Florida Condo Laws in 2026: SB 4-D, HB 913, and What Every Buyer Needs to Know

Florida condo laws have changed more in the past four years than in the previous forty, and most buyers entering the Brevard County condo market in 2026 don’t fully understand what that means for them. The laws weren’t written to punish buyers. They were written to make sure another Surfside never happens. But they do reshape the financial math, the financing options, and the due diligence requirements in ways that catch first-time condo buyers off guard. This post translates the new Florida condo laws into what a buyer actually needs to know before writing an offer, without the legal jargon and without the scare tactics. You can buy a great condo on the Space Coast in 2026. You just need to know what you’re looking at.

This is general information, not legal advice.

Why Florida Condo Laws Changed So Dramatically After 2021

Before we get into specifics, a quick piece of context that explains everything that followed. In June 2021, the Champlain Towers South condominium in Surfside, Florida partially collapsed. Ninety-eight people died. The investigation revealed years of deferred structural maintenance, inadequate reserve funding, and a governance system that had allowed owners to vote to reduce reserve contributions year after year in the name of keeping fees low. The tragedy exposed a statewide pattern that went well beyond one building.

The Florida Legislature responded with a series of laws that have collectively redrawn how every condominium and cooperative building three stories or higher operates. Senate Bill 4-D passed in a special session in May 2022. SB 154, often called the “glitch bill,” refined the initial requirements in June 2023. HB 1021 followed in 2024, and HB 913 in 2025 brought further clarifications and some practical relief for associations. Each of those four pieces of legislation built on the last, and together they define the current regulatory framework.

Abby and I have enjoyed helping condo buyers for more than two decades on the Space Coast, and you can learn more about how we work on the about us page. I can tell you from direct experience that the post-Surfside reforms have been the single biggest shift in how we approach condo transactions in our entire career. The paperwork is different, the math is different, the questions buyers need to ask are different, and the buildings themselves are in different financial positions than they were in 2020.

The Florida Condo Laws Every Buyer Needs to Understand

Three core requirements sit at the heart of the new Florida condo laws, and every Brevard County condo buyer should be able to name all three before writing an offer.

Milestone Inspections (Fla. Stat. § 553.899)

A milestone inspection is a mandatory structural assessment performed by a Florida-licensed engineer or architect. It applies to any condominium or cooperative building three habitable stories or higher. The first milestone inspection is generally due when a building reaches thirty years of age, with local option allowing a twenty-five-year trigger for buildings within three miles of the coast. Inspections then repeat every ten years for the life of the building.

The inspection has two phases. Phase 1 is a visual examination to identify any substantial structural deterioration. If Phase 1 finds nothing concerning, the inspection is complete. If Phase 1 identifies signs of deterioration, Phase 2 follows, often involving destructive or nondestructive testing to confirm the condition and recommend repairs. For buildings whose certificate of occupancy was issued on or before July 1, 1992, the initial milestone inspection was due December 31, 2024. Younger buildings follow their own compliance schedule based on age.

Structural Integrity Reserve Studies (Fla. Stat. § 718.112(2)(g))

A Structural Integrity Reserve Study, or SIRS, is a forward-looking financial plan. It identifies the structural components the association is responsible for maintaining and replacing, projects their remaining useful life, and sets a funding schedule to make sure the money is there when the work is needed. Most owner-controlled associations existing on or before July 1, 2022 were required to complete their first SIRS by December 31, 2025, with an alignment option extending the deadline to December 31, 2026 for associations whose milestone inspection falls in that window. After the initial study, a SIRS must be repeated every ten years.

HB 913 clarified the applicability rule to “three habitable stories or more,” refined what the SIRS must contain, and added a baseline funding plan requirement. It also created conflict-of-interest disclosure rules: an engineer, architect, or contractor bidding to perform a SIRS must disclose in writing if they also intend to bid on any repair or replacement work coming out of the study. This is a meaningful transparency upgrade for owners and, indirectly, for buyers who want to know the reserve study was performed by an independent party.

The 2026 Reserve Waiver Ban

This is the single most important change for buyers to understand. For decades, Florida condo associations could vote by membership to waive or reduce reserve contributions. Many did, which is exactly how buildings ended up critically underfunded when major repairs came due. Starting January 1, 2026, associations in three-habitable-story-or-higher buildings can no longer waive or reduce reserves for components covered by the SIRS. Reserves for structural components must be fully funded based on the study’s recommendations. Sub-three-story buildings remain exempt from this requirement.

