In early April, we gave an update on some of the legislation that was on track to pass during the 2025 Legislative Session.
Usually, the Florida Legislature can cause major issues for associations, as our state lawmakers add new regulations and provisions on the management of homeowners’ and condominium associations.
While the session has been extended into June, all new legislation that does not involve the budget has either been passed or is dead until next session.
For associations, only one bill passed this year with a significant impact – HB 913.
This bill contained many provisions we discussed in our April blog post, but there were a few major changes with the final bill that will be sent to Governor Ron DeSantis for his signature.
Of course, he could veto the bill, but it provided some relief to condominium owners needing relief from the cost of milestone inspections and repairs without providing any tax dollars for financially-constrained associations.
If he signs the bill into law, all of this will take effect on July 1, 2025.
The attorneys at The Orlando Law Group can help associations with any changes that might come, ensuring your association remains in compliance with any new state statutes that might be enacted this year.
The Biggest Change of All
Sometimes, just one word can make all the difference in the world to people affected by legislation.
The word of the day? Habitable.
During the legislative process, bills are constantly amended or substituted with similar bills. After our article on the tentative condominium changes, a substitute bill was filed that included this line:
“A residential condominium association must have a structural integrity reserve study completed at least every 10 years after the condominium’s creation for each building on the condominium property that is three habitable stories or higher in height, as determined by the Florida Building Code.”
The only change to the statute in that line was adding the word “habitable.”
According to the Florida Building Code, habitable means: A space in a building for living, sleeping, eating or cooking. So with this change, any three-story condominium building where the first floor does not have living units will be exempt.
For instance, the first floor may be parking spaces or storage units. If that’s the case, and there are only two floors of habitable space above the first floor, a milestone inspection is not needed.
In addition, condominium units have been given more time to complete their milestone inspections, with the deadline moved to December 31, 2025 – a year later than previously required.
Both of these changes could help thousands of associations throughout the state.
What stayed in the bill?
In our previous article, we talked about several changes that were proposed and many of them made the final cut.
Perhaps the biggest change of those that are going to the governor is the ability for condominium associations to use lines of credit for structural reserves. Before, only special assessments were allowed to build a reserve to pay for repairs.
This provides tremendous relief, as many condo owners were being forced to sell to pay for special assessments required for reserves.
As for the rest of the bill here is a recap on what was discussed earlier:
- Requirements for association managers in licensing, including a 10-year ban from the industry if a license is revoked for any reason.
- Requirements to include the following in every contract between a manager and an association: The community association manager shall abide by all professional standards and record keeping requirements imposed pursuant to part VIII of chapter 468, Florida Statutes.
- Requirements to have all public documents online within 30 days of them being finalized and to include the minutes from all board meetings of the last 12 months.
- Approval of having a board meeting by videoconference or in person. However, no board member can attend an association meeting more than twice in a calendar year.
- Requirements that those meetings must be recorded and retained as official records of the association.
- Requirements for an alternate budget to be considered if a proposed budget’s assessments grow by 115 percent or more from year to year.
- Requirements to create an online account with the state for each association, along with very specific requirements for that account.
- Requirements for firms performing structural integrity studies to disclose prior to starting work that they intend to bid on the work suggested in the study.
- Permission, without a vote of the board, to put association funds in “certificates of deposit or in depository accounts at a community bank, savings bank, commercial bank, savings and loan association, or credit union.”
What was taken out of the final bill?
A major element of the original bill was significant steps required for condominium associations for investments of funds outside of traditional bank accounts.
The proposed changes were:
- Requiring a majority vote of all “voting interests” to allow other investments.
- Creating an investment committee of at least two board members and two community members.
- Adopting rules for investing funds with very specific caveats.
- Requiring that the committee suggest investment advisors, with no connection to the board, the association or the management company, to the board to choose the advisor.
- Investments cannot be in any funds or stocks in which the state is prohibited from investing.
- Rules for the investment advisor, including reporting requirements and the ability to withdraw funds within 15 days.
Usually, language like this can often come back into future sessions, and much of this is best practice language with investments, so your association should look at implementing much of this before it becomes law.
The attorneys at The Orlando Law Group can help your association prepare for any new law as we represent more than 100 communities in Orlando, Waterford Lakes, Altamonte Springs, Winter Garden, Lake Nona, St. Cloud, Kissimmee, and throughout Central Florida.
If you have questions about anything discussed in this article or other legal matters, give our office a call at 407-512-4394 or fill out our online contact form to schedule a consultation to discuss your case. We have an office conveniently located at 12301 Lake Underhill Rd, Suite 213, Orlando, FL 32828, as well as offices in Seminole, Osceola and West Orange counties to assist you.
The articles on this blog are for informative purposes only and are no substitute for legal advice or an attorney-client relationship. If you are seeking legal advice, please contact our law firm directly.
Last Updated on May 6, 2025 by The Orlando Law Group
