Latest findings may confirm our biggest fear about Surfside condo collapse | Opinion

The laws passed in the aftermath of the Champlain Towers South collapse in Surfside four years ago have been painful for condominium owners who are having to pay for mandatory inspections and financial reserves. These new rules have wreaked havoc in the condo market, with sales in Miami-Dade falling by 25% from last May, according to the Miami Association of Realtors.

These measures — as harsh as they were — were probably worth it, based on recent findings by the investigators tasked with figuring out what happened on June 24, 2021. In an update released Monday, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) found that shoddy construction is what most likely caused the 40-year-old building to fall, the Herald reported. NIST’s final report is expected in 2026.

Investigators are focusing on three “higher-likelihood” hypotheses, each stemming from construction flaws. For example, the failure of a slab-column connection in the pool deck, where building code standards were not met, might have triggered the collapse, and heavy planters and pavers added to the deck increased the load on a support system “that was already functionally and structurally inadequate,” according to the NIST report.

The obvious question given these preliminary findings is: How many other beachfront buildings from the same era have similar flaws?

That question is relevant given that the condo construction boom of the 1980s in Miami-Dade County was known for its poor standards. As the Herald Editorial Board wrote in a June 28, 2021, headline: “We’d be fools not to ask if condo collapse is linked to Miami-Dade’s shoddy construction in the ’80s.”

It appears we’re getting close to confirming our greatest fear: that 98 people lost their lives in Surfside because of human error or carelessness.

That’s a tragedy and, as the NIST is currently doing, it deserves to be fully investigated. But we must also look at the future and preventing another tragedy, as the Florida Legislature did when it passed the strongest condo regulations the state has seen in recent history — to the chagrin of many condo associations.

Surfside brought to light two main issues in Florida: that associations were allowed to waive financial reserves for deferred maintenance and many did so, and that no local governments required periodic building inspections, with the exception of Miami-Dade and Broward counties, with mandated 40-year re-certifications. The Legislature required reserves to be fully funded and that associations pay for a reserve study to find out how much money they should set aside. Thirty-year inspections are now the norm across the state.

That’s not to say that Florida should ignore the plight of condo owners at risk of losing their homes because of special assessments and other costs associated with the new laws. More worrisome: The new regulatory burden has opened the door for developers to buy out struggling older condo buildings to knock them down to erect the next luxury tower. That would worsen South Florida’s housing crisis given that older buildings represent a significant slice of housing that’s within financial reach of workers and seniors.

This week, Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has been calling for financial relief for condos, signed a new law meant to ease condo maintenance costs. House Bill 913, which goes into effect July 1, allows associations to take out lines of credit to fund reserves and pause contributions to reserves for up to two years if they are already making immediate repairs needed after mandatory building inspections, the Herald reported. The state also expanded the My Safe Florida Condominium Pilot Program, which gives associations up to $175,000 to harden their buildings.

The legislation, however, does not include money to help finance mandatory repairs, which has been a divisive topic in Tallahassee. Some lawmakers, including House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, say it would be unfair to bail out condo owners while single-family homeowners don’t get the same type of government assistance. Also not addressed is the burden that higher property insurance premiums have replaced on condo associations.

Lawmakers will likely have to tweak post-Surfside laws for years to come, but the latest update on the collapse indicates they were right to act quickly and forcefully.

Click here to send the letter.