Last updated: June 2026

Before you buy a Miami condo in a building three habitable stories or taller, get three documents in hand: the milestone inspection report, the structural integrity reserve study (SIRS), and the last 24 months of special assessment and board minutes. Florida law now requires older condo buildings to inspect their structure and fund reserves for it, so a building's compliance status is a hard input to your basis, not a footnote. Under Section 553.899, Florida Statutes, a building must complete a milestone inspection by December 31 of the year it turns 30, or 25 if it sits within three miles of the coastline, then every 10 years after [1]. The reserve side runs on its own clock: associations that existed on or before July 1, 2022 must complete their first SIRS by December 31, 2025, with a coordination window into 2026 for buildings timing it alongside a milestone inspection [2][3]. A building that has cleared both, with a funded plan, is a more predictable hold than one that has not. The checklist below tells you what to pull and how to read it.

Why milestone inspections exist, and what the law requires

The milestone framework traces to the June 24, 2021 partial collapse of Champlain Towers South in Surfside, which killed 98 people [4]. In May 2022 the Florida Legislature passed Senate Bill 4-D, the building-safety law that created mandatory milestone inspections and SIRS requirements for condominium and cooperative buildings [4][5].

Two rules drive the timing. First, the milestone inspection. Section 553.899 requires it for buildings of three or more habitable stories by December 31 of the year the building reaches 30 years of age, based on the certificate of occupancy date, and every 10 years afterward. A local enforcement agency can pull that trigger forward to 25 years for buildings within three miles of a coastline, which captures much of the barrier-island and bayfront inventory in Miami-Dade [1]. The inspection runs in two phases. Phase 1 is a visual, qualitative assessment by a licensed engineer or architect. If Phase 1 finds signs of substantial structural deterioration, Phase 2 follows with more detailed, sometimes destructive, testing [1].

Second, the reserve study. The SIRS estimates the remaining useful life and replacement cost of the building's structural components and sets the reserve funding needed to cover them. Associations in existence on or before July 1, 2022 must complete their initial SIRS by December 31, 2025 [2][3].

For an underwriting lens: the inspection tells you whether the building is sound, and the SIRS tells you whether the association has a plan to keep it that way. Read them together.

What changed in 2025: HB 913 funding flexibility

If you read older guidance that says reserves had to be fully funded by the end of 2024, it is out of date. The 2024 reform (HB 1021) set the SIRS completion deadline at December 31, 2025, and in 2025 the Legislature added relief.

Governor DeSantis signed House Bill 913 on June 23, 2025, effective July 1, 2025 [6][7]. Three changes matter to a buyer:

A coordination window. Buildings that have a milestone inspection due on or before December 31, 2026 can complete the SIRS alongside it, extending that piece of the timeline [3][7].
A reserve pause. An association that completed a milestone inspection in the prior two years can vote to pause or reduce reserve contributions for up to two consecutive annual budgets to direct cash at repairs the inspection flagged [6][7].
A higher reserve threshold. HB 913 raised the component cost threshold for items that must be carried in the SIRS from $10,000 to $25,000, narrowing the study to the larger structural items [7].

The practical read for a buyer: a building that has paused reserves is not automatically a problem, but you want to know why, what the repair plan is, and what it does to your post-sale net over your hold horizon.

The buyer's milestone checklist

If you are underwriting a Miami condo this year, work this list before you remove your inspection contingency.

1. Pull the milestone inspection report

Confirm whether the building was due for a milestone inspection based on its age and coastal distance, and whether it completed Phase 1. If a Phase 2 was triggered, read the engineer's findings and the association's response. A completed inspection with no Phase 2, or a Phase 2 with a funded remediation plan, is a cleaner file than a building that is past due [1].

2. Read the structural integrity reserve study

The SIRS is your line of sight into future capital calls. Check the remaining useful life on the roof, load-bearing elements, waterproofing, and the other structural components, and compare it against how much the reserve actually holds. A study that exists but is underfunded still leaves the bill to come [2][3].

3. Assess the assessment history

Request all special assessments levied in the last 24 months and the board minutes behind them. Buildings that have already assessed for and completed major structural work often carry a more predictable cost basis going forward than buildings where the work is still ahead. Ask directly whether any reserve pause under HB 913 is in effect [6].

4. Price the insurance line

Insurance is a real and improving cost. The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation approved an average statewide rate decrease of 8.7% for Citizens Property Insurance for 2026, the first decrease since 2015, with Miami-Dade policyholders seeing an average reduction of about 14.0% [8][9]. Rates take effect July 1, 2026 for new policies and at renewal for existing ones [9]. Confirm the building's master policy and your own unit coverage rather than assuming the average applies to your line item.

How this sits against the 2026 Miami condo market

Compliance status matters more when inventory is tight, because buyers compete harder for the buildings that have already cleared their inspections. In the first quarter of 2026, condo inventory across Miami Beach and the barrier islands fell 13% year over year to 3,919 listings, while closings rose 15% to 693, the first inventory drop since 2023 [10]. On the mortgage side, Freddie Mac reported the 30-year fixed-rate average at 6.47% as of June 18, 2026, down from 6.52% the prior week and from 6.81% a year earlier [11].

Read those two together. Financing costs have eased modestly, and the supply of compliant coastal buildings is thin. A building that has finished its milestone inspection and funded its reserves is the scarcer asset, which is exactly why the inspection and SIRS belong at the front of your diligence rather than the end.

If you want help reading a specific building's reports against your basis and hold horizon, start with a buyer consultation, or if you are weighing a sale of a current unit, a listing valuation will show how the new rules touch your equity. You can also browse current Miami luxury homes for sale.

Frequently asked questions

When is a Florida condo required to have a milestone inspection? A building of three or more habitable stories must complete a milestone inspection by December 31 of the year it turns 30 years old, based on its certificate of occupancy. Buildings within three miles of a coastline can be required at 25 years. Inspections then repeat every 10 years [1].

What is the SIRS deadline for Florida condos? Associations that existed on or before July 1, 2022 must complete their initial structural integrity reserve study by December 31, 2025. Buildings with a milestone inspection due on or before December 31, 2026 can coordinate the SIRS with that inspection under HB 913 [2][3].

Did the 2025 law delay condo reserve funding? HB 913, signed June 23, 2025, added flexibility. An association that completed a milestone inspection in the prior two years can vote to pause or reduce reserve contributions for up to two consecutive budgets to fund flagged repairs, and the SIRS component threshold rose from $10,000 to $25,000 [6][7].

Are Florida condo insurance costs going down in 2026? Citizens Property Insurance received an approved average statewide rate decrease of 8.7% for 2026, its first decrease since 2015, with Miami-Dade averaging about a 14.0% reduction. New-policy rates take effect July 1, 2026 [8][9].

How much are special assessments for older Miami condos? There is no single reliable figure. Assessments vary widely by building age, structural findings, and how much the reserve already holds, so the only defensible number is the one in a specific building's SIRS and assessment history. Pull those documents rather than relying on a market average [2][3].

I would rather you walk away from a building with a missing report than guess at a number, so make the documents the condition of the deal, not an afterthought.

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.

Milestone inspections: a buyer's checklist for Miami condos