TALHASSEE, Fla. (WFLA) — The highly anticipated 2025 Condominium Reform Bill awaits the Governor’s signature.
Long billing offers mitigation and financial flexibility while diving into condo inspections, repairs and maintenance.
This is done at the time of ongoing concerns about the safety of the condominium.
Engineers work to address concerns about collapse in Clearwater condos
On Tuesday, residents of the Clearwater Condominium were evacuated after cracks were found in the pillars below the building. Sixty residents were forced to leave the house, and the crew still had the building stabilized and repaired.
“People are financially hurt. Whether they leave the dream called Florida or not, they are against decision-making. And many of them are our coastline, our paradise, and safety is at the forefront of this issue.”
Safety is the number one concern for residents following the collapse of the surfside apartment complex in 2021. In response, lawmakers enacted laws to increase the safety, accountability and transparency of the condominiums.
From 2022 to 2025, several bills were introduced and passed to the Capitol, addressing issues such as milestone condominium inspections, structural preliminary investigations, building standards and maintenance adjustments.
“When I hear the owners talk, I talk about how they know that the building needs to be safe, but I’m worried about it, pleading that the process is fair and feasible and the developers will take advantage of the situation. [would] It hasn’t been implemented so quickly that it can’t keep up financially. And to the owners of all of them, we’ve heard you, and this bill is the relief you’re looking for,” said Sen. Jennifer Bradley (R-Fleming Island).
Residents evacuated from the Clearwater Condo after cracks were found in the pillars below the building
The bill at hand is expanding the condo association’s emergency forces, changing evacuation orders, changing hurricane protection regulations, and highlighting what is deemed unsafe to report the number of buildings inspected in the area by October 1, 2025.
This year’s bill has died from both rooms and is currently awaiting the signing of the governor. But Desantis wanted it to have crossed the finish line sooner.
“There’s no reason a bill passed that wasn’t passed in January,” DeSantis said. “It would have given people a sense of security. It would have avoided some of the other ratings that have come back in the months of it. It gave it more time to get it to work out, so it should have been done in January.”
So DeSantis said he supports the final bill being passed. But the questions remain. When will he sign it to the law?
