Latest news with #MySafeFloridaCondominiumPilotProgram
Miami Herald
09-07-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
Will Florida's new condo law help homeowners? Here are 5 takeaways
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed new legislation aimed at helping Florida condo owners comply with safety laws enacted after the Surfside tower collapse. The law gives financial tools for condo associations but does not include new funding for repairs. FULL STORY: DeSantis signs bill to ease maintenance costs for Florida's condo owners Here are the highlights: Legislation details: The new law allows condo associations to take out lines of credit, invest owner fees for future repairs and pause reserve contributions for immediate repairs, aiming to make buildings safer without adding new law: Gov. DeSantis also signed a law to extend the My Safe Florida Condominium Pilot Program, which provides up to $175,000 for building hardening, using nearly $30 million of previously unspent dynamics: DeSantis criticized the Florida House for delaying condo relief legislation, while House Speaker Daniel Perez defended the decision to address the issue during the regular session, highlighting the collaborative effort between the House and challenges: Despite the new law, some condo owners and lawmakers believe more needs to be done to reduce costs and improve management, with concerns about insurance and the financial burden on considerations: Lawmakers continue to seek improvements, such as exempting smaller buildings from certain requirements and enhancing the Department of Business and Professional Regulation's oversight of condo associations. The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists in the Miami Herald newsroom. The full story in the link at top was reported, written and edited entirely by Miami Herald journalists.
Miami Herald
23-06-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
DeSantis signs bill to ease maintenance costs for Florida's condo owners
Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday signed legislation seeking to help condo owners comply with safety laws enacted after the deadly residential tower collapse in Surfside, claiming a win for cash-strapped unit owners while using the public event to further his feud with the Florida House. The bill — signed in Clearwater on the eve of the four-year anniversary of the collapse of the Champlain Towers South — doesn't include any new money to help finance pricey and mandatory repairs. But lawmakers believe it will help condominium owners afford the projects necessary to make their buildings safer and avoid a repeat of the tragedy in Surfside, which killed 98 people. The legislation, HB 913, allows associations to take out lines of credit to fund reserves, invest HOA fees in a limited way to help pay for future repairs without a vote by membership and pause contributions to reserves for up to two years if they are already making immediate repairs needed after mandatory building inspections. The legislation goes into effect on July 1. The bill has been largely lauded by the House and Senate, though some lawmakers and condo owners have said there's more work to be done to lower costs for residents and curtail poor management by condominium associations. DeSantis also signed related legislation, HB 393, on Monday that extends the My Safe Florida Condominium Pilot Program, which will give associations up to $175,000 to harden their buildings and help them come into compliance with the new condominium-safety laws. It goes into effect immediately. The money for that program isn't new, but includes nearly $30 million that largely went unspent last year while the state was getting the program up and running. During the press conference, Ronni Drimmer, the condominium board president of a 55-and-older association in Clearwater, thanked the governor for his advocacy on what she sees as an affordability crisis for unit owners in buildings like hers. But she said there were other problems left unaddressed, namely, insurance. Her association dropped their insurance with the state-run Citizens Property Insurance Corp. for hurricane coverage in 2025 after the company increased the deductible to replace their roof beyond what it would cost to do the work. 'So, we're in a little bit of a precarious situation right now,' Drimmer said. She said her association was 'on the list to get something' from the condominium-hardening program, and was hopeful the money would come through. But she told the Herald/Times afterward that she doesn't think the new condominium legislation ultimately goes far enough to offer financial relief for condominium owners. She said the Legislature should have addressed the issues in January like the governor wanted. 'If they went at the condo fixes sooner, it would have been better,' Drimmer said. 'We are still faced with large increases to come [in] budgeting for 2025.' UNINVITED BILL SPONSOR DeSantis on Monday blamed the House for not getting legislation done earlier in the year as condo owners and associations pleaded for relief from looming bills newly required by state law. He brought up again how he wanted a special session in January for both immigration enforcement and condo relief — but lawmakers took up only the former that month. 