The Pembroke Pines Mansion Management Board thought that when my safe Florida Mansion Pilot Program was opened to the application last November, they moved quickly in line for roof replacement grants.
Currently, the association is said to be ineligible for grants under the terms of the new bill just passed by the Florida Legislature.
Pierpointe V Condo III is a small 24-unit complex located in three two-storey buildings. One of the characteristics of 165 apartment complexes in Florida is said to have been approved in storm mitigation tests in response to generous grants for improvement of storms, according to the one that has identified generous grants for improvement of storms.
But these approvals are uncertain now. The new law awaiting the governor’s signature includes some strictly qualified provisions that allow Pierpointe V to be kicked out of running.
“It’s really a shame, a bit disappointing,” said Dawn Munera, treasurer at Peer Point V, who submitted the condo application. She said the property is waiting for its first inspection almost six months after it was approved in December. “I was also surprised that none of the condos applied to this have been approved for grants yet.”
The My Safe Florida Condominium Pilot Program patterned the popular My Safe Florida Home program, but was originally enacted in 2024. The program aims to provide state funding up to $175,000 for every dollar spent by the Condominium Association to fund mitigation projects.
Targeted projects include replacing impact-resistant glass in windows, skylights and other openings. Purchase and install external doors that comply with the code. Roof improvements that require a complete roof replacement.
The Application Portal was open for just six days. Authorities shut down on November 19th after receiving 174 applications. According to a January 1 report sent to lawmakers by the Financial Services Bureau, which oversees the program, those applications were sufficient to drain the initial $30 million budget if all sought the largest grant amount. Of the 174 applications, 165 have been approved, the report states.
The Ministry of Financial Services confirmed Thursday that 165 approved properties must comply with the new requirements of the amendment Act if they wish to qualify for grants.
“When the grant window is opened, all applications will be subject to the provisions of the law upon approval,” said Devin Galletta, department spokesman.
Of the 165 applicants, 52 have a building under the three-story building, Garetta said. He said inspections of 378 buildings at 91 Condominium Associations have been completed.
If enacted, the new law adds these requirements.
– The condo must be at least three habitable stories.
– Window upgrades are established as a general element of the condo declaration and are entitled to grant funds only if the unit owner does not own it separately.
– Improvements will only be eligible for grants if you receive a discount on your insurance.
– Mitigation improvements should be made to all openings, including exterior doors, garage doors, windows, skylights, etc., if the building is required to qualify for the insurance discount.
– All grant-approved condos must have completed milestone inspections and a preliminary structural integrity investigation.
Munera said the condo has completed milestone testing and preliminary research as Pembroke Pines also needs the condo under three stories.
The condo had recently spent $142,000 replacing two of the three roofs. They cancelled plans to replace the third roof and believed they could recover a $47,000 grant before the start of the upcoming hurricane season on June 1st. Each unit’s owner would have saved about $2,000, Munera said.
In December, the Condominium Committee learned that it had been approved to participate in the program, Munela said. She said the test depends on what was found and is eligible for grants that were subject to the regulations at the time.
However, she reached out to the vendors hired to carry out the test in December, but months later, the inspectors didn’t show up, Munela said.
After Munera sent out several emails, the employee told her over the phone Tuesday, saying the complex would no longer qualify for the grant under the terms of the new law and that the employee would soon be signed by the governor.
Munera then contacted the Miami Republican Rep. Vicki Lopez’s office and said she co-hosted the original bill, revised the amended bill, and received an email from one of Lopez’s aides saying the condo was no longer eligible.
Garetta and Lopez noted that one of the revisions approved in the new bill would make it easier for eligible properties to secure grants.
It aims to allow condo boards to bypass individual holdouts, reducing the percentage of unit owners required to approve grant applications from 100% to 75%.
The 100% threshold was “deemed a significant hurdle,” Garetta said.
Munera said they approved grant applications from all 24 condo units owners.
Additionally, Galetta said the new bill will increase subsidies per window and allow grants per square foot of the roof.
Asked if previously approved applicants made a mistake by not becoming grandfather, based on rules enacted last year, Lopez said he didn’t think so.
The requirements added to the revised bill came from “what we learned during the initial implementation phase,” she said.
“What was probably what was supposed to have happened was (the department) should notify everyone who applied for the test that the program would likely be amended, and then only inspected buildings that were in line with the provisions of the new bill,” she said. “This would have avoided the confusion that exists today.”
The confusion has just begun for her fellow residents of Munera and Pierpointe V Condo III. They have to find a way to go knowing they have to come up with the money they had hoped for in savings.
“I brought all these owners back for another meeting and said, “What do you know? We haven’t fixed this roof for six months because we were waiting for the grant. We’re not coming now.”
Ron Burtibise covers South Florida Sun Sentinel’s business and consumer issues. He can be contacted by telephone at 954-356-4071 or by email at rhurtibise@sunsentinel.com.
Original issue: May 8, 2025, 3:57pm EDT