The practical effect is simple and direct: monthly assessments in many buildings are rising, and they’re going to stay higher than they used to be. That’s not a bug. That’s the point. Underfunded reserves are what caused Surfside. Fully funded reserves are what prevent the next one.

What the New Florida Condo Laws Mean for Your Monthly Budget

Here’s where the law meets your wallet. The reserve waiver ban and the required funding levels under the new Florida condo laws have pushed monthly HOA fees meaningfully higher across most Florida condo buildings. Industry reporting and association data suggest many buildings have seen monthly assessments rise by $200 to $1,000 or more per unit since the reforms took effect, depending on the building’s age, size, and prior reserve posture.

If you’re used to looking at a condo listing and assuming the current HOA fee will hold for a few years, you should adjust that assumption for 2026. A building that hasn’t yet completed its SIRS is a building whose fees may still rise as the study recommendations get incorporated into the budget. A building that has completed its SIRS and is fully funded on its reserve schedule is, in a sense, the safer purchase, not because it’s cheaper, but because the financial picture is stabilized and transparent.

When Abby and I get to help a buyer evaluate a condo, the monthly HOA fee is never the real number we focus on. The real number is the total annual cost of ownership with a realistic view of where fees are trending, what the SIRS says about future increases, and whether a special assessment may be on the horizon. That total-cost view tells you whether the condo is actually affordable long-term, not just at closing.

Special Assessments: The Hidden Risk Under Florida Condo Laws

If the reserve waiver ban is the biggest change in monthly costs under the new Florida condo laws, special assessments are the biggest lump-sum risk. Buildings that deferred structural maintenance for years or decades are now facing the full cost of that deferred work, and they have to fund it. In older high-rise coastal buildings across Florida, individual-unit special assessments of $50,000 to $200,000 or more have been reported. That range isn’t typical of every building, but it’s common enough in older inventory that every buyer needs to ask the question before writing an offer.

Special assessments don’t appear on the listing sheet. They appear in the association’s meeting minutes, the SIRS findings, and sometimes in a recent reserve shortfall disclosure. Which is exactly why the due diligence checklist later in this post matters so much. A buyer who doesn’t ask about pending or anticipated special assessments is a buyer who can get a six-figure surprise after closing.

This is not a reason to avoid condos. It’s a reason to buy into the right building.

How Florida Condo Laws Are Changing Condo Financing

The laws haven’t changed Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac rules directly, but they’ve changed which buildings meet those agencies’ standards for conventional financing. Understanding this piece is critical if you’re using a loan.

Warrantable vs. Non-Warrantable Buildings

A “warrantable” condo building is one that meets Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac guidelines, which means conventional mortgages can be written on units inside it. A “non-warrantable” building doesn’t meet those guidelines, which means buyers usually need cash, a portfolio loan from a specific lender, or a specialty product with different terms and often a higher rate. In 2026, the list of non-warrantable Florida buildings has grown considerably. Buildings without a current milestone inspection, with inadequate reserves, with significant pending litigation, or with major deferred maintenance can fall onto agency non-warrantable lists.

For buyers, this means two things. First, financing availability should be verified for a specific building before you fall in love with a unit. Your lender can request the building’s condo questionnaire from the association. Second, a non-warrantable building isn’t inherently a bad purchase, since some are excellent buildings with unique characteristics that just happen to fall outside Fannie/Freddie guidelines, but it does limit your buyer pool when you eventually sell. Your exit strategy matters.

Why Cash Buyers Dominate the Brevard Condo Market

According to the Space Coast Association of Realtors Q1 2026 market data, cash accounted for 58.1% of Brevard County condo and townhouse closings in the quarter. That number is meaningfully higher than the single-family market and tells you something direct: investors and financially flexible buyers are filling the gap where conventional financing has tightened. It also means that sellers of condos in certain buildings have increasingly been marketing to cash buyers, which can push pricing in directions that reflect that reality. For more on how cash buyers shape investment math on the Space Coast, my post on Space Coast investing walks through the numbers in detail.

The Buyer’s Due Diligence Checklist Under Florida Condo Laws

This is the most practical section of the post. Before you write an offer on any Brevard County condo in a three-habitable-story-or-higher building, you should request and review the following items. This list isn’t exhaustive, but it covers the documents that matter most under current Florida condo laws.

The Right Agent Matters More Now Than Ever

The agent representing you should be the one helping you gather these documents, flagging items that warrant closer attention, and sharing their opinion on what stands out. What an agent cannot do, and what I make sure my clients understand, is give you an official interpretation of what a specific clause means or what your legal obligations are. That’s a question for the association’s management company, the HOA president, or a Florida real estate attorney. In most cases the documents are clear enough that an attorney isn’t necessary, but when something is ambiguous or financially significant, getting an attorney involved is the right call.

