Calls are continuing to grow for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to hold a special legislative session as the Sunshine State’s condo crisis threatens to spiral out of control.
New state regulations have forced many condo owners to either cough up thousands of dollars — or try to quickly sell their condos before December 31.
A Florida Tragedy
These latest regulations were only passed because of the Surfside condo tragedy, which saw a high-rise condo building collapse and kill 98 people.
To ensure another tragedy such as Surfside never happens in Florida again, regulation was put in place to keep condo associations up to date with inspections and repairs.
Assessing Florida Condos
These new regulations mainly target condos in Florida that are more than three stories high, as well as more than 30 years old.
A December 31st deadline has been put in place for these condo associations. All impacted associations must have enough money in their reserves for assessments and any potential repairs or changes that may be needed.
The Cost Is Put on Condo Owners
This year, it became apparent that many condo associations do not have enough money in their reserves to pay for these special assessments.
As a result, associations have begun to try to put the cost onto condo owners, resulting in many Floridians being asked to pay a lump sum of tens of thousands of dollars — or more. Others have seen their COA payments skyrocket.
People Cannot Afford These Changes
Needless to say, many condo owners have found themselves in a difficult situation. They cannot afford to pay the tens of thousands of dollars their condo associations are asking them to cough up.
Countless condo owners are seniors and retirees on a fixed income. There is simply no way they can afford this.
What Could Happen to Florida Condo Owners
Analysts have seen this crisis brewing in Florida’s condo market. They’ve warned that Florida condo owners who cannot afford these special assessment payments may look to sell their condos quickly.
Others could see a COA put a lien on their home, which could potentially make this situation even worse.
Thousands of Condos Up for Sale
So far, there are tens of thousands of condos up for sale, mainly of which are located in Southern Florida, which has been hardest hit by this ongoing crisis.
Analysts have warned that we may continue to see condo listings skyrocket as owners struggle to sell. However, no one is buying, leaving the situation complex.
Calls for a Special Session Grow
For the past few weeks, there has been an increasing amount of calls for DeSantis to call for a special legislative session to fix this condo crisis.
DeSantis is the only person who can actually call for a special legislative session — and critics want him to do this now, before the crisis becomes worse.
A Difficult Law
DeSantis was recently asked whether he would be willing to call on a special session to possibly fix or modify this law.
In response, DeSantis argued that the law was well-intentioned after the tragedy of Surfside. However, he also admitted that condo owners and associations have been put under intense stress to meet regulation demands.
DeSantis May Call for a Special Legislative Session
In his comments, DeSantis also seemed to be in support of eventually holding a special legislative session.
He said, “The Legislature has ideas to make this more sensible for people.”
Unintended Consequences
DeSantis also stated that much of the crisis people are seeing right now in Florida has to do with “unintended consequences” of the law.
“There was always the possibility that there could be unintended consequences,” DeSantis said. “I think [The Legislature] owe it to their constituents to listen to them. We obviously want everybody to be safe.”
Will DeSantis Listen to These Calls?
Many people have gone public in their calls for DeSantis to hold a special legislative session. Former Republican state senator Jeff Brandes recently said this session needs to be held.
“I’m just saying it doesn’t need to be like this. There are probably other mechanisms by which the legislature can ensure that buildings are physically sound, which I think is important and absolutely relevant. But I don’t think it’s this choice of buildings collapsing or bankrupting condo owners,” Brandes explained.
