Florida Governor Floats Condo Relief Session; Condo Captive Ide Flagging

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has urged lawmakers to weigh ideas on providing relief to condo owners ahead of a Jan. 1 deadline to inspect and repair condo buildings following the Surfside apartment building collapse that killed 98 people in 2021.

At a roundtable and news conference Monday, the governor suggested a special session of the Legislature might be called to address the high costs facing condominiums and associations, according to news reports. The deadline, mandated by a 2022 law that brought major reforms to Florida’s lax funding and repair rules for condominium reserves, requires structures to have an engineer inspect the buildings and calculate the cost of critical repairs.

But many homeowners and condo associations, who also face higher insurance premiums, said the new costs will force them to move. DeSantis suggested the Jan. 1 deadline might be pushed back or the state could offer low-interest loans to condominium owners or associations.

Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples, rejected the idea of ​​a special apartment session in August, but the governor could call one later this year. He said the issue can’t wait until spring, when the Legislature’s 2025 regular session begins, the Miami Herald and South Florida Sun Sentinel reported.

The governor did not mention possible changes to the title insurance law to help condominiums. But others in the condo world have discussed the idea of ​​condo associations forming their own captive insurance companies.

State law already allows three or more condominiums to form captives if approved by the Florida Bureau of Insurance Regulation. Those familiar with the idea said talks have been ongoing for months, but so far little has materialized.

Top photo: FILE -The Champlain Towers South apartment building on July 4, 2021, in Surfside, after the collapse. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)

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