The Florida Legislature recently passed a bill to beef up building inspection requirements for many of the state’s condominiums.
The bill, which is expected to be signed by the governor, will require milestone inspections of condominiums three stories in height or taller within three miles of the coast when the buildings reach 25 years of age, and of buildings more than three miles inland when they reach 30 years of age. Buildings will then be required to have an inspection every 10 years thereafter with inspection records made available to buyers, renters, and unit owners.
The bill’s passage comes nearly one year after the Champlain Towers South condominium collapse in Surfside, Fla., killed 98 people. Following the building collapse, the International Code Council, the National Institute of Building Sciences, the Building Owners and Managers International (BOMA), and the Building Officials of Florida (BOAF) created a group of experts to advise policymakers and create guidelines that could be used to help prevent future catastrophic building collapses. The work of this group informed the crafting of the bill.
Forty percent of Florida jurisdictions have no property maintenance code in place or have adopted a property maintenance code developed in the late 1970s. Only about 3% of Florida jurisdictions have implemented a periodic recertification or inspection safety program for existing buildings.
Related Stories
Codes and Standards | Jun 28, 2021
Local and state building energy performance standards aim to curb climate change
Owners must up the ante on operations and retrofits.
Codes and Standards | Jun 24, 2021
Biden Administration will restore ‘Waters of the U.S.’ protections ended by Trump
Early revision more likely to hold up in court, says legal expert.
Codes and Standards | Jun 23, 2021
Denver unveils renewable heating and cooling plan
City releases roadmap to decarbonizing existing homes and buildings.
Codes and Standards | Jun 22, 2021
Actually, few companies plan to significantly reduce their office footprint
CBRE survey shows that many firms will continue with hybrid work.
Codes and Standards | Jun 21, 2021
Vancouver, B.C., may delay new zero emissions building standards
Building permit delays may postpone new standards by a year.
Codes and Standards | Jun 17, 2021
Buffalo’s parking reform having noticeable impact on development
Elimination of mandatory parking allotments encourages new projects.
Codes and Standards | Jun 16, 2021
Inconsistent building codes make some states more vulnerable to hurricanes
Florida takes top spot for strongest building code in latest IBHS survey.
Codes and Standards | Jun 15, 2021
Growing housing supply gap will worsen affordability crisis
Supply projected to fall 4.5 million units short in 2022.
Codes and Standards | Jun 15, 2021
Florida will allow virtual inspections, building code enforcement, permit issuance
New law will go into effect on July 1, 2021.
Codes and Standards | Jun 10, 2021
New York City cracks down on construction site safety
Buildings Dept. issues new safety legislation for City Council consideration.
