Florida Condo's insurance rules could receive a legal shock

Condominium associations that do not comply with the new laws on the security of building conservation were able to refuse reporting by the state insurer of the last resolutions, Citizens, according to a draft law, which Vicki Lopez proposed by Miami.

Newsweek Contacted Lopez and Citizens on Tuesday morning by e -mail.

Why is it important

The new laws, which were adopted after the tragic collapse of Champlain Towers South in Surfside on June 24, 2021, require condominium associations to carry out regular inspections in aging buildings and to have the means that carry out any repair and maintenance work are required.

What to know?

The new legislation on the security of construction security has already expressed the concerns between experts and legislators about the effects on the South Florida owner apartment market, in which the lists had exploded in the months before the laws came into force. Owners of condominiums that cannot afford rising fees are on the market where interest in such real estate has decreased.

At the same time, Florida is only now recovering from a real estate insurance crisis in which large insurers have been picked up from the state, while others reduce the cover in the areas at risk of disaster.

In addition to the citizens of offering the condominiums for condominiums that are not available to the new legislation, the efforts to avoid tragedies such as those in Surfside, but also endanger the financial situation of the owners to fight.

State-Backed Citizens offers all home owners in Florida a real estate insurance that you cannot find on the private market. According to Lopez 'proposal, HB 913, the insurer of the last way out is prohibited from granting or renewing the owners and associations of condominiums that do not correspond to the new legislation.

According to the new laws, most of the condominium buildings of three floors and higher an inspection for building safety must be subjected to and conclude a study that should ensure that associations reserve enough funds to carry out the necessary maintenance and repair by December 31, 2024.

The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation informed the legislators of the House last week that the majority of the more than 11,270 condominium associations in the state that were necessary not to get through the inspections.

At the moment there are no criminal punishments for condominium associations that do not adhere to the laws – probably why Lopez wants to make sure that they are motivated to subject inspection and carry out the study by other means.

According to a post that she has published on social media, the Republican legislator believes that her law “meets the need for modernized, efficient and integrative condominium management and prioritizes security and financial sustainability for Florida's communities”. Lopez said that the invoice “ensures that ownership owners have a voice while protecting their houses and investments”.

The legislation requires electronic votes, “the owners of the owners can easily participate in decisions [such as taking loans or levying special assessment]Especially when asked by a majority, “Lopez wrote in a contribution on social media.

What people say

The Senator Ileana Garcia, another Republican in Miami The Miami Herald That Lopez's law proposed “threatens to significantly displace thousands of condominiums in Florida in order to pave the way for private companies”.

The legislator said the hardest. “

What's next

If Lopez's proposal is approved, the legislation would have significant consequences for the market for condominiums in Südflorida, on which most agents of the Sunshine State are located.

At the moment there are more than half of the 18,468 condominiums that are insured by the citizens in the counties Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach. The Miami Herald reported. It is not clear how many of these building associations have not completed the study required by December 31, 2024 in accordance with the new regulations.