What matters on the agent side is experience. This area of Florida real estate has gotten dramatically more technical in the past four years. The right agent for a condo purchase in 2026 knows how to read a milestone inspection report, spot the financial trendlines in a SIRS, and surface the right questions to ask the association. That experience is not something a family friend doing real estate part-time or a newly licensed buyer agent on someone else’s team is likely to have. That’s not a sales pitch. It’s a practical reality of the current market.

What to Ask the Association Before You Buy

A handful of direct questions can reveal whether a building is in good financial posture or quietly headed toward trouble. Ask the association’s management company or board when the last milestone inspection was completed and what the findings were. Ask when the last SIRS was completed and whether reserves are being funded at the level the study recommends. Ask whether any special assessment has been discussed in the last twelve months, even informally. Ask about recent insurance premium changes and whether coverage has been difficult to place. Ask whether the building has pending litigation or has been involved in litigation in the past three years. Ask whether the association has met the DBPR’s July 1, 2025 requirement to create an online account with the Division of Condominiums, Timeshares and Mobile Homes.

A transparent, well-run association will answer these questions openly. An evasive answer is data too.

Why Brevard County Condos Are Still Worth Considering

With all the above on the table, here’s the honest good news. Brevard County condos in 2026 are the most price-accessible they’ve been in several years. Median condo sale prices were down 8.5% year-over-year as of Q1 2026. Months of supply sat at 7.4, firmly a buyer’s market. For the right buyer in the right building, that’s opportunity.

The right building is a building that has already completed its milestone inspection, has a current SIRS, is fully funding reserves at the recommended level, has no pending special assessments, has adequate insurance, and has a transparent, well-run association. These buildings exist. Plenty of them. They may not be the cheapest inventory on the market, but they’re the buildings where the math actually works long-term. A well-prepared building at a fair price is a better buy than a cheap unit in a building headed for a six-figure assessment.

Brevard County has a wide range of condo inventory across very different risk profiles. Mid-rise and high-rise buildings along the beach, mostly in Cocoa Beach, Cape Canaveral, Indian Harbour Beach, and Satellite Beach, tend to be older and carry more milestone inspection exposure. Riverfront and mainland condo communities vary widely. Some are three-habitable-story buildings that fall under the new law, others are low-rise buildings that don’t. Newer condo developments in Viera and surrounding areas are generally in strong compliance posture because they’re newer buildings and the reserve structures were designed with current requirements in mind. Which category you’re looking at matters a lot for the due diligence work ahead.

For a broader look at how Abby and I love helping buyers navigate condo purchases specifically, my guide to buying a condo in Brevard County covers our full process in detail.

When a Condo Still Makes Sense (And When It Doesn’t)

For retirees looking for lock-and-leave simplicity, for snowbirds wanting a second home with minimal maintenance demand, for investors looking at a buyer’s market with a strong rental base, and for buyers who truly love the condo lifestyle and the location, a well-chosen Brevard condo in 2026 is a sound purchase even under the stricter Florida condo laws. The lifestyle, the beach access, the amenities, and the maintenance structure all deliver what condo ownership is supposed to deliver.

For buyers who would stretch to afford the purchase and couldn’t absorb a surprise special assessment, for buyers on a short time horizon who need the exit liquidity that warrantable-building financing provides, or for buyers not prepared to do the due diligence this asset class now requires, single-family may be the better path. These aren’t permanent answers for any buyer. They’re situational. Abby and I have the privilege of working with buyers in all three of those categories, and the conversation that gets you to the right answer looks different every time.

Common Questions About Florida Condo Laws

The questions below come directly from buyers Abby and I work with every week as they navigate the new Florida condo laws. If you don’t see your specific question answered here, the easiest next step is a quick call.

What are the most important Florida condo laws buyers should know about in 2026?

Three core requirements drive the new Florida condo laws and apply to any condominium or cooperative building three habitable stories or higher. First, the Milestone Inspection Report (Fla. Stat. § 553.899) requires a structural inspection by a licensed engineer or architect at thirty years of age, or twenty-five years for buildings within three miles of the coast, repeating every ten years. Second, the Structural Integrity Reserve Study (Fla. Stat. § 718.112(2)(g)) requires a forward-looking financial study every ten years that identifies what the building will need to maintain or replace and how the association will fund it. Third, starting January 1, 2026, associations can no longer waive or reduce reserves for the structural components covered by the SIRS. These three requirements together are what define the current regulatory environment.

Will the new Florida condo laws raise my monthly HOA fees?

