Florida Condo Law Revision Seeks Affordability, But At What Risk?

• More time in the sun: The Governor of Florida just extended a deadline for condo owners to comply with a law that was passed after the deadly Surfside apartment collapse.

• SALT shaker: The House passed Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill Act,” earning real estate industry praise for preserving key tax breaks and expanding deductions.

• Moral depreciation: A scandal ousting its VP threatens the Appraisal Institute’s role as an ethics leader in real estate appraisal.

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Florida Condo Law Revision Seeks Affordability, But At What Risk?

Pushback grows on costly rules passed after Surfside condo collapse

Florida lawmakers are trying to balance safety and solvency by reshaping one of the state's most sweeping post-disaster building reforms. This week, Governor Ron DeSantis announced plans to sign House Bill 913, a measure that rewrites parts of the state’s landmark condo safety legislation passed after the deadly 2021 Surfside collapse.

The new bill offers relief to thousands of Floridians facing rising housing costs after the 12-story Champlain Towers South in Surfside suddenly crumbled, killing 98 people. That tragedy exposed years of deferred maintenance and sparked a wave of legislative action aimed at preventing future disasters. But as costs mounted for aging condo buildings, pushback followed.

The original 2022 law imposed strict requirements on buildings older than 30 years, including mandatory milestone inspections, reserve studies, and fully funded repair reserves. The measures were meant to ensure no building ignored signs of structural decline, but the financial burden proved immense. Some condo associations issued steep special assessments, blindsiding residents, particularly in South Florida’s retiree-heavy communities.

HB 913 delays some of the law’s deadlines. The deadline for structural integrity reserve studies will be extended by a year, and condo associations can pause reserve funding for two years after milestone inspections. With member approval, they can also use loans or credit lines to fund major repairs, offering a financial workaround for buildings strapped for cash.

Notably, the revised law exempts some smaller buildings from reserve study requirements, a nod to concerns that one-size-fits-all mandates disproportionately affect less affluent condo owners. It also addresses the technical shortfall many associations faced in meeting the original 2024 inspection deadline, both logistically and financially.

But with these changes, unease lingers. In Hallandale Beach, condo owner Kelli Roiter said she still worries her 1971 building might suffer the same fate as Champlain Towers. “There are nights I wake up hearing a creak,” she told the Associated Press. “I remind myself that, no, we’re safe. But am I safe?”

The new law, set to take effect July 1, may buy time for property owners. But it raises a persistent question for Florida’s condo sector: How can you safeguard aging buildings without pricing out the people who live in them?

Overheard

Trump's Tax Bill Seen as Win for Real Estate Industry

President Trumps "Big Beautiful Bill Act" has been approved by the House of Representatives, a major milestone on its path to becoming a law. The bill included many changes to the current tax code, some quite controversial. According to some real estate trade groups, some of those provisions are rather beneficial for the real estate industry.

Both the National Association of Realtors and the Mortgage Bankers Association praised the proposed tax code. Among the changes that are seen as a win for real estate are the protections for the mortgage interest deductions and the preservation of 1031 exchanges. Both of these provisions are widely seen as helping incentivize real estate investment and were on the chopping block based on earlier comments by the President.

Other important provisions are the expansion of the SALT deductions and the increase to the qualified business income deduction. These changes will both be widely used by real estate professionals, who often work as independent contractors or small business owners. "We appreciate House leaders for taking this important step with this tax reform bill, which supports hardworking families and strengthens the real estate economy," said Shannon McGahn, NAR executive vice president and chief advocacy officer.

Sexual Harassment Scandal Exposes the Disfunction at the Appraisal Institute

The Vice President of the Appraisal Institute, Craig Steinley, has been voted out of his role after an investigation exposed multiple gripping allegations had been filed against him. Steinley's lawyers have vowed to fight against what they consider to be "baseless claims" and "a deliberate act of retaliation driven by internal politics." The Appraisal Institute has already had to settle with a former employee last year for a different claim against Steinley and the organization.

The Appraisal Institute is influential in the commercial real estate appraisal industry, but it is not the standard bearer for way appraisals are done. The Appraisal Institute has its own Standards of Valuation Practices, which provide guidelines for the development, review, and reporting of appraisals. These standards are primarily used by Appraisal Institute members, they are not legally required or universally adopted by the industry. Most of the industry adheres to the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP), developed by the Appraisal Standards Board of The Appraisal Foundation.

Where the Appraisal Institute plays the largest role in the industry its leadership on professional ethics. They have developed a Code of Professional Ethics and a Standards of Professional Practice that establish requirements for ethical and competent practice among its members. Having a high profile sexual harassment case put the organization in the spotlight will make it much harder for them to lead the push for more ethical behavior in commercial real estate appraisal.

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Propmodo Daily is written and edited by Franco Faraudo with contributions from readers like you and the Propmodo team.

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