Which condo buildings need a milestone inspection?

Buildings of three habitable stories or more under condominium or cooperative ownership, by 31 December of the year the building turns 30 from its certificate of occupancy, and every ten years after that. The figures are in section 553.899 of the Florida Statutes, which is worth checking directly because it has been amended more than once.

Is there a 25-year rule for buildings near the coast?

Not under the current statute. That trigger appeared in earlier versions of the law and is still widely repeated, which is why it is worth checking the current text rather than relying on what was true when you bought. The present requirement is 30 years uniformly.

What is a structural integrity reserve study?

A study that examines the structural components of a building, including roof, load-bearing walls, foundation, plumbing, electrical, windows and waterproofing, and prices what they will cost to maintain or replace. It drives how much the association should be holding in reserves.

Has the deadline for the reserve study passed?

For associations existing on or before 1 July 2022 and controlled by unit owners, the deadline was 31 December 2025 for buildings three stories or higher. An association whose milestone inspection is due on or before 31 December 2026 may run the study alongside it, and no later than that date.

Can I sell if my building has not completed its inspection?

Yes. It becomes something a buyer will ask about and a lender may examine, so it affects the buyer pool and sometimes the price. The practical requirement is accurate information rather than a clean report, because uncertainty is what buyers discount most heavily.

Who pays a special assessment, me or the buyer?

Florida practice generally puts a voted assessment on the owner at the time it is levied, but the contract can allocate it differently and frequently does. Settle it explicitly in the offer, because a vague agreement is one of the more common reasons a condo closing slips.

Do I have to tell buyers what the inspection found?

Florida requires disclosure of known material defects that are not readily observable, and a building report you have seen is something you know. The association documents usually reveal it during the review period anyway, so disclosure is both safer and generally cheaper than the alternative.

Will these rules reduce what my unit is worth?

In buildings facing substantial structural work, units do trade below comparable units in buildings without it, which reflects a real future cost. In buildings with a clean report and funded reserves, the same rules are a selling point. The variable is your building rather than the legislation.

Florida condo milestone inspections and reserve rules

Florida condo milestone inspections and reserve rules now shape condo sales more than almost anything else about the unit itself. Buyers ask whether the inspection has been done, what it found, and whether the reserve study has produced an assessment. A seller who can answer those three questions has a much easier sale than one who cannot.

Free Home Valuation

Every situation on this page comes down to a number: what the property is worth and what you would net. We will work both out from recent sales near you, at no cost.

Which buildings a milestone inspection covers

The requirement applies to buildings of three habitable stories or more that are under condominium or cooperative ownership.

The inspection is due by 31 December of the year the building reaches 30 years of age, measured from the date its certificate of occupancy was issued.

After the first one, it repeats every ten years. These figures come from section 553.899 of the Florida Statutes.

A widely repeated version of this rule adds a 25-year trigger for buildings within three miles of the coast. That is not what the current statute says.

Low-rise buildings under three habitable stories are outside the milestone requirement, which covers a large share of Palm Beach County condo stock.

Because the rules have been amended more than once since 2022, confirm the current position for your building rather than relying on what was true when you bought.

What a structural integrity reserve study is

A structural integrity reserve study, usually shortened to SIRS, examines the components that hold the building up and prices what they will cost to maintain or replace.

It covers items such as the roof, load-bearing walls, floor and foundation, fireproofing, plumbing, electrical, windows, exterior doors and waterproofing.

Associations existing on or before 1 July 2022 and controlled by unit owners had to complete one by 31 December 2025 for each building three stories or higher.

An association whose milestone inspection falls due on or before 31 December 2026 may run the study at the same time, and no later than that date.

After a milestone inspection, an association may delay a required study for up to two consecutive budget years to direct its money at the repairs the inspection found.

The requirements sit in section 718.112 of the Florida Statutes, which is worth reading directly because it is amended most sessions.

