The aftermath of the Surfside Condo Tower Collapse, June 24, 2021. Courtesy, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue
Two years ago, 98 people were killed when their 12-story condo building collapsed in the middle of the night. The 40-year old Champlain Towers South condo in Surfside, Florida had unaddressed structural problems often called “deferred maintenance.” There are federal investigators studying “why”, newspaper reports from around the world reporting “when”, families who mourn the “who” perished, and those of us who shake our heads and say, “how”? A recent update by federal investigators reported the condo’s swimming pool deck failed to comply with the original building codes and standards.
The Florida legislature and Division of Emergency Management Director vowed this will never happen again, enacting strict laws that require inspections of aged condo buildings. Legislative staff analyses report that there are approximately 1,529,764 condominium units in Florida operated by 27,588 associations. Approximately 912,376 of these condominium units in Florida are at least 30 years in age. Almost 600,000 are between 40 and 50 years old. Buildings this old must now have a milestone inspection before December 31, 2024 with some exceptions.
Lisa presenting to the Space Coast Community Association, June 17, 2023
I had the privilege of addressing the Space Coast Community Association (SCCA) last week. SCCA is an association group that has over 400 condo associations in its ranks. Board members from across the Space Coast came to listen to why their insurance premiums are so high, with many of them saying their premiums have increased five-fold from the previous year. I did my best to connect the dots between how insurance companies factor in a building’s age with severe weather impacts and the cost of litigation and reinsurance but it is so tough to explain. All I could see was retirees who are working so hard to figure out how to pay the enormous special assessments (for both insurance increases and required maintenance in some cases) they are facing to stay in their units.
For those of you that follow my work, I am always quick to work on a solution or put folks around the table to find one. I don’t have one for rising premiums and old buildings. I don’t have one that can explain why a condo board and unit owners didn’t fix their crumbling foundation but I can only assume they might have, in my opinion, improved the lobby entrance way. Finally, I don’t have a single solution to help those mourning their loss to ease the pain. The best I can do, and you can do, is encourage those in condo buildings to consider what happens when solutions aren’t implemented to buildings that need one.
Next up? A wonderful dive into stories that will give you lots of ideas and innovative thinking!
LMA Newsletter of 6-26-23
