DeSantis calls for special legislative session to address rising condo costs

Gov. Ron DeSantis said Monday that lawmakers should act before the 2025 regular legislative session to address problems facing condominium associations and owners, including soaring costs.

Suggesting interest-free or low-interest loans to help condo owners hit with heavy dues for things like repairs, DeSantis said lawmakers before the end of this year can change laws passed after the 2021 collapse of the Champlain Towers South condominium building in Surfside that killed 98 people.

The 2025 regular session will begin on March 4.

“We have to do something this year,” DeSantis said during an appearance at the Roberto Alonso Community Center in Miami Lakes. “I don’t think this is something that can just be postponed until next March or April.”

Lawmakers aren’t expected to return to Tallahassee until after the November election, but DeSantis said they need to talk to voters and develop ideas that can be implemented quickly.

“Let’s be flexible. Let’s listen to people,” DeSantis said. “Let’s make sure they can stay home.”

Lawmakers will begin holding committee meetings in December ahead of the 2025 session. House committees will meet during the week of Dec. 2-6, while Senate committees will meet during the week of Dec. 9-13.

Both chambers will hold meetings during the weeks of January 13-17, January 21-24, February 3-7, February 10-14 and February 17-21.

In a special session in 2022, lawmakers passed a measure to require condominium associations to have sufficient financial reserves to pay for necessary building repairs. The bill also established requirements for inspections of condominiums with three or more stories.

Any “substantial structural deterioration” noted by engineers or architects would require more detailed inspections. Association boards were also required to conduct “structural integrity reserve” studies to determine how much to set aside.

The law, signed by DeSantis, was amended in 2023, and the legislature this year passed a measure targeting misconduct by nonprofit board members.

In addition to the requirements adopted by legislators, many condo associations are facing rising property insurance costs.

Rep. Tom Fabricio, a Republican from Miami Lakes, said the threat of condo owners being evicted from their homes was “probably the most important issue in the state of Florida right now.”

Fabricio, who was at Monday’s event with DeSantis, said one problem is that many condo boards have delayed maintenance too long and are now having to impose “excessive” assessments to cover the costs and necessary reserves.

Fabricio added that appraisals also create problems for people, including seniors on fixed incomes, trying to sell their homes.

“Unfortunately, they find that it’s not that easy to sell because when you’re trying to sell that unit and you do your disclosure statement, you have to disclose those assessments and the repairs that are needed,” Fabricio said. “So it causes problems in the market as a whole. So it causes a problem for these seniors.”

On Aug. 16, Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples, ruled out a special legislative session before the November elections to address condo issues.

In a memo to senators, Passidomo said condominium laws could be addressed in committee meetings after the election and during the 2025 regular session. She highlighted what she described as “misconceptions and inaccuracies” about condominium laws passed in recent years.

“In my view, no law is perfect. Sometimes problems arise during implementation, and there is often room for improvement,” Passidomo wrote in the memo. “However, the legislative process best serves Floridians when there is analysis, collaboration, and input from all stakeholders. I believe the coming weeks of committee and the regular session that will follow our post-election reorganization will provide the best opportunity for this type of dialogue.”