'I know a lot of people were very disappointed in the leadership, particularly in the House of Representatives, for not being willing to address it at that time,' DeSantis said. The Herald/Times reported in March that legislation passed in the wake of the Surfside tower collapse created a financial crisis for unit owners that gave an opening to developers looking to replace old buildings with luxury high-rises. Two key reforms that DeSantis signed into law in 2022 are central to the dynamic: mandatory building inspections requiring immediate repairs, and mandatory reserve studies requiring associations to save for future maintenance. Exactly what caused the building to collapse remains under investigation by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The agency issued preliminary findings on Monday and expects to release a final report next year. House Speaker Daniel Perez, a Miami Republican who led on condominium reform after the Surfside tragedy, was against using the special session to address costs associated with enacting the safety measures imposed by legislation he sponsored three years ago. 'The House and Senate both said the condo issue could be handled in the regular session, and it turns out we were 100% right,' Perez said in a statement responding to the governor. Perez called this year's legislation a 'joint effort' by sponsors from both chambers. But DeSantis mostly gave credit to the Senate for the final product, even though the bill that passed included priorities from both chambers. 'I think the Senate in Florida had a good product, and unfortunately, kind of at the last minute, probably the last week, that eventually passed,' DeSantis said. 'And we were able to get something that's now on my desk and that we will sign here today.' Rep. Vicki Lopez, a Miami Republican and top lieutenant to Perez who sponsored the legislation signed Monday by DeSantis, said she wasn't invited to the bill signing but was 'thrilled' it would become law. 'Since being elected to the Florida House, this issue has been a top priority for me, and I'm incredibly proud of what we've achieved together,' Lopez told the Herald/Times. 'Working alongside Speaker Perez and the Florida House, we delivered meaningful solutions for condo owners across Florida including the 667 associations in my district.' Lopez called the final legislation a 'thoughtful balance: ensuring the structural safety of our buildings while providing much-needed financial relief for families facing the significant costs of reserve requirements.' Sen. Jennifer Bradley, a Fleming Island Republican, said she was invited to the bill signing but was unable to make it as she is out of state with her family. She said DeSantis 'delivered on his promise to provide relief for Florida condo owners.' 'After much listening, my bill provides needed relief without sacrificing safety. Condo owners want safe buildings, greater transparency and accountability for associations, greater financial flexibility and extended timelines,' Bradley said. 'This bill does all these things.' Other lawmakers say there is still work to be done. Sen. Rosalind Osgood, a Tamarac Democrat, said she wanted to see condominium buildings under six stories carved out from the new requirements around saving for future maintenance. She filed a bill to that end this year but it wasn't heard. The bill that ultimately passed requires any condominium building with three habitable stories to comply. Sen. Ileana Garcia, a Miami Republican who has worked with hundreds of Florida condominium owners on myriad issues including affordability and association accountability, said the legislation 'takes a significant step toward protecting condo owners from bad actors while prioritizing their safety.' But she wants the state Department of Business and Professional Regulation, which regulates condominium associations, to 'dramatically improve its procedures and best practices.' 'Condo owners are ready to move forward, yet the DBPR division often fails to thoroughly investigate and keep cases open,' Garcia said. 'They have a fiduciary duty that cannot continue to be sidelined.'
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
It's hurricane season. Florida's property insurance isn't ready.
Prior to the start of this legislative session, Florida lawmakers were widely expected to make progress toward improving resilience of properties, including increased funding for the My Safe Florida Home grant, while also letting the recent legal reforms credited with stabilizing the state's insurance market continue to work before making additional reforms. However, what played out in session was shocking to say the least. While the Florida Legislature passed legislation that expanded the My Safe Florida Condominium Pilot Program to help condo owners harden their properties from storms, the Florida House also pursued a reversal of the aforementioned reforms. The House filed legislation to reverse the hard-fought legal reforms and return back to the status quo of a few years ago when Florida had some of the largest property insurance rate increases in the country. This was the wrong call and many lawmakers and the governor balked at this attempt to go back on these reform efforts only a few years into them. Thankfully, the Florida Senate agreed that reversing reforms now would do nothing to improve insurance rates for policyholders and putting a stop to the bill in its chamber to give more time to allow for the reforms to take hold. The bill ultimately was withdrawn from consideration. Opinion: Gov. Ron DeSantis, where's the real homeowners insurance fix for Florida? However, this does not mean that all is perfect in Florida's property insurance market. Floridians still pay among the highest property insurance bills in the country and while the percentage rate of increases have gone down, people are still seeing increases in their bills each year. 