Why buyers now ask about both

A milestone inspection that identifies substantial repairs usually leads to an assessment, and the buyer wants to know whether that is coming.

A reserve study establishes what the association should be collecting, and underfunded reserves point toward future increases in dues or a future assessment.

Lenders have become more interested in the same questions, because a building with known structural repairs outstanding is a different risk.

Insurers ask too, and a building with deferred structural work can become harder or more expensive to insure.

So the documents are no longer a formality that a buyer skims during a review period. They are frequently the deciding factor.

Sellers who treat them as paperwork are surprised by how much of the negotiation turns on them.

Getting your building's position clear before you list

Ask the association whether the milestone inspection has been completed and, if so, request the report and any phase two findings.

Ask whether the reserve study has been completed and what it concluded about funding levels.

Ask whether the board has adopted a funding plan, voted an assessment, or scheduled either.

Ask for the minutes of recent meetings, because a discussion that has not yet become a vote still matters to a buyer.

Get all of this in writing rather than from a conversation, since you will need to hand it to a buyer anyway.

Doing this before listing means you price with the information rather than renegotiating after a buyer discovers it.

How an inspection finding affects your price

A clean report with funded reserves is a genuine selling point and worth saying plainly in the marketing.

A report identifying repairs with no assessment yet voted creates uncertainty, and buyers price uncertainty conservatively.

A voted assessment with a known amount is often easier to sell against than an unknown one, because the buyer can do arithmetic.

Where an assessment is known, the negotiation is usually about who pays it rather than whether it exists.

Units in buildings with structural work outstanding trade at a discount to comparable units in buildings without, which is rational rather than unfair.

The worst position is not a bad report. It is a seller who does not know what the report says.

Who pays an assessment that is already voted

Florida practice generally puts a voted assessment on the owner at the time it is levied, but the contract can allocate it differently.

That makes it a negotiating term, and it is one of the more common things a condo buyer will raise.

A seller can pay it off at closing, credit the buyer, or agree the buyer assumes remaining instalments where the association permits.

The estoppel certificate will state what is owed, which is why it is ordered rather than estimated.

Leaving it vague in the contract is how closings slip, because the closing agent cannot disburse against an ambiguity.

Address it explicitly at the offer stage rather than discovering the gap three days before closing.

What to disclose about known building problems

Florida requires a seller to disclose known material defects that are not readily observable, and building-level problems can fall within that.

A milestone report you have seen, an assessment you know is coming, or a board discussion you attended are all things you know.

Disclosing them is both the safer course and usually the cheaper one, because a buyer who discovers it later renegotiates or walks.

The association documents will reveal most of it during the buyer's review period, so concealment rarely survives the transaction anyway.

Where you are unsure whether something is material, that is a question for a Florida attorney rather than a judgement call to make alone.

There is a separate guide on disclosure obligations in this cluster, because the subject is larger than a condo sale.

Selling a unit in a building with work outstanding

It is entirely possible and it happens constantly. What it requires is accurate information and a price that reflects the position.

Cash buyers and investors are less affected, because they are not constrained by a lender's view of the building.

Financed buyers are more affected, since lenders look at the building as well as the borrower and the unit.

Providing the full document set up front shortens the process and reduces the chance of a mid-contract collapse.

Pricing with the assessment visible, rather than hoping a buyer will not notice, produces a faster and more reliable sale.

The buyers who will not proceed were never going to proceed, and discovering that in week one costs less than discovering it in week six.

What we do on a condo listing

We ask the association for the milestone and reserve position before recommending a price, rather than after an offer arrives.

We assemble the document package early so a buyer's review period starts the day they go under contract.

We price against comparable sales in buildings with a similar position, not against units in buildings with no outstanding work.

We raise any voted or likely assessment in the offer negotiation explicitly, so it is a term rather than a surprise.

We tell you plainly if your building's position will narrow the buyer pool, because that changes the pricing strategy.

