Florida HOA and Condo Reserve Studies After HB 1021

Florida HOA and Condo Reserve Studies After HB 1021

Florida changed reserve study practice more than any other state in the past four years. After the June 2021 collapse of Champlain Towers South in Surfside, the legislature passed SB 4-D in 2022 and tightened it again with HB 1021 in 2024. The result is the most prescriptive reserve regime in the country for Florida condominium boards, with a real compliance deadline that closed at the end of 2024 and ongoing reporting obligations every year after.

This article splits Florida reserve law into two tracks because HOA boards and condominium boards face very different rules.

The condominium track: Structural Integrity Reserve Studies

Florida Statutes Chapter 718, the Condominium Act, now requires every condominium building three stories or higher to maintain a Structural Integrity Reserve Study under Florida Statutes section 718.112(2)(g). The Structural Integrity Reserve Study, commonly called the SIRS, must be completed by a licensed architect, engineer, or reserve provider and updated at least every ten years.

The components the SIRS must cover are not optional. They include roof, structural elements, fireproofing, plumbing, electrical, waterproofing, windows, and any item with a deferred maintenance expense exceeding 10,000 dollars. Florida Statutes section 718.112(2)(g)(2) lists the categories explicitly.

The compliance deadline was December 31, 2024. Florida condominium boards that missed the deadline are now operating in violation of state law. The Florida Division of Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes, housed inside the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, is the enforcement authority. Penalties include civil fines and personal liability exposure for directors who knowingly fail to commission the study.

Equally important, HB 1021 eliminated the right of condominium associations to waive or reduce reserve funding for SIRS components by member vote. That waiver power existed under prior law and was the source of many under funded reserve programs across Florida. As of December 31, 2024, full SIRS funding is mandatory.

The HOA track: less prescriptive, still serious

Florida Statutes Chapter 720 governs homeowners associations that do not fall under the Condominium Act. Chapter 720 does not impose a SIRS equivalent on HOAs. It does require reserve accounts under section 720.303(6) when the governing documents call for them, and it allows members to waive or reduce funding by majority vote at a meeting where a quorum is present.

That HOA waiver right is the source of most Florida HOA reserve risk. A board that recommends a waiver because dues feel high can leave the community with no capacity to handle a major capital event. The fiduciary duty does not disappear because the waiver vote passed.

Florida HOAs should still commission a reserve study at least every five years even though Chapter 720 does not require it. The study is the only document that lets the board model the consequences of a waiver vote before the community takes the vote.

The Surfside backdrop and why it matters

The Champlain Towers South partial collapse on June 24, 2021 killed 98 people and exposed two decades of deferred maintenance and reserve underfunding. The post Surfside legislative wave reshaped Florida law because the collapse made clear that voluntary reserve funding under the prior statute had failed at scale.

Every Florida reserve study now sits inside the shadow of Surfside. Insurance carriers underwrite to it. Lenders price loans to it. Buyers ask about it during due diligence. The boards that handle reserves well treat the Surfside reset as their reset too.

What the annual reserve report must contain

Florida Statutes section 718.111(13) for condos and section 720.303(7) for HOAs require an annual financial report. For condos under HB 1021, the report must include the SIRS funding status, the components scheduled for replacement in the next ten years, and the actual reserve balance against the planned funding curve.

The Florida Division of Condominiums posts the report templates and timeline at its DBPR condo timeline portal. Boards should treat the templates as the minimum, not the ceiling. A clear narrative paragraph above the table makes the report intelligible to owners.

Recent enforcement and case patterns

Two enforcement patterns surfaced through 2025 that boards should track.

First, the Division of Condominiums is auditing SIRS filings for completeness. Buildings with a study that names components but does not include cost projections are receiving deficiency letters. The study is not a checklist. It must include funding math.

Second, plaintiffs counsel are using the SIRS deadline as the date certain for board liability. Director and officer policies are responding to inquiries about whether the SIRS was filed on time as a precondition to defense coverage. A late filing is now an underwriting event, not just a regulatory event.

What your board should do this quarter

If you serve on a Florida community association board, take five actions this quarter.

1. If you serve on a condominium association with a building three stories or higher, confirm your SIRS is on file with the Division of Condominiums and the funding plan is current.
2. If you serve on an HOA, locate the reserve language in your governing documents and confirm the date of your last reserve study. If older than five years, commission a new one.
3. Pull your most recent annual financial report. Confirm it reflects the actual reserve balance and the planned funding curve.
4. Audit any prior reserve waiver vote. For condos, the waiver right is gone after December 31, 2024. For HOAs, the waiver right still exists but should be re evaluated.
5. Connect with the CAI CALL or CAI Florida chapter for the next legislative update. Florida amends Chapter 718 and Chapter 720 most sessions.

This is general information for board members, not legal advice. Consult your attorney for your specific situation.

How Manorway helps

Manorway is an AI assisted executive governance platform that helps Florida boards keep their SIRS or HOA reserve study, annual financial reports, and Division of Condominiums filings in one audit ready place. The annual report narrative writes itself once the study is loaded. Book a free governance checkup, no strings attached.