Florida State Legislators continue to quietly press Governor Ron DeSantis to support and call for a special legislative session to address the recently signed Condo Safety law that is placing an overwhelming financial burden on condominium owners across the state.
The Floridian reported earlier that Gov. DeSantis was open to addressing the law with “a tweak” but that any concerns or changes had to be addressed by the Republican-led legislature.
The law was initially enacted in response to the tragic collapse of the Champlain Towers South in Surfside, which caused the deaths of 98 people, to mandate stringent safety inspections and repair schedules for aging buildings.
In addition, the law mandates that condominium boards have in place maintenance reserves by 2024.
During a recent press conference in Aventura, Gov. DeSantis was asked if he was willing to call for a special session to modify the law.
DeSantis argues that the law, while well-intentioned, has created significant financial and logistical burdens for condominium associations and homeowners.
.@GovRonDeSantis open to a special legislative session but puts the burden on Republican-led legislature to act.
"There was always the possibility that there could be unintended consequences," added DeSantis. "I think [The Legislature] owe it to their constituents to listen to… pic.twitter.com/Z6DsK3IFdz
— The Floridian (@Floridianpress) August 12, 2024
"The Legislature has ideas to make this more sensible for people," said DeSantis. First of all, it was this massive tragedy," said DeSantis. "Within 24 hours the media was like, 'you need to do this law' and I'm like 'We don't even know what happened yet! Just give us some time.”
DeSantis spoke of the potential “unintended consequences” the law may bring, putting the burden squarely on the shoulders of lawmakers.
DeSantis is the only person who can call for a special legislative session.
"There was always the possibility that there could be unintended consequences," added DeSantis. "I think [The Legislature] owe it to their constituents to listen to them. We obviously want everybody to be safe."
"If the Legislators talk to their folks and have some proposals to provide some reforms that would alleviate some of that burden I think that would be a welcome thing," concluded DeSantis. "That's going to have to be something that they are developing after talking to the folks that were affected by it."
Condominium owners are being hit with huge special assessments in order to meet the fiduciary requirements of the law.
In speaking to several Republican and Democratic lawmakers, who asked that we keep their names out of this story, all told The Floridian that would welcome a special session to address any shortcomings the law has.
Rep. Berny Jacques supports revisiting the law, as does Rep. Chip LaMarca.
One of Gov. DeSantis biggest allies in the Florida Legislature, Rep. Alex Rizo (R), supports adjustments be made to the law and recently told The Floridian that he had spoken with the DeSantis administration about addressing the issue, confirming that the Governor was in fact open to addressing the law during a legislative session.
"When we passed the condo law we knew there would be some pain to getting 20-25% of a reserve basically overnight," said Rizo during a recent press conference in Aventura. "We are open to any sort of idea. Any sort of easing to get there. Because we know that we have to get there, but we are open to it."
Sen. Shevrin Jones says that the state legislature needed to “exhaust all options” to address the financial burdens they are facing as a result of the law.
“I am open to all possible ways that we can work together to bring relief to Florida families, especially those in my district. I have said it time and time again that this is not a partisan issue and that we need to exhaust all options,” said Sen. Jones in a statement to The Floridian.
Rep. Alex Rizo (R), who supports adjustments be made ot the law, recently told The Floridian that he had spoken with the DeSantis administration about addressing the issue, confirming that the Governor was in fact open to addressing the law during a legislative session.
The Opposition
While it appears as if most lawmakers support changes in the condo law, there are those who do not, including State Senator Jason Pizzo, who quoted an NBC Miami story that stated condo owners just “don’t want to write checks” to pay the assessments.
Sen. Pizzo told The Floridian that the Florida House of Representatives rejected all of the suggestions he and other lawmakers put forward to help condo owners meet the assessment requirements.
“Over last few years senate has introduced allowing alternative methods of funding reserves, contingent special assessments, a glide path and lines of credit to satisfy reserves,” stated Sen. Pizzo. “Time and deferred maintenance on physical structures do not wait on the preferred schedule of owners.”
According to Pizzo, 90 percent of condominium currently listed for sale are over 30 years old.
In addition, Pizzo believes that homeowners can easily pay for the assessments because the aforementioned equity they hold.
“Where condos should’ve been collecting 50-70 cents per sq ft over the past decade, they continued to waive reserves, artificially suppress association fees, and did so at the expense of current owners,” said Pizzo. “We’ve already pushed back the timeline requirements once, and the focus should be financing, not pretending critical maintenance issues exist in a vacuum - buildings are not static, and the safety of people’s lives is more important than the tough love the legislature has enacted.”
While DeSantis is open to legislative suggestions to help homeowners meet the financial responsibilities as it pertains to the law he signed, he nor his executive office have signaled if a special session will be called in the coming weeks, or months.
