Last updated: June 2026

If you are buying a Miami condo in a building three habitable stories or taller, the SB 4-D condo reserve law changes your underwriting in two concrete ways. First, the building must complete a Structural Integrity Reserve Study, or SIRS, and the initial deadline for that study was extended to December 31, 2025 under HB 913.[1][2] Second, the association can no longer vote to waive or underfund reserves for structural components like the roof, load-bearing walls, foundation, fireproofing, and waterproofing, so years of deferred maintenance now have to be funded through higher monthly dues or one-time special assessments.[1][3] Before you write an offer, get three documents in hand: the milestone inspection report, the SIRS, and the board minutes showing any proposed or passed assessments. Those three documents tell you whether the catch-up bill has already been paid, is coming, or is still unknown. The number that matters is not the list price. It is your basis plus the assessment you inherit. This guide walks through what to verify and how to read it.

What the Florida SB 4-D condo reserve law actually requires

SB 4-D, passed in 2022 after the Surfside collapse, created two parallel obligations for condominium and cooperative buildings of three or more habitable stories in Florida.[3][4] The first is the milestone inspection. The second is the SIRS. They are different reports with different triggers, and buyers conflate them often.

The milestone inspection is a structural assessment performed by a licensed Florida engineer or architect. Under Florida Statutes 553.899, a building must complete its first milestone inspection at 30 years of age, or at 25 years if it sits within three miles of the coastline, and every 10 years after that.[4] Building age runs from the date the certificate of occupancy was issued. The inspection starts with a Phase 1 visual review. If the inspector finds substantial structural deterioration, the building advances to a Phase 2 inspection, which can include invasive testing.[4][5]

The SIRS is a financial study. It estimates the remaining useful life and replacement cost of the building's structural systems and sets the reserve funding schedule to pay for them. HB 913, signed June 22, 2025 and effective July 1, 2025, extended the initial SIRS completion deadline from December 31, 2024 to December 31, 2025 and raised the per-item reserve threshold from $10,000 to $25,000, indexed for inflation.[1][2] For budgets adopted after the study, associations may not waive or reduce funding for the SIRS components.[1][3] That last point is the entire story for buyers. The legal escape hatch that let boards keep dues artificially low is closed.

How reserve funding changes a Miami condo's true cost basis

For decades, many Florida boards voted to waive reserves to keep monthly fees competitive. That kept the sticker price of ownership low and pushed the structural bill into the future. SB 4-D ended the waiver, and HB 913 confirmed that funding has to ramp up on a defined schedule.[1][3]

The practical effect is that two units listed at the same price can carry very different real costs. A unit in a building that has completed its SIRS, passed its milestone inspection, and already levied and collected its catch-up assessment is, in underwriting terms, de-risked. A unit in an un-inspected, un-funded building is priced before the bill arrives. As a buyer, you want to know which one you are looking at, and you want the difference reflected in the price.

This is where the post-sale net comes in. If a building is mid-cycle on a large structural project, you may inherit either the remaining assessment balance or the higher dues that fund it. Reserve study costs themselves run roughly $5,500 to $16,500 for a SIRS, and that is just the study, not the repairs it prices.[6] The repair bill is the variable that moves your basis, which is why named, building-specific figures from the disclosures matter more than any market-wide average. Ask for the actual numbers on the actual building. If you are weighing a purchase, I run these figures with clients during a buyer consultation so the assessment exposure is in the offer, not a surprise after closing.

What the Miami condo market looks like as of April 2026

Inventory has tightened and transaction volume has risen, which gives prepared buyers more leverage on buildings working through SB 4-D compliance. In the Miami Beaches and barrier-island submarkets, condo inventory fell 13 percent year over year to 3,919 listings in the first quarter of 2026, while condo closings rose 15 percent to 693, per the Corcoran Group as reported by The Real Deal.[7] On the coastal mainland, which includes Brickell, Edgewater, Coral Gables, and Coconut Grove, inventory slipped to 4,584 condo listings and closings rose 13 percent to 759.[7]

Statewide, the picture is consistent. Florida Realtors reported that existing condo-townhouse sales rose 6.9 percent in April 2026 over April 2025, while the statewide median condo-townhouse price held flat at $315,000, unchanged from a year earlier.[8] Condo-townhouse inventory sat at 8.9 months of supply, well above the single-family figure, which is a buyer-favorable spread.[8] Flat prices plus rising supply means there is room to negotiate, especially when a building is mid-assessment.

