Florida to tackle condo reform after surfside building collapse

Florida’s legislature will address the deadly 2021 collapse of a condominium building in Miami-Dade county in a special session convened earlier this week to stabilize the state’s struggling homeowners’ insurance industry.

The legislation will aim to mandate that reserve funds be fully funded by condominium owners and boards to ensure that repairs and maintenance can be covered and not delayed, the Florida Senate and House of Representatives said in a joint statement. 

The 12-story Champlain Towers South condominium building in Surfside, Florida, collapsed June 24, killing 98 people, triggering multiple lawsuits and prompting state and federal probes. Delayed repairs have been reported to be a possible factor in the cause of the collapse.

“We will never forget the pain, confusion, and sorrow the community and state felt when the Surfside condominium building collapsed and took 98 lives with it,” House speaker Chris Sprowls said in the statement. “The Florida Legislature has grappled with reaching a consensus on what meaningful reform looks like, but today we have arrived at an agreement that will help to ensure this kind of tragedy never happens again.”

Victims of the collapse reached settlements earlier this month totaling almost $1 billion with defendants including the developer of an adjacent luxury tower, engineers and a law firm for the condo association.

The bill was introduced on Tuesday in the House and is scheduled to be discussed in the Appropriations Committee later in the day. The special session of Congress is meeting through Friday.