the law says
- Which buildings. Buildings three habitable stories or more subject to condominium or cooperative ownership. The section "does not apply to a single-family, two-family, three-family, or four-family dwelling with three or fewer habitable stories above ground."
- When. By December 31 of the year the building reaches 30 years from its certificate of occupancy, then every 10 years. A building that turned 30 before July 1, 2022 was due for its first inspection before December 31, 2024, and one that turned 30 between July 1, 2022 and December 31, 2024 before December 31, 2025. The local enforcement agency may require the first inspection at 25 years based on "local circumstances, including environmental conditions such as proximity to salt water."
- Phase one. A visual examination by the architect or engineer, completed within 180 days after the owners receive the local agency's written notice.
- Phase two. Required if phase one finds substantial structural deterioration. A phase two progress report is due within 180 days after the phase one report. Local ordinances must require repairs to begin within 365 days after the phase two report.
- Extensions. The local enforcement agency may extend the deadline for a building's initial milestone inspection for good cause, if the owners have contracted with an architect or engineer and cannot finish in time (§553.899).
- Owners. Within 45 days of receiving the report, the association distributes the inspector's summary to each owner "regardless of the findings or recommendations in the report," by mail or personal delivery and electronically to owners who agreed to that, posts it in a conspicuous place on the property, and publishes the full report and summary on its website if it must have one.
Source: §553.899, Florida Statutes (2026).
Recommended operating practice
- Check the county or city ordinance before assuming 30 years.
- Start procurement the day the local agency's notice arrives. Engineers book out, and the 180 days run regardless.
- Treat the four owner-notice channels (mail or delivery, electronic, posting on the property, website) as four separate steps with four dates.
What does a SIRS cover?
What the law says
The SIRS must cover, at minimum: roof; structure, including load-bearing walls and primary structural members; fireproofing and fire protection systems; plumbing; electrical systems; waterproofing and exterior painting; windows and exterior doors; and any other item with a deferred maintenance expense or replacement cost over $25,000 (or the inflation-adjusted amount set by the Division) whose failure would negatively affect those items (§718.112(2)(g)).
For each item it states remaining useful life and replacement cost, and it includes a funding schedule with at least a "baseline funding plan" that keeps "the reserve cash balance above zero" in each budget year.
- Deadline. Associations existing on or before July 1, 2022 and controlled by unit owners other than the developer had to complete a SIRS by December 31, 2025. One "required to complete a milestone inspection … on or before December 31, 2026, may complete the structural integrity reserve study simultaneously with the milestone inspection. In no event may the structural integrity reserve study be completed after December 31, 2026."
- Owners and the Division. Within 45 days of receiving the study, the association distributes a copy, or a notice that it is available, to each owner, and gives the Division a statement that it was completed and made available. DBPR takes that statement through the association's online account (DBPR FAQs; online account).
- Affidavit. "An officer or a director of an association must sign an affidavit acknowledging receipt of the completed structural integrity reserve study."
Recommended operating practice
- List every building on the condominium property with its story count, so nobody argues later about which ones need a study.
- Start both 45-day clocks on the date the study arrives. A later board meeting does not move them.
- File the signed affidavit with the study; affidavits are one of the posted record categories.
Funding rules after HB 913
What the law says
For a budget adopted on or after December 31, 2024, members of a unit-owner-controlled association that must have a SIRS "may not determine to provide no reserves or less reserves" than required for the SIRS items (§718.112(2)(f)). Within that rule:
- A temporary pause. For budgets adopted on or before December 31, 2028, an association that completed a milestone inspection in the previous two calendar years may, with approval of a majority of the total voting interests, pause or reduce reserve contributions for no more than two consecutive annual budgets to fund the repairs the inspection recommends.
- A delayed SIRS. After a milestone inspection, an association may delay a required SIRS for no more than the two consecutive budget years that follow (§718.112(2)(g)).
- Lines of credit and loans may fund reserves for SIRS items, with conditions in §718.112(2)(f).
- Pooled reserves. SIRS components may be pooled only with other SIRS components.
