Milestone inspection vs. SIRS: what your board is actually doing

The short version

A milestone inspection is a structural examination of the building, performed by a licensed engineer or architect. It answers one question: is this building safe?

A structural integrity reserve study — the SIRS — is a financial study. It prices eight specific building components, estimates their remaining life, and sets the reserve the association must fund. It answers a different question: how much money does this building need, and by when?

The first can find problems. The second decides who pays for them.

Milestone inspections: the safety half

Florida requires these under Section 553.899, passed after the Surfside collapse. They apply to condominium and cooperative buildings three or more habitable stories tall, at roughly 30 years from the certificate of occupancy, then every 10 years after.

The inspection runs in two possible phases.

• Phase One is visual. An engineer or architect walks the structure and reports what they can see. If nothing shows substantial structural deterioration, it ends there.
• Phase Two is invasive. This happens only if Phase One turns up signs of substantial deterioration — testing, sometimes opening walls or slabs to see what is behind them. It costs more, takes longer, and is usually the point where owners start hearing real numbers.

A building needing Phase Two is not a scandal. Plenty of thirty-year-old coastal buildings show wear that needs attention. What matters is what the report says needs fixing, and how fast.

SIRS: the money half

The reserve study comes from Florida Statute 718.112, as amended by HB 913 in 2025. Same buildings — three or more habitable stories. It covers eight components specifically: roof, load-bearing structure, fire protection, plumbing, electrical, waterproofing and exterior painting, windows and exterior doors, plus any other item over $25,000 whose failure would affect those systems.

For each one it estimates remaining useful life and replacement cost, and that sets the reserve the association has to fund.

Here is the part that changed everything. For years, boards could vote to waive reserves — and most did, because it kept dues low and owners happy. That option is gone for these eight structural components. Boards cannot vote their way out of funding them anymore.

Where the deadlines stand

The compliance calendar has moved more than once, which is why so many owners are unclear on it.

• First SIRS was due December 31, 2025 for associations that existed on or before July 1, 2022.
• That extends to December 31, 2026 where an association coordinates its SIRS with a milestone inspection due on or before that date.
• Funding began January 1, 2026. Associations must be actively funding structural reserves based on the completed study — not merely have the study in hand.

So this is not a finished story you missed. Buildings are still working through inspections, still getting reserve numbers back, still voting on how to cover the gap. More assessment letters are coming.

What it means for your unit

• Your monthly cost is going up, permanently. Reserve funding is not a one-time hit. Once the study sets the number, it has to be collected on an ongoing basis. Dues increases of 20–40% have been common in older buildings.
• A special assessment may land on top of it. When reserves are far behind what the study says they should be — or a Phase Two report finds repairs that cannot wait — associations assess. Amounts have run from a few thousand dollars to well over $100,000 per unit in the hardest-hit buildings.
• Assessments are not optional. Unpaid assessments become a lien on your unit, and Florida associations have real collection power behind that lien. Ignoring the letter is the one approach that reliably makes things worse.

How to find out where your building stands

You do not have to wait for a letter. As an owner you have a right to inspect the association’s official records, and that is where these documents live. Ask in writing for:

• The milestone inspection report — Phase One, and Phase Two if one was performed.
• The completed reserve study and the current reserve balances against what it says they should be.
• Board minutes from any meeting where assessments were discussed.

That last one is the tell. Assessments get debated in meetings long before they get mailed. If the minutes show the board pricing out a roof replacement, you have months of warning most of your neighbours do not.

If the number lands and you cannot carry it

Four options, compared honestly.

• Pay it. If you can and you plan to stay, this is usually right. The repairs get done and the building’s value recovers.
• Finance it. Some associations arrange loans and spread the cost. Ask whether yours has.
• Sell on the retail market. Harder than it sounds right now. A buyer needing a mortgage runs into lender scrutiny of the association’s finances, and buildings with unfunded reserves or open structural findings can fail that review — often late, after the inspection period.
• Sell to a cash buyer. No lender means no financeability review of the association. The trade is price: a cash offer is below what a fully financeable unit in a healthy building would fetch. We would rather say that plainly than pretend otherwise.

There is no universally right answer. It depends on the size of the assessment, how long you planned to stay, and whether you have the cash.

This page is general information about Florida condominium law, not legal, tax, or engineering advice. These statutes have been amended repeatedly since 2022 — confirm your building’s specific obligations with your association and a Florida attorney.