Milestone inspections (Florida Statutes 553.899)
Created by SB 4-D in 2022 and revised by SB 154 in 2023. The first phase is a visual inspection by a licensed engineer or architect; if it finds substantial structural deterioration, a second, more invasive phase follows. Buildings that reached 30 years before July 1, 2022 were due by December 31, 2024; those that reached 30 between then and December 31, 2024 were due by December 31, 2025. The 2025 law requires repairs identified in a phase two report to begin within 365 days.
Structural integrity reserve studies (Florida Statutes 718.112)
The SIRS covers the roof, structure and load-bearing elements, fireproofing and fire protection, plumbing, electrical, waterproofing and exterior painting, windows and exterior doors, and any other item whose repair or replacement exceeds $25,000 (raised from $10,000 by HB 913 and indexed to inflation). HB 913 moved the deadline for the first SIRS to December 31, 2025, and associations must file their studies with the state. For budgets adopted on or after December 31, 2024, associations may not waive or reduce reserve funding for SIRS components.
What HB 913 (2025) changed
- The laws now apply to buildings of three or more habitable stories.
- Associations may fund SIRS reserves through special assessments, lines of credit or loans, with approval of a majority of the voting interests — so a repair no longer has to arrive as one lump-sum bill.
- Associations may pause or reduce reserve contributions for up to two consecutive annual budgets (adopted through December 31, 2028) to pay for repairs a milestone inspection identified.
- A SIRS must include at least a baseline funding plan.
Reviews of the 2026 legislative session, which ended in March, report no material change to these requirements.
How the laws meet the lender's review
Fannie Mae treats a failed mandatory structural inspection, unfinished critical repairs, and unfunded repairs over $10,000 per unit due within a year as disqualifying. A building working through milestone findings can therefore be ineligible for conventional loans for the duration of the repair — and eligible again once the work is complete and documented. Reserve funding is reviewed separately; see the reasons page for the current minimum.
What to ask before you buy
- Has the building's milestone inspection been done, and was a phase two required?
- Is there a SIRS on file, and what funding plan did the board adopt?
- Are repairs identified, funded, contracted, underway or complete?
- How is the association paying — assessment, loan or line of credit — and what does that do to the monthly cost of the unit?
The answers tell you whether a conventional loan is possible now, possible later, or whether the unit needs a portfolio lender in the meantime.
Sources, checked September 2026: Florida Statutes 553.899 (milestone inspections) · Florida Statutes 718.112 (budgets, reserves, SIRS) · Florida HB 913 (2025) · Florida SB 4-D (2022) · Florida SB 154 (2023) · Florida DBPR · Fannie Mae Selling Guide B4-2.1-03, Ineligible Projects. Agency guides change; a lender confirms the rules in force on your application date.
Common questions
Which Florida condos need a milestone inspection?
Condominium and cooperative buildings of three or more habitable stories, once they reach 30 years (25 if the local building official requires it), then every 10 years.
What is a SIRS in Florida?
A structural integrity reserve study: a study of the building's key structural and life-safety components, their remaining life and the reserves needed for them, required every 10 years.
Can a Florida condo association still waive reserves?
Not for SIRS components, for budgets adopted on or after December 31, 2024. The 2025 law allows a limited pause to fund milestone-inspection repairs.
Can I get a mortgage on a condo that failed its milestone inspection?
Not a conventional one until repairs are completed and documented. Some portfolio lenders will consider it once repairs are funded and underway.