MIAMI, Fla. – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis held a news conference Thursday to continue to push the Florida Legislation to pass relief for condominium owners in South Florida.
Press play above to watch the news conference
DeSantis said that the high-cost fee assessments imposed on condo owners are putting them in jeopardy of losing their homes, especially senior citizens living on fixed incomes.
“We’ve got to provide relief for people. We do have a responsibility to do this now,” DeSantis said.
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Following the deadly structure collapse in Surfside in 2021, when a 12-story oceanfront condo building came down and claimed 98 lives, the state imposed new safety requirements, including undergoing inspections to ensure they remain structurally sound.
However, DeSantis said that while the intentions of the legislation were good to prevent another major tragedy, something needs to be done to address what he called the “condo crisis.”
“I want people to be able to stay in their homes. I think it’s really important that people are not being forced to sell or forced to leave. And here’s the thing: Some people will say, ‘Well, you know, these folks in there, they have the assessments, and, yeah, they’re on fixed income, but they bought the condo 30 years ago, so it’s worth a lot more. They can make money if they sell.’ The problem is, OK, they sell it. Where do they go?” DeSantis said.
During Thursday’s news conference, DeSantis praised a bill that’s currently making its way through the Florida Senate, saying that the proposed legislation increases the accountability of condo association managers, strengthens electronic participation requirements while reinforcing strict voting integrity laws in place to ensure secure elections, and adds increased transparency for residents.
“It provides more flexibility for associations to phase reserve funding and use alternative funding methods, including investing contributions to generate more money for required repairs and so that would provide relief from these crippling assessments,” DeSantis said.
DeSantis also bashed a condo bill making its way through the House of Representatives, saying in part that it does not include reforms to increase the accountability of condo association managers.
“The House’s condo bill seems to be something that favors developers and puts the interests of developers over the interests of Florida residents. That is unacceptable. If these associations can’t make improvements, and the buildings are clearly obsolete, the value of the real estate that they are built upon may outweigh the investment,” DeSantis said.
