Florida Condo Owners May Have To Leave Retirement due to $100,000+ Special Assessment Fees

Photo byWikimedia Commons

Residents of SurfSide Club South in Ormond Beach are now dealing with bills exceeding $100,000 per condo owner.

Per the new Florida law—all condo buildings over three stories and at least 30 years old must complete a mandatory engineering assessment by Dec. 31, 2024.

Condo associations must also boost their repair funding reserves. This law was enacted following the Surfside tragedy in 2021, where a 12-story condo collapse claimed 98 lives.

While most condo owners agree on the necessity of ensuring their buildings are structurally sound, many at SurfSide Club South are struggling to find the funds to meet these new requirements.

“I’m a retired teacher, so we don’t have hundreds of thousands set aside somewhere that we can contribute,” resident Janet Stone told WKMG News 6 on June 26. “It put me in a position where I needed to return to work.”

Many other condo owners are facing similar financial strain and are shocked by the enormous bills they are receiving.

After the Surfside incident, Senate Bill 4-D was quickly passed to mandate older condo buildings to conduct inspections, address critical issues, and build up reserve funds for future repairs.

The law Affects about two-thirds of condos in Florida and caught some condo associations by surprise. Many did not have sufficient funds in their reserves to cover the required engineering assessments and potential repairs. Consequently, the cost has been passed on to individual unit owners.

Parks Huffstetler, a snowbird who bought a condo unit at SurfSide Club South in late 2021, told News 6 he was unaware of the upcoming assessment fees and had not budgeted for a six-figure bill.

“It’s over $100,000 per owner,” Huffstetler said. “The hope is, once we get the restoration part done, then the units will be worth more and I can sell.”

Some condo owners facing these enormous special assessment fees may have no choice but to sell their units, especially retirees on fixed incomes or younger individuals who used all their savings to buy their first home.

If you can’t pay a special assessment fee, there may be consequences, depending on your contract with the condo association. This could include fines or late fees, adding to your financial burden. In severe cases, the association may place a lien on your home or even foreclose on your property.

Before things get out of control, you may want to negotiate with your association or set up a regular payment plan to reduce the immediate financial pressure.

What do you think? Who is to blame? Leave your comment below.

Subscribe to this author for more free content.