Recommended operating practice
These are board and owner decisions with real consequences for assessments and resale. Bring the reserve professional, the CPA and counsel to the budget discussion, and write down which option the board chose and why.
Running it as a project
Here is how the dates in this guide fall for one building, and the work that has to fit between them.
Example scenario. A 12-story, 84-unit building received its certificate of occupancy in 1996. It turns 30 in 2026, so its first milestone inspection is due by December 31, 2026, assuming no 25-year local rule. Because the milestone falls in 2026, the board completes the SIRS alongside it.
| Step | Date | Clock |
|---|---|---|
| Local agency's written notice received | Mar 9, 2026 | Phase one within 180 days: Sep 5 |
| Engineer and SIRS provider engaged | Mar 2026 | Bids and conflict disclosures on file |
| Phase one report received | Sep 3 | Owner summary out by Oct 18 (45 days) |
| SIRS received | Sep 12 | Owners and DBPR by Oct 27 (45 days) |
| Proposed 2027 budget with SIRS reserves | Oct 29 | Notice and proposed budget to owners 14 days before the Nov 12 meeting (§718.112(2)(e)) |
| Phase two, if required | Within 180 days of phase one | Repairs begin within 365 days of the phase two report |
| Reports on the owner website | Rolling | Within 30 days of receipt |
ChecklistSeven things that tend to go wrong
The posting side of these reports is covered in Florida condo website requirements. For how a tower's desk, engineering and board share the work, see Condominiums & high-rises. Inspections, bids and assessments as board projects are shown on the Board Portal page.
Where TowerLine AI fits in a structures project
TowerLine AI's Board Portal is designed to run a milestone inspection, a SIRS and the repair program that follows as tracked projects: phases, bids side by side, the 45-day and 180-day dates with reminders and escalation if one is missed, owner notices with delivery records, and each report filed in the owner-only area. The AI concierge can answer owner calls from the summary the board approves and route anything unusual to the manager. The engineering, the funding plan and the votes stay with your professionals and your board.
Frequently asked questions
Is a SIRS the same as a reserve study?
It is a specific kind of reserve study defined in section 718.112(2)(g). It must cover listed structural and building-envelope components, be performed or verified by a licensed engineer or architect, or by a reserve specialist or professional reserve analyst certified by the Community Associations Institute or the Association of Professional Reserve Analysts, and include a recommended funding schedule. DBPR calls it a budget planning tool.
Can a Florida condo board waive SIRS reserves?
Not for SIRS components. For budgets adopted on or after December 31, 2024, a unit-owner-controlled association that must have a SIRS may not vote to provide no reserves or less than required for those items. A temporary pause of up to two annual budgets after a recent milestone inspection is allowed, with majority approval of the total voting interests, for budgets adopted on or before December 31, 2028.
Which buildings are exempt from milestone inspections?
Section 553.899 applies to condominium and cooperative buildings three habitable stories or more. It does not apply to single-family, two-family, three-family or four-family dwellings with three or fewer habitable stories above ground. For covered buildings, the inspection is due by December 31 of the year the building turns 30, or 25 if the local agency requires it, then every 10 years.
Does a recent milestone inspection change when the next SIRS is due?
It can. Section 718.112(2)(g) lets an association that completes a milestone inspection delay a required SIRS for no more than the two consecutive budget years immediately following it, to focus money on the repairs the inspection recommends. Ask counsel how that interacts with your dates.
Sources
- Section 553.899, Florida Statutes (2026): mandatory structural inspections for condominium and cooperative buildings
- Section 718.112, Florida Statutes (2026): budgets, reserves and structural integrity reserve studies
- Section 718.111, Florida Statutes (2026): official records and website posting
- CS/CS/HB 913 (2025), Condominium and Cooperative Associations, ch. 2025-175
- HB 913 final bill analysis
- DBPR condominium FAQs
- DBPR condominium timeline
- DBPR: create an online account (condominiums and cooperatives)
- SB 104 (2026), ch. 2026-14: reviser's bill
This guide is general information, not legal advice or engineering advice. Local ordinances can set earlier inspection dates, and funding choices carry consequences for owners, so confirm your dates and options with your engineer, your reserve professional and your association's attorney.
