Does your aging condo building need to get recertified? You can keep track of that
The Surfside building collapse has many people questioning the safety of their homes.
Miami-Dade and Broward are the only counties in Florida that require aging high-rises to get reinspected once they hit 40, and every 10 years after.
Exempt in Miami-Dade are single-family homes, duplexes, and buildings with a capacity of 10 or fewer occupants that are 2,000 square feet or less.
Exempt in Broward are one-and-two family homes, government buildings, public schools, buildings on Indian reservations, and any building under 3,500 square feet.
Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava has called for a 30-day “audit” of residential buildings that are at least five stories high and are 40 years or older but have not yet been recertified by the county’s building department. Local governments across the county have launched similar efforts to double-check or amplify existing inspection requirements.
To be recertified, a building needs to hire a Florida registered engineer or architect to examine the building’s structural and electrical condition, and submit a report to the county or city’s building department. Sometimes, the building will need to make repairs before it can get recertified. If buildings fail to make needed repairs, they could lose their occupancy license.
Here’s what else to know:
How much does recertification cost?
Miami-Dade County’s Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources oversees building recertifications for unincorporated areas like Kendall and Westchester. Municipalities including Miami, Miami Beach, Hialeah, Coral Gables and Surfside oversee recertifications within their boundaries.
Recertification costs vary. Besides hiring an architect or engineer, the building might have to pay for repairs. Some places charge an application fee. There’s also extension or late fees.
In Miami, a $276 fee is required for recertification. In Fort Lauderdale, a $300 fee due at the time the report is submitted to the city’s building department and a $500 fee for each additional three-month extension. In Miami Beach, the fee for a six-month extension is $600.
Typically, the bills go to the building’s owner or the condo association.
Florida has lenient laws when it comes to requiring condo associations to keep reserves for needed repairs, according to Miami Herald news partner WLRN. Property owners can vote not to set the money aside to keep their monthly association fees lower. That can cause a problem when expensive or surprise repairs are needed, often requiring people to pay a lot of money all at once as part of a “special assessment.” This, in turn, might cause some condo boards to delay the repairs.
How does the condo know it’s time to get recertified? Do property owners have to do anything?
The county or city will remind the building that its recertification period is coming up, said Jaime Gascon, director of the Board and Code Administration Division of Miami-Dade County’s Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources.
However, even if condominium associations have not received the notice, it’s still their responsibility to make sure the building gets recertified if it’s time to do so, according to a 2019 Miami Herald opinion piece written by Barney Weinkle, managing director with AKAM On-Site Inc., which is in South Florida’s residential property management industry.
Usually the building’s owner or condo association will notify individual property owners and residents, who will sometimes be asked to let a worker inside their apartment or condo as part of the structural or electrical review.
What if my building fails or does not comply with its recertification inspection?
If the building does not submit the required recertification report, it will be issued a civil violation notice or ticket and will be referred to the Unsafe Structures unit. The unit will start the process of declaring the building unsafe, ordering it to be evacuated and possibly demolished, according to Miami-Dade County. In addition, the building might have to pay up to $10,510 in fines, plus enforcement costs.
At the end of the day, condo boards have existing legal obligations under state law, according to Miami Herald news partner WLRN.
“If you know of something that is a problem that could be a safety concern, you have to address it,” Daniel Lustig, a condo association attorney at Pike and Lustig in Miami, told WLRN.
How can I check if my building’s recertification process is coming up? Can I check previous reports?
If you’re trying to find out how old your building is, visit Miami-Dade’s Property Appraiser or the Broward County Property Appraiser websites and type in the property’s address. The results will include what year it was built. Then you’ll just need to do the math to see if it’s hit at least the 40-year mark.
To look into your building’s recertification history, Miami-Dade County has an online tool that lets people search recertification cases from May 1996 to present that are within the Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources’ jurisdiction.
The tool lets people search cases by address, folio number, property owner and case number. If cases have been referred to the Unsafe Structures Section for enforcement, the system provides a link to that information as well. For any cases, if you want documents, you’ll have to submit a public record request.
For Miami Beach, use the city’s Citizen Self Service portal, which lets you search properties for a variety of things, including inspections, permits and plans. Use the advanced search tool to filter permit type by “Building 40yr Recertification.”
How long does the recertification process typically take?
If people have to be evacuated, does anyone help them with housing?
The engineer or architect reviewing the building would determine if a building is safe to live in, Gascon said. If it’s unsafe, the report would also mention if any “immediate action,” such as a shoring up a particular area, is needed, he said.
If residents are required to evacuate the building and have nowhere else to go, they can look to the American Red Cross for help with temporary housing, he said.
How can I check for building violations and permits?
Checking for violations and open permits could differ, depending on where you live. If you’re in the city of Miami, for example, you can use iBuild Miami’s online portal to view information including liens, violations and open permits for a property. Coral Gables online portal lets you search by permit type and see descriptions and comments posted by inspectors and plan reviewers, according to its website. Hialeah lets you search for permits online, including by the owner’s first and last name. It also lets you see the city’s inspections schedule.
Doral’s online portal is similar and just like Hialeah, gives you the city’s schedule for daily inspections. For unincorporated areas of Miami-Dade County, like Kendall, you’ll want to use the county’s regulation cases online tool to find information on permits, unsafe structures and building code violations.
In Broward, you can also search on individual cities’ websites. If you live in Fort Lauderdale, you can search property information, track your building permits, and look up code enforcement case history as well as submit complaints, according to the website. On Hollywood’s website, you can search building permit status and view inspection results. If you live in Sunrise, you should contact the city’s building records department to schedule an appointment to view property records.
Who can I speak with if I have questions or concerns about my building’s safety?
If you noticed some concerning structural or electrical issues, Gascon recommends speaking with the landlord first, if you are a renter, or the homeowner’s association. If neither has addressed your concerns, you can contact your jurisdiction’s building department to explain the issue.
Gascon said building owners shouldn’t wait for the recertification period to start addressing repairs or potential safety concerns, especially with South Florida’s weather.
“Maintenance is key,” he said.
This story was originally published July 21, 2021 at 11:43 AM.