'Grotesque': Husband-wife insurance execs earn more than $50 million in 2 years Florida has long flirted with the seductive idea that we can legislate away the price of hurricane exposure by artificially lowering rates. From rate freezes to mandatory rollbacks, we've repeatedly treated high premiums as a political failure rather than a financial signal. But risk doesn't disappear because we vote it down. It simply moves underground, only to reemerge when disaster strikes. For example, when Citizens Property Insurance Corp. underprices risk, or when state regulators restrict private insurers from charging actuarially sound rates, we may enjoy temporary relief. But the market doesn't forget. Insurers leave. Capital dries up. And when the losses come, as they always do, the money has to come from somewhere. It's a classic bait-and-switch: legislate artificially low premiums, then shift the true cost onto the public after the next storm passes and headlines fade. This 'hurricane tax' is a hidden levy we all pay for the comfort of denial. Actually addressing the property insurance affordability crisis requires reduction of risk among new and existing properties and not hiding costs. Opinion: Florida must strengthen its electrical grid before it's too late The National Institute of Building Sciences estimates that every $1 spent on mitigation saves $6 to $7 in future disaster recovery costs. Programs like the previously mentioned My Safe Florida Home grant have already demonstrated their value and continue to see funding increases, providing grants and inspections that help homeowners strengthen their properties. The results for those taking advantage of the program: fewer claims, less damage and quicker recoveries. Florida policymakers have made good-faith efforts into stabilizing the market but there is more we can do to improve the market. Now, we need to allow insurance pricing to reflect exposure to risk and to continue offering mitigation grants to strengthen homes. Mitigation may not offer the same short-term political wins as artificially cutting rates but it does offer a long-term solution that will benefit all Floridians. Doug Izzo is the executive director of the Englewood Chamber of Commerce. This opinion piece was distributed by The Invading Sea, which publishes news and commentary on climate change and other environmental issues affecting Florida. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Florida hurricane season is here. Insurance isn't ready | Opinion
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Condo conundrum: 165 properties OK'd for grant program face tougher new hurdles
A Pembroke Pines condominium's governing board thought it moved quickly to get in line for a roof replacement grant when the My Safe Florida Condominium Pilot Program opened to applications last November. Now, the association is being told that it's ineligible for a grant under terms of a new bill just passed by the Florida Legislature that, among other revisions, now limits eligibility to condominiums over two stories. Pierpointe V Condo III is a small complex of 24 units in three two-story buildings. It's one of 165 condominium properties in Florida told they were approved for windstorm mitigation inspections and, depending on what the inspections identified, generous grants for storm-hardening improvements. But now those approvals are uncertain. A new law that awaits the governor's signature includes several tougher qualifying provisions that could put Pierpointe V and a number of others out of the running. 'It's really unfortunate, and it's a little bit disappointing,' said Dawn Munera, Pierpointe V's treasurer, who submitted the condo's application. The property still awaits its initial inspection nearly six months after it was approved in December, she said. 'I was also surprised that none of the condo condominiums that applied for this have been been approved for grants yet.' Florida lawmakers pass revamp of condo laws, responding to residents' higher costs Florida condo owners 'need relief.' These proposals move forward in Legislature. Hundreds of South Florida condos now on secret mortgage blacklist The My Safe Florida Condominium Pilot Program, patterned after the popular My Safe Florida Home program, was originally enacted in 2024. The program aimed to provide $2 in state funds, up to $175,000, for every $1 spent by condo associations to fund mitigation projects. Eligible projects include replacement of windows, skylights and other openings with impact-resistant glass; purchase and installation of code-compliant exterior doors; and improvements to roofs that would require full roof replacements. Officials shut down the application portal on Nov. 19, six days after receiving 174 applications. Those applications were enough to deplete the initial $30 million budget if all sought the maximum grant amount, according to a Jan. 1 report sent to legislators by the Department of Financial Services, which oversees the program. Of the 174 applications, 165 were approved, the report said. The Department of Financial Services confirmed on Thursday that the 165 approved properties will be subjected to new requirements in the amended law if they hope to qualify for a grant. 