FHA condo approval in Miami in 2026: how to check a building and what disqualifies it

Last updated: July 2026

A Miami condo qualifies for FHA financing one of two ways: the building sits on HUD's approved list, or the individual unit clears FHA single-unit approval. You check the first in about a minute using HUD's FHA Condominiums search tool, filtering by state, county, city, or project name and reading the status field. If the building is not on the list, FHA financing is still possible, but the path narrows. Single-unit approvals are limited to 10 percent of the total units in a project, and projects with fewer than 10 units cannot carry more than two FHA-insured mortgages [1].

What removes Miami buildings from the list is rarely the unit. It is the association's balance sheet and ownership mix: owner-occupancy under HUD's threshold, too many units behind on dues, a single owner holding too large a share, commercial square footage above the cap, litigation touching structural soundness, or reserves funded below the required rate. FHA condo approval is the question worth answering before you write an offer.

How to check whether a Miami building is FHA approved

HUD publishes the list at the FHA Condominiums search page. Search by state and county, by city or ZIP, by project name, or by FHA Condo ID. The status dropdown returns four categories: Approved, Expired, Rejected, and Withdrawn.

Three notes on reading the results. Presence on the list is not the same as current approval, because approvals expire and require recertification, and an Expired status functions the same as never approved when a lender pulls the file. Search the recorded legal project name rather than the marketing name. And in a phased project, approval attaches to declared legal phases, so one phase can be approved while another is not.

What disqualifies a building

The eligibility standards live in HUD's Single Family Housing Policy Handbook 4000.1, section II.C.

Owner-occupancy ratio

For existing construction, the acceptable owner-occupancy percentage is at least 50 percent of total units [2]. Existing projects more than 12 months old with owner-occupancy of at least 35 percent and under 50 percent can still be approved, but only through HUD review processing and only if no more than 10 percent of units are in arrears [2]. For complete new construction projects and gut rehab conversions, the threshold drops to at least 30 percent of declared units [2].

A unit owned by the builder or developer does not count as owner-occupied. In buildings with heavy seasonal or short-term rental activity, this test alone is often the binding constraint.

Investor concentration

For projects with 20 or more units, a single owner or related party may hold no more than 10 percent of units. In projects with fewer than 20 units, a single owner may not own more than one unit [2].

Delinquent association dues

HUD defines a unit in arrears as one with association dues or special assessments more than 60 days past due, excluding late fees and administrative expenses. No more than 15 percent of total units may be in arrears [2]. This is where Florida's rising assessments surface in loan eligibility, because an assessment owners fall behind on moves units into the arrears count quickly.

Commercial space share

Commercial and non-residential space must not exceed 35 percent of the project's total floor area, and may run up to a maximum of 49 percent only where the residential character of the project is determined to be maintained, supported by an appraiser's opinion on market acceptance [2]. The calculation captures retail area, common areas not reserved for residential owners, separately owned space, and garage area not allocated to residential owners. That matters in Brickell and the urban core, where mixed-use towers sit on large retail and office podiums.

Litigation

The project or association must not be subject to litigation relating to safety, structural soundness, habitability, or functional use, nor to other litigation risk that is uninsured or exceeds coverage limits [2]. Foreclosure and dues-collection suits brought by the association as plaintiff are excluded.

Reserves and financial stability

The association must fund a reserve account for capital expenditures and deferred maintenance with at least 10 percent of aggregate monthly unit assessments, unless an acceptable reserve study justifies a lower amount, and the budget must maintain that balance. Operating income must show a stable stream over the prior two years with decreases no higher than 15 percent [2].

How FHA single-unit approval works, and where it stops

Single-unit approval, often called spot approval, lets FHA insure a mortgage on a unit in a project that is not on the approved list. The project still clears a subset of the same tests: a certificate of occupancy issued at least a year ago or prior occupancy, at least five units, not manufactured housing, no ineligible characteristics, owner-occupancy of at least 50 percent, no more than 15 percent of units in arrears, and reserves funded at the 10 percent rate [2]. The borrower's application must receive an Accept from the TOTAL Mortgage Scorecard or carry a maximum loan-to-value of 90 percent [2].

The limits are what buyers underestimate. Single-unit approval does not rescue a building that fails on owner-occupancy, arrears, or reserves, because those tests still apply. It is capped: FHA can suspend new case numbers once FHA-insured mortgages exceed 10 percent of total units in projects of 10 or more units, and two mortgages in smaller projects [1]. It also does not apply to a unit in an unapproved phase of a project that already has an approved legal phase [2].

