The framework in plain terms
The 2022 legislation known as SB 4-D, refined by SB 154 in 2023 and amended again by HB 913 effective July 1, 2025, created two machines every condo buyer now transacts inside: milestone structural inspections for aging buildings and structural integrity reserve studies (SIRS) that force associations to actually fund future repairs. Whatever the brochure says, your loan will be underwritten against this framework.
What the law requires
Milestone inspections. Buildings of three or more habitable stories face a structural inspection by a licensed architect or engineer when the building reaches 30 years of age, or 25 years where the local enforcement agency requires it for buildings near salt water, and every ten years after that. The inspection runs in two phases: a Phase 1 visual inspection, and a Phase 2 evaluation if substantial structural deterioration is found. Under HB 913, required repairs must begin within a set period after the Phase 2 report reaches the local building official.
Structural integrity reserve studies. Separately, associations must obtain a reserve study for structural components and fund those reserves. For budgets adopted in recent cycles, members can no longer vote to waive them the way Florida condos did for decades. HB 913 set the SIRS completion deadline at December 31, 2025 for existing associations, allowed a building with a milestone inspection due by December 31, 2026 to complete both together, raised the threshold for items that must be reserved to $25,000 with annual indexing (the DBPR set the 2026 figure at $25,675), and allowed a temporary pause in reserve contributions while a building funds repairs identified by its milestone inspection.
Insurance appraisals. HB 913 also requires associations to obtain property insurance appraisals on a set cycle, so buildings carry adequate coverage.
The era of a tiny monthly fee on a fifty-year-old tower ended on paper. The transition is showing up in budgets, special assessments, and lending files across the state.
How lenders read all this
Condo underwriting reviews the building alongside the borrower. The condo questionnaire now asks directly about milestone inspection status, SIRS status, deferred maintenance, reserve funding, and special assessments planned or levied. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac made their post-Surfside project requirements permanent, so those questions are not going away.
A building with completed inspections and a funded reserve plan reads as a healthy risk. A building with an overdue milestone, significant unfunded repairs, or a fresh structural finding can fall outside standard programs. It is often still financeable, but through a narrower set of portfolio and non-QM lenders who price the uncertainty. That is the matching a broker exists to do, and it is covered in detail on our non-warrantable condo loans in Florida page.
What buyers should do before falling in love
Ask early for the association’s budget, the reserve study, the milestone inspection report if the building’s age requires one, the insurance declarations, and the answer to one question: what assessments are levied, planned, or discussed? Under Florida’s resale disclosure rules, a buyer is entitled to these documents and has a short window after receiving them to cancel the contract.
We read those documents with financing eyes on every Florida condo file. The association’s paperwork decides your loan options as much as your own file does, and it is better to know in week one than in underwriting.
Sellers and refinancing owners
If you own in a building that has not completed its SIRS or milestone inspection, expect buyers’ lenders to ask, and expect some conventional buyers to fall out. Owners refinancing in those buildings face the same review. The portfolio and non-QM programs on the non-warrantable page apply to refinances too.
Florida condo buyers
Have the building checked before you write the offer
Send us the address. A licensed MLO will pull the questionnaire and read the association documents with financing eyes, before you spend money on an appraisal.
Frequently asked questions
Does SB 4-D apply to my building?
The framework targets buildings of three or more habitable stories, with timing driven by age and, where the local enforcement agency requires it, proximity to salt water. Smaller low-rise associations may sit outside parts of it. The association’s counsel and documents will say.
Will a special assessment kill my loan?
Not automatically. Disclosed, quantified, and funded assessments are underwritable facts. Surprises and open-ended structural questions are what narrow the field.
Is an older condo a bad buy now?
An older condo with completed inspections and funded reserves may be a safer buy than it has been in decades. The law punishes deferred honesty, not age.
What if the association has not done its SIRS?
The deadline has passed for most existing associations. A missing SIRS is a red flag to agency lenders and usually pushes the building into non-warrantable territory. It can still be financed, but plan for a portfolio or non-QM lender and ask the association when the study is scheduled.
Can I refinance a condo that became non-warrantable after I bought it?
Yes, through portfolio and non-QM programs. This is common in Florida for owners whose buildings fell out of eligibility after the 2022 laws.
Related reading
Sources
- Florida Statutes §
- 553.899, mandatory structural inspections for condominium and cooperative buildings
- Florida Statutes §
- 718.112(2)(g), structural integrity reserve studies (plain-text citation)
- Florida House Bill 913 (2025), effective July 1, 2025
- Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes
This page is provided for general informational purposes. It is not legal, financial, or tax advice, and it is not a commitment to lend or an offer of any specific rate or term. Program availability, guidelines, and eligibility vary by lender and are subject to change without notice. All loans are subject to credit approval, property review, and applicable law. Equal Housing Opportunity.
