Will a special session help ease Florida’s condo crisis? | Opinion

When I owned a condo in the early 2000s, prices were more affordable, and taxes and insurance were manageable.

In 2005 when Hurricane Wilma struck Florida, my community was hit with a massive $75,000 per unit special assessment even though my unit and many others did not sustain damage.

I eventually sold my condo. But today, many residents don’t have that option, and the problems only seem to worsen.

That’s why Gov. Ron DeSantis called for a special session to address relief for condo owners and possibly more cash for the My Safe Florida Home program.

Now, as executive director of the Florida Landowners Association, which empowers landowners throughout Florida to engage, educate and demonstrate to the public why protecting landownership rights is important, we hope Florida lawmakers will come up with a relief package during this special session.

We all know that in the wake of the 2021 Surfside collapse, condo owners feel that reforms implemented by the Florida Legislature could force them out of their homes.

Special session

DeSantis implied he wants to help condo owners stay in their homes. “This special session is a great opportunity for the members of the Florida Legislature to basically put their money where their mouth is,” DeSantis said at a Thursday news conference.

The special session is scheduled to start Monday.

The governor is right; condo living is increasingly more expensive because of higher insurance premiums for aging buildings, higher condo association fees for building up reserves in storm-prone areas and the dreaded 40-year special assessment that is levied on your unit.

I know from my experience as a former condo association president that it’s tough to balance rising insurance costs, deferred maintenance items and the annual budget.

Florida law requires condo homeowners associations (HOAs) to have a master insurance coverage plan for the condo building, common areas and shared amenities.

Self-insuring option

Some residents are encouraging removing these requirements to reduce monthly fees. I’m all for self-insuring. The problem is, if you have a mortgage on your unit, you cannot self-insure.

Additionally, if the condo association does not provide coverage for the exterior of the building and common areas, banks may cease to lend on these units and that would further erode values in the already sensitive condo market.

Condo costs cannot be eliminated but only mitigated by implementing immediate major repairs requiring large special assessments or spreading out the costs over the remaining life of major structural items like a roof.

Once these items are replaced or repaired, it should dramatically reduce the risk factor for the insurance companies, therefore reducing premiums substantially.

If I were still a condo owner, I would ask my insurance carrier what measures should be taken to get premiums to a minimum.

Insurance role

Insurance companies should work with associations that make major repairs and upgrades and reward them with low premiums. Working together — insurer and insured — in a fair and balanced approach is the best way forward.

Monday’s special session will only be effective if the state makes insurance companies live up to their end of the bargain. The stakes are too high for insurers to back out on this deal.

Brandon Tucker is the executive director of the Florida Landowners Association.

Brandon Tucker is executive director of the Florida Landowners Association.