'Once the grant window is opened, all applications are subject to the provisions of law at the time of approval,' department spokesman Devin Galetta said. Of the 165 applicants, 52 have buildings under three stories, Galetta said. And inspections of 378 buildings at 91 condo associations have been completed, he said. If enacted, the new law would add these requirements: — Condos must be at least three habitable stories. — Window upgrades will be eligible for grant funding only if they are established as common elements in a condo declaration, and not owned individually by unit owners. — Improvements will only be eligible for grants if they result in an insurance discount. — Mitigation improvements must be made to all openings, including exterior doors, garage doors, windows and skylights, if doing so is necessary for the building to qualify for an insurance discount. — All condos approved for grants must have completed their milestone inspections and Structural Integrity Reserve Studies. Munera said her condo completed its milestone inspection and reserve study because Pembroke Pines requires them even for condominiums under three stories. The condo had recently spent $142,000 to replace two of its three roofs before owners heard about the My Safe Florida Condominium program. It canceled plans to replace the third roof, believing it could recover $47,000 in grants before the June 1 start of the upcoming hurricane season. Each unit owner would have saved about $2,000, Munera said. In December, the condo board learned it was approved to participate in the program, Munera said. Eligibility for a grant hinged on what the inspection found and were subject to rules in place at the time, she said. But although she reached out in December to the vendor hired to conduct the inspections, several months went by and no inspector showed up, Munera said. After Munera sent several emails, the employee told her by telephone on Tuesday that the complex would no longer be eligible for a grant under terms of the new law, which the employee said would be signed shortly by the governor, Munera said. Munera said she then reached out to the office of Rep. Vicki Lopez, a Miami Republican who co-sponsored the original and amended bills, and received an email from one of Lopez's aides telling her that her condo no longer qualified. Galetta and Lopez pointed out that one of the revisions approved in the new bill will make it easier for qualified properties to secure a grant. One of the revisions, intended to allow condo boards to bypass individual holdouts, reduces the percentage of unit owners required to approve grant applications from 100% to 75%. The 100% threshold 'was determined to be a significant hurdle,' Galetta said. Munera said she had approval from all 24 of her condo's unit owners to apply for its grant. In addition, Galetta said, the new bill allows larger grant amounts per window and per square feet of roof. Asked if the bill's sponsors made a mistake by not grandfathering in the previously approved applicants under the rules enacted last year, Lopez said she didn't think so. Requirements added to the revised bill, including changing the approval threshold to 75% of unit owners and ordering that all windows be under common ownership, resulted from 'what we learned during the initial implementation phase,' she said. 'What probably should have happened is that (the department) should have notified all who applied for an inspection that the program would most probably be amended and then they should only have inspected the buildings that were aligned with the provisions of the new bill,' she said. 'This would have avoided any confusion that exists today.' The confusion is just beginning for Munera and her fellow residents at Pierpointe V Condo III. They have to figure out how to proceed knowing they'll have to come up with the money they had counted on saving. 'I have to bring all these owners back in for another meeting and explain, 'You know what? We haven't fixed this roof for six months because we were waiting for the grant money. Now, it's not gonna come.' Ron Hurtibise covers business and consumer issues for the South Florida Sun Sentinel. He can be reached by phone at 954-356-4071 or by email at rhurtibise@
Yahoo
03-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Condominium hurricane hardening pilot could become more accessible
Vantage Point Condominiums in St Petersburg. (Photo by Mitch Perry/Florida Phoenix) Condominium associations would no longer need unanimous approval from unit owners to qualify for a pilot grant program intended to make the buildings more resistant against hurricanes under a bill from St. Augustine Republican Sen. Tom Leek. The bill, SB 592, changes the requirements for the My Safe Florida Condominium Pilot Program lawmakers unanimously approved last year, devoting $30 million to it for the 2024-2025 fiscal year. The senator's proposal won bipartisan support in its first hearing Monday before the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee. Although no condos have received the available matching grants of up to $175,000, the state has approved qualifying inspections for 165, according to a Jan. 30 report from the Florida Department of Financial Services. The pilot program pays for the inspections. Leek's bill would allow condos to apply for the grants with the approval of at least 75% of owners who live in the units. Democratic Sen. Jason Pizzo, who co-introduced the pilot program in 2024, thanked Leek for his proposed changes. 'As you can imagine, it's nearly impossible to get 100% approval from ownership in these associations, or even at your own family dinner table sometimes. So I think it's a great start to go to 75%, but still be mindful that a lot of these associations' boards can take out tens of millions of dollars in loans, larger amounts of money, with a lot less scrutiny and threshold,' Pizzo said. Only condo buildings with at least three stories with at least one residential unit would be eligible under the changes for the wind mitigation pilot program, and the grants could only cover improvements that would result in an insurance rate or discount. Already, the pilot is limited to structures within 15 miles of the coast. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