Read that cap as a queue. In a large building where several FHA loans have already closed, the next buyer can be shut out by arithmetic that has nothing to do with their file.

How Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac compare

There is no consumer-facing conventional equivalent of HUD's approved list. Under Fannie Mae, the lender performs the project review and checks the project in Condo Project Manager, which holds an unavailable-projects list inside the system rather than a public directory.

The conventional tests overlap but do not match. Fannie Mae treats a project as ineligible where it needs critical repairs, including material deficiencies that could contribute to system failure within a year, mold or water intrusion, advanced physical deterioration, or unfunded repairs costing more than $10,000 per unit that should be undertaken within the next 12 months [3]. Single-entity ownership limits are more than two units in projects of 5 to 20 units, and more than 20 percent in projects of 21 or more [3]. The commercial space cap is also 35 percent [3].

So a Miami building can pass conventional review and fail FHA, or the reverse. A seller's statement that the building is warrantable does not answer the FHA question.

What the post-Surfside regime added in Florida

Florida law now requires a structural integrity reserve study for each building on condominium property that is three habitable stories or higher. Associations in existence on or before July 1, 2022 were required to complete the study by December 31, 2025, with a limited path to December 31, 2026 when performed alongside a milestone inspection, and the study repeats at least every 10 years [4].

Lenders on both sides now ask condominium questionnaires that probe structural findings, deferred maintenance, and pending assessments. The chain of consequence is direct: a milestone inspection produces findings, the reserve study prices them, the association raises dues or levies an assessment, some owners fall behind, and the arrears percentage moves against the 15 percent test. This shows up most in older mid-rise and high-rise stock, including parts of Miami Beach and other coastal submarkets working through inspection cycles.

What this means for a Miami buyer using FHA

Check project status before you tour with intent, not after you are under contract, and note the expiration date alongside the status.

Request the association's budget, reserve schedule, delinquency report, and any milestone inspection or reserve study findings early. Those documents answer the arrears, reserve, and litigation tests directly, and they take time to obtain in Florida.

Confirm the commercial space share in mixed-use buildings. A tower with a large retail podium can be clean financially and still fail the floor-area test.

Treat the loan limit as a separate constraint. For 2026, FHA's forward mortgage floor for a one-unit property is $541,287 and the ceiling is $1,249,125, effective for case numbers assigned on or after January 1, 2026, with county limits set between those figures [5]. Confirm the Miami-Dade figure through HUD's mortgage limits lookup rather than a secondary source.

Carry a conventional alternative through the offer stage, so a building that fails an FHA test conventional review tolerates does not end the deal. If you want that review done before you commit to a building, it is the work covered in a buyer consultation.

Frequently asked questions

How do I check whether a specific Miami condo is FHA approved?

Search HUD's FHA Condominiums tool by state and county, or by project name or FHA Condo ID, and read the status field. Approved means current; Expired means the approval lapsed and recertification was not completed. Search the recorded legal project name rather than the marketing name.

Can I get an FHA loan on a condo that is not on HUD's list?

Sometimes, through single-unit approval. The project must be at least a year past its certificate of occupancy or occupied, have at least five units, show owner-occupancy of at least 50 percent, keep units in arrears at or below 15 percent, and fund reserves at 10 percent of aggregate monthly assessments [2]. FHA-insured mortgages are also capped at 10 percent of total units [1].

Does a special assessment disqualify a building from FHA financing?

Not by itself. HUD's tests look at whether units fall more than 60 days behind on dues or special assessments, with a 15 percent ceiling on units in arrears, and at whether reserve and financial stability standards are met [2]. An assessment owners pay on schedule is different from one that pushes a share of the building into delinquency.

Is FHA approval the same as Fannie Mae eligibility?

No. FHA maintains a public approved-project list; conventional review is performed by the lender and tracked in Condo Project Manager. The standards overlap on commercial space at 35 percent but diverge on owner-occupancy, single-entity ownership, and repair-related ineligibility such as unfunded repairs above $10,000 per unit due within 12 months [3].

Gabriel

Sources

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Gabriel A. Moyers, PA. eXp Realty. Florida License #3407280. Equal Housing Opportunity. This article is general information as of July 2026 and is not legal, tax, or financial advice. Verify current figures against authoritative sources before acting.