by Mike Colpitts 
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis says he has a duty to fix Florida’s crumbling condo law. The governor is ripping into the Florida House and is pushing for condo relief focusing on a proposal that is addressing higher condominium association fees.
The state imposed new safety requirements, including new inspections after the 2021 deadly condo collapse in Surfside. The new law has resulted in much higher condo association fees, more than doubling the average condo owners’ monthly fees. It has also forced many condo owners to sell their units since they have been unable to afford the higher fees and additional charges imposed to make updates to correct old construction flaws. DeSantis says while the intentions of the legislation were good, the outcomes have created what he calls a “condo crisis.”
Condo sale prices in many developments are falling as a result of the changes coupled with higher mortgage rates. The governor isn’t able to make the push for legislation much of a political issue since term limits halt another run for office. DeSantis took the Senate’s side on the proposals that committees in neither chamber have heard in weeks, saying Miami Republican Rep. Vicki Lopez’s condo bill, HB 913, puts the interests of developers above that of condominium residents.
“Legislative session only has a few more weeks left,” DeSantis said at the City of Sweetwater Community Center last Thursday. “There has not been meaningful action in the Florida House of Representatives to give Floridians relief from the condo crisis that the legislation itself has caused, and we’ve got to be willing to step up and do the right thing.”
State lawmakers passed legislation giving condos with three or more stories a Dec. 31, 2024 deadline to complete structural integrity reserve studies following the 2021 collapse of the Surfside 12-story condo building that killed 98 people. The inspections are to be repeated every 10 years, detailing how much a condominium association needs to collect in additional association reserves to pay for structural repairs.
The repairs and improvements required by the inspections are hitting older buildings particularly hard. Those that are more than 30 years old are needing more repairs and replacement parts than newer dwellings. The governor is pushing for condo relief to aid hundreds of thousands of condominium unit owners who are unable to afford the higher association dues.
The Senate bill, SB 1742, sponsored by Fleming Island Republican Sen. Jennifer Bradley, would allow condo associations to invest money in reserve funds meant for repairs, whereas Lopez’s bill would allow them to take out loans to cover necessary repairs without requiring approval from condo association members.
Lopez told the Florida Phoenix that she hadn’t watched the press conference and that the lack of movement on the bills reflects that the chambers are working on a resolution.
“He should probably wait to see which condo bill actually passes from the House before he opines on it,” Lopez said. The governor is making strides to politicize the issue, holding another press conference in Panama City Beach early last week, during which he praised another Senate proposal on boating regulations, slamming the House for its inability to take action of condo reforms.
But on Thursday, he repeatedly thanked the wrong senator for the condo bill, saying Miami Republican Sen. Ileana Garcia was the sponsor instead of Bradley.
“I want to thank the folks in the Florida Senate who have moved credible legislation forward,” DeSantis said. “I don’t know what has gotten into the Florida House of Representatives.”