Financing has stabilized in parallel. Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey put the 30-year fixed mortgage at 6.36 percent for the week of May 14, 2026, down slightly from 6.37 percent the prior week and 6.81 percent a year earlier.[9] Stable rates do not change the SB 4-D math, but they make it easier to underwrite a hold horizon with confidence. If your search runs to the higher end of the market, the Miami luxury homes for sale inventory turns over with these same dynamics.

Insurance relief is offsetting some of the carrying cost

One tailwind for condo owners in 2026 is insurance. Citizens Property Insurance, the state-backed insurer, received approval for a statewide average rate decrease of 8.7 percent for 2026, its first rate cut since 2015.[10][11] South Florida saw the largest reductions, with Miami-Dade County averaging roughly a 14.0 percent decrease, according to the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation and the Governor's office.[10][11] Reductions take effect at policy renewal beginning in 2026.[11]

That relief matters because a condo's master insurance policy feeds directly into the association budget. Lower premiums take some pressure off dues at the same time SB 4-D reserve funding adds pressure. The two move in opposite directions, so read them together when you model carrying cost, not in isolation.

What to verify before you close on a Miami condo

Make every condo offer contingent on a clean review of the following, and read each document yourself rather than relying on a summary.

Milestone inspection report. Has the Phase 1 inspection been completed, and did it trigger a Phase 2? If repairs were flagged, are they scoped and funded?[4][5]
Structural Integrity Reserve Study. Is the SIRS complete, and what funding schedule does it set for the roof, structure, waterproofing, and other covered systems?[1][3]
Proposed versus passed assessments. Read the board minutes. A pending assessment that has not been voted on yet is still your problem if you close before it passes.
Insurance history. Has the building benefited from the 2026 Citizens reductions, or is it carrying high master-policy costs that keep dues elevated?[10][11]

Brickell and the coastal mainland have a deep stock of towers from the 1970s through the 1990s that are now in the inspection window, so this review is non-negotiable in submarkets like Brickell. The goal is not a building with no issues. It is a building that has disclosed its issues and funded them.

Frequently asked questions

What is the deadline for Miami condos to complete their structural reserve study under SB 4-D? The initial SIRS completion deadline was extended to December 31, 2025 by HB 913, which was signed June 22, 2025 and took effect July 1, 2025. For budgets adopted after the study, associations may no longer waive or underfund the SIRS reserve components.[1][2]

What is the difference between a milestone inspection and a SIRS? A milestone inspection is a structural safety review by a licensed engineer or architect, required at 30 years of building age, or 25 years within three miles of the coast, under Florida Statutes 553.899. A SIRS is a financial study that sets the reserve funding schedule for structural systems. A building needs both.[3][4]

Are condo special assessments common in older Miami buildings right now? Yes. Because boards can no longer waive structural reserves, many older buildings are funding deferred maintenance through dues increases or one-time assessments. The dollar figure is building-specific, so verify the actual SIRS and board minutes for the property rather than relying on a market average.[1][3]

Are Miami condo insurance rates still rising in 2026? Not at Citizens. The state-backed insurer received approval for an 8.7 percent statewide average rate decrease for 2026, its first cut since 2015, with Miami-Dade County averaging about a 14.0 percent reduction at renewal.[10][11]

Does the SB 4-D reserve law apply to every Miami condo? It applies to condominium and cooperative buildings three or more habitable stories tall. Lower-rise buildings fall outside the milestone inspection and SIRS mandates, though they have their own reserve obligations.[3][4]

If you are weighing a sale instead of a purchase and want to understand how reserve and assessment status affects your pricing, start with a listing valuation.

Gabriel

Sources

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

Florida SB 4-D condo reserve law: what Miami buyers must verify in 2026