Florida Milestone Inspections: Which Buildings, Deadlines and What Boards Must Do

Which buildings need a milestone inspection

Section 553.899 applies to buildings that are three habitable stories or more and are, in whole or in part, a residential condominium or cooperative. Single-family, two-, three- and four-family dwellings with three or fewer habitable stories are exempt.

The association (or co-op) is responsible: under section 718.112(2)(h), it must arrange and pay for the inspection, and a board member who willfully and knowingly fails to have it done breaches his or her fiduciary duty.

When it's due

There's no statewide extension, but the local enforcement agency can extend the deadline for good cause, for example when the association shows an engineer or architect is under contract. An inspection done before July 1, 2022 may be accepted as the milestone inspection if it meets the statute's requirements. Ask your local building department in writing if either applies.

Phase one and phase two

The local building department notifies the association by certified mail that the inspection is due. The association must tell unit owners within 14 days of that notice. Then:

Phase one is a visual examination of the building's habitable and non-habitable areas, including the major structural components, by a Florida-licensed architect or engineer. It must be completed within 180 days of the local notice. If it finds no substantial structural deterioration, the milestone inspection is done.

Phase two is required if phase one finds substantial structural deterioration. It can include destructive or nondestructive testing, and it may cover the whole building or only the areas of concern. The inspector must give the local building official a progress report with a timeline within 180 days of the phase one report.

Local ordinances must require that repairs begin within 365 days of a phase two report. If they don't, the local official must review the building and decide whether it's unsafe for human occupancy.

The report and what the board must do with it

The inspector delivers a sealed report and a separate summary to both the association and the local building official. Within 45 days of receiving it, the association must:

1. Mail or hand-deliver the summary to every unit owner, or email it to owners who have consented to electronic notice.
2. Post a copy of the summary in a conspicuous place on the property.
3. Publish the full report and summary on the association's website or app, if it's required to have one. Condos with 25 or more units are; see our guide to Florida association website requirements.

Keep the notice dates and proof of mailing in the official records. Buyers, lenders and insurers ask for them.

How it connects to the SIRS

The milestone inspection looks at structural safety today; the structural integrity reserve study plans the money for the next 30 years. They're linked in three ways:

• A milestone inspection done within the past five years can stand in for the SIRS visual inspection.
• An association whose milestone inspection is due by December 31, 2026 may combine it with its first SIRS, but the SIRS is due no later than December 31, 2026.
• For budgets adopted on or before December 31, 2028, owners can vote to pause or reduce reserve contributions for up to two budgets to pay for milestone repairs, with a new SIRS required before contributions resume.

To see what repair costs and reserves mean per unit, use our free condo reserve calculator.

A board's milestone checklist

• [ ] Find each building's certificate of occupancy date and work out its 30-year (or local 25-year) deadline.
• [ ] Ask the local building department whether it requires inspections at 25 years.
• [ ] Get proposals from Florida-licensed engineers or architects well ahead of the deadline; in busy years, firms book months out.
• [ ] Notify owners within 14 days of the building department's notice.
• [ ] Track phase one (180 days from the notice) and, if needed, phase two and the 365-day repair start.
• [ ] Within 45 days of the report: mail the summary, post it on the property and publish it online if required.
• [ ] Put the next 10-year date on the board calendar.

Keeping those dates straight across buildings and board turnover is what the building safety calendar in Agenbord Recur for Florida condo associations is designed to do, alongside SIRS cycles and the 45-day notice steps. It's in early access.

This guide is general information, not legal or engineering advice. Read the current statute, check your local building department's rules and confirm your obligations with the association's attorney.