Ask us to pull your building's current position and we will tell you what a buyer is going to find.

This page explains how the money side of a Florida sale works so you can plan around it. It is not legal or tax advice. Tax on your sale belongs with an accountant, and the legal effect of your contract belongs with a Florida attorney. What we can give you is an accurate figure for what your home is worth and what you would net, which is the input both of those conversations need.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which condo buildings need a milestone inspection?: Buildings of three habitable stories or more under condominium or cooperative ownership, by 31 December of the year the building turns 30 from its certificate of occupancy, and every ten years after that. The figures are in section 553.899 of the Florida Statutes, which is worth checking directly because it has been amended more than once.
Is there a 25-year rule for buildings near the coast?: Not under the current statute. That trigger appeared in earlier versions of the law and is still widely repeated, which is why it is worth checking the current text rather than relying on what was true when you bought. The present requirement is 30 years uniformly.
What is a structural integrity reserve study?: A study that examines the structural components of a building, including roof, load-bearing walls, foundation, plumbing, electrical, windows and waterproofing, and prices what they will cost to maintain or replace. It drives how much the association should be holding in reserves.
Has the deadline for the reserve study passed?: For associations existing on or before 1 July 2022 and controlled by unit owners, the deadline was 31 December 2025 for buildings three stories or higher. An association whose milestone inspection is due on or before 31 December 2026 may run the study alongside it, and no later than that date.
Can I sell if my building has not completed its inspection?: Yes. It becomes something a buyer will ask about and a lender may examine, so it affects the buyer pool and sometimes the price. The practical requirement is accurate information rather than a clean report, because uncertainty is what buyers discount most heavily.
Who pays a special assessment, me or the buyer?: Florida practice generally puts a voted assessment on the owner at the time it is levied, but the contract can allocate it differently and frequently does. Settle it explicitly in the offer, because a vague agreement is one of the more common reasons a condo closing slips.
Do I have to tell buyers what the inspection found?: Florida requires disclosure of known material defects that are not readily observable, and a building report you have seen is something you know. The association documents usually reveal it during the review period anyway, so disclosure is both safer and generally cheaper than the alternative.
Will these rules reduce what my unit is worth?: In buildings facing substantial structural work, units do trade below comparable units in buildings without it, which reflects a real future cost. In buildings with a clean report and funded reserves, the same rules are a selling point. The variable is your building rather than the legislation.

Special assessments: how they affect your sale

Special assessments and your sale: who pays, how to handle one that is voted or merely discussed, and how to price a unit when an assessment is pending.

Condo documents buyers ask for, and how to get them early

The condo documents buyers ask for in a Florida sale, why the review period does not start until delivery is complete, and how to assemble the set in advance.

HOA estoppel certificates: cost, timing and content

HOA estoppel certificates explained for sellers: what the document states, what it costs, how long it takes, and why ordering late is expensive.

From the Journal

Real Estate Education

Low Rise vs. High Rise Condos in Palm Beach County: Inspections, Reserves, Insurance and Resale

Home Buying Tips

Buying a Condo in Palm Beach Gardens: Buildings, HOA Fees, Inspections and Financing in 2026

Real Estate Education

Condo Insurance in Florida: HO-6 Coverage, Costs, and the New Reserve Rules

Work out your numbers

What is my home worth?

A valuation built from closed sales in your own community, with the comparables named.

Estimate your net proceeds

Work the commission, documentary stamps and closing costs against your own number.

Current market reports

Prices, days on market and inventory for the counties we cover, updated monthly.

How we list a home

What we do between the listing agreement and the closing table, phase by phase.

Talk It Through

Tell us the situation and we will tell you what it is worth

Most of what makes a sale complicated is solvable once somebody has looked at the actual numbers. Onias Derilus is a licensed Florida broker and there is no cost to a conversation, whether you list this month or next year.

Get My Home Value Buying Too? Start Here

Keep Reading