Balancing Safety and Affordability: Florida’s Condominium Reform Enters a New Chapter
As robust inspections and reserve mandates remain, the state legislature introduces flexibility to ease financial burdens on condo owners.
If you own a condominium in Florida, you’re probably familiar with the state requirements that went into effect after the 2021 Surfside condominium collapse.
While those laws were created to enhance safety, they also brought significant financial and logistical challenges for condo owners. The 2025 Florida condo reform bill, which took effect July 1, aims to ease those burdens while preserving key requirements for inspections and reserve funding.
Steep HOA fee increases and surprise repair costs left many condo owners struggling to keep up, fueling concerns about affordability and weakening buyer demand. The new reforms are designed to ease financial pressure and reduce uncertainty for owners while still upholding essential safety measures, creating a more sustainable path forward for Florida’s condo communities.
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What the 2022 Florida condo law required
The 2022 Florida condo law introduced new requirements for licensed inspections, financial disclosures and reserve fund contributions:
- More inspections were required. For example, buildings occupied before 1992 needed to receive a milestone inspection by December 31, 2024. If structural repairs were needed, condo owners had to fund those repairs.
- In addition to requiring milestone inspections, the law required that those inspections be reported to local authorities, condo unit owners and the public, such as when a condo was listed for sale.
- Building associations were also required to budget and collect funds to cover maintenance, such as the cost of a new roof or elevator repairs. That requirement meant that some condo owners faced financial difficulty in paying for repairs while also saving funds for future maintenance.
These requirements not only made owning a condo more complex but also significantly more expensive. Although nearly 2 million people live in Florida condominiums, the added financial pressure contributed to a slowdown in the market.
By 2025, condo sales had dropped, prices declined and demand weakened. Many homeowners associations (HOAs) were forced to raise fees in order to meet the state’s new funding mandates for repairs and maintenance, further increasing the cost of ownership and putting added strain on residents.
How the 2025 condo reform bill eases the burden
On June 23, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed the condo reform bill 2025 to provide relief to condo owners. "Today in Clearwater, I signed legislation to deliver much-needed relief to condo owners across Florida," DeSantis said. "We’ve heard the concerns of condo owners throughout Florida, and we are delivering reforms that will provide financial relief and flexibility, strengthen oversight for condo associations and empower unit owners."
The legislation includes House Bill 913 and HB393.
HB 913 makes several valuable improvements for condo owners:
- Increased reserve funding flexibility means that after associations have performed a milestone inspection and are working on critical repairs, they can pause contributing to their reserve fund for up to two years.
- Rather than having to rely on reserve funds to make repairs, condo associations can explore alternate funding options, like loans or lines of credit.
- Boards and unit owners can terminate contracts if a manager doesn’t follow the state’s condo laws.
- Association managers whose license is revoked by the Department of Business and Professional Regulation cannot hold roles in management firms or be licensed for 10 years.
- Associations must provide more information and records online, so residents can easily access records for their condo’s management.
HB 393 focuses on the My Safe Florida Condo Pilot Program and introduces several important updates. Among its key changes, the legislation:
- Changes the eligible improvements to include replacement of the condo roof covering
- Restricts the program eligibility to buildings that are three or more stories tall and that contain at least two single-family dwellings
Those changes still prioritize condo safety, but they give condo associations and owners more flexibility, especially when it comes to the financial demands of owning and maintaining a condo.
Structural integrity studies and inspection requirements remain in place to help prevent future tragedies like the Surfside collapse. However, the reforms aim to ease the financial strain created by the 2022 law.
With more options for funding repairs and contributing to reserve accounts, HOAs may no longer need to raise fees as aggressively, potentially offering much-needed relief for condo owners.
What Florida condo owners can expect next
With new reforms in place, Florida condo owners may begin to see a better balance between safety and affordability. While key inspection and maintenance requirements remain, the added financial flexibility could ease HOA fee pressures and make condo ownership more manageable. As these changes take hold, the market may stabilize, restoring confidence for both current owners and potential buyers.
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