For most buildings three habitable stories or higher, yes. The reserve waiver ban means associations must fund reserves at the levels their SIRS recommends, which has pushed monthly assessments meaningfully higher across most Florida condo buildings since the reforms took effect. Industry reporting suggests increases of $200 to $1,000 or more per unit per month, depending on building age, size, and prior reserve posture. The increases are not arbitrary. They reflect the real cost of maintaining a building responsibly. Buildings that have already completed their SIRS and stabilized their reserve funding tend to have more predictable fee trajectories than buildings still working through compliance.

What is a Milestone Inspection and when is one required?

A Milestone Inspection is a mandatory structural assessment performed by a Florida-licensed engineer or architect for any condominium or cooperative building three habitable stories or higher. It’s required at thirty years of age statewide, or twenty-five years for buildings within three miles of the coast (which captures most beachside Brevard County buildings), and repeats every ten years thereafter. The inspection has two phases: Phase 1 is visual; Phase 2 is invasive testing if Phase 1 finds substantial structural deterioration. Buildings whose certificate of occupancy was issued on or before July 1, 1992 had their initial inspection due December 31, 2024.

What does a Structural Integrity Reserve Study (SIRS) cover?

A SIRS is a financial study that identifies the structural components the association is responsible for maintaining or replacing, projects their remaining useful life, and sets a funding schedule for the work. Most owner-controlled associations existing on or before July 1, 2022 had to complete their first SIRS by December 31, 2025, with a December 31, 2026 alignment option for associations whose milestone inspection falls in that window. After the initial study, a SIRS must be repeated every ten years. HB 913 in 2025 added conflict-of-interest disclosure requirements: anyone bidding to perform a SIRS must disclose if they intend to bid on the resulting repair work.

Can I still get conventional financing on a Florida condo?

Yes, but availability has tightened. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have not changed their guidelines, but the new Florida condo laws have changed which buildings meet those guidelines. Buildings without a current milestone inspection, with inadequate reserves, with significant pending litigation, or with major deferred maintenance can land on agency non-warrantable lists, which means conventional mortgages can’t be written on units inside them. Cash, portfolio loans from specific lenders, or specialty financing products are the alternatives. Verifying financing availability for a specific building before writing an offer is now standard practice.

What is a special assessment and how do I find out if one is coming?

A special assessment is a one-time charge levied by an association on all unit owners to pay for something reserves don’t fully cover. In older high-rise coastal buildings, individual-unit special assessments of $50,000 to $200,000 or more have been reported, though that range isn’t typical of every building. Pending special assessments don’t appear on listing sheets. They appear in board meeting minutes, SIRS findings, recent reserve shortfall disclosures, and sometimes in informal board discussions captured in older minutes. Asking the association directly whether any special assessment has been discussed in the last twelve months, even informally, is the best protection.

Are older Brevard County condos riskier than newer ones under the new laws?

Generally, yes, but the picture is more nuanced than age alone. Older buildings, particularly mid-rise and high-rise structures along the beach in Cocoa Beach, Cape Canaveral, Indian Harbour Beach, and Satellite Beach, are the buildings most likely to have hit milestone inspection age and to have deferred maintenance funding obligations to address. However, an older building that has completed its inspection cleanly, has a current SIRS, is funding reserves fully, and has no pending special assessments is often a safer purchase than a younger building still working through compliance. Building age is the wrong question. Building financial health and structural condition are the right questions.

Should I avoid Florida condos altogether right now?

No, but you should buy carefully. Brevard County condos in 2026 are the most price-accessible they’ve been in several years, with median condo sale prices down 8.5% year-over-year as of Q1 2026 and months of supply at 7.4 (firmly a buyer’s market). The right building, fully compliant with the new Florida condo laws, with stable reserve funding and no pending assessments, is a sound purchase for the right buyer. The wrong building, regardless of how attractive the unit looks, can become a six-figure financial problem after closing. The difference between the two outcomes is the due diligence work this post describes.

Ready to Look at a Condo the Right Way?

If you’re considering a Brevard County condo in 2026 and want an agent who actually understands the new Florida condo laws, can read a SIRS report and a milestone inspection, and will walk through association documents with you line by line, Abby and I are happy to have that conversation. We have walked alongside hundreds of condo buyers through this market and we’d rather help you buy the right building than any building.

For the official state-level regulatory source on everything covered in this post, the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation’s Division of Condominiums, Timeshares and Mobile Homes maintains the authoritative FAQ.

Contact us anytime and we’ll set up a conversation tailored to the specific building or buildings you’re considering.