Florida SIRS Requirements Explained

Jason Hamilton Mikes, JD, MBA
Founder & Managing Shareholder

Published September 22, 2026
Reviewed by Jason Hamilton Mikes, JD, MBA, September 23, 2026
Florida Statutes as of July 1, 2026
Applies to: Condominiums · Cooperatives · Multi-condominiums

A Structural Integrity Reserve Study, or SIRS, is a study of the reserve funds required for the future major repair and replacement of the structural components of a condominium or cooperative building. Florida requires one for every residential building that is three or more habitable stories tall, and it must be updated at least every ten years. The study tells the board what the building's structure will cost to maintain and how much must be set aside each year to pay for it.

Why Florida created the SIRS requirement

The requirement was enacted in 2022, after the collapse of Champlain Towers South in Surfside, as part of the same law that created mandatory milestone inspections. For decades Florida condominium owners could vote each year to waive reserves entirely, and many buildings reached forty or fifty years of age with almost nothing set aside for roofs, waterproofing or concrete restoration. The Legislature's answer was to require an engineering-based study of the structural components and to remove the owners' ability to waive funding for them.

The statute has been amended in each session since: in 2023 to clarify which buildings are covered and who may perform the study, in 2024 to tie it to the new website-posting and director-education requirements, and in 2025 to add funding flexibility for associations facing large repair bills at the same time.

Which associations must have a SIRS

The requirement applies to a residential condominium association (and, under Chapter 719, a cooperative) that operates a building three or more habitable stories in height. The count is of habitable stories, so a two-story building over a parking garage is generally not covered, while a three-story walk-up is. Mixed-use and commercial condominiums are covered as to their residential buildings. Homeowners associations under Chapter 720 are not subject to the SIRS requirement at all, although many HOA declarations impose reserve obligations of their own.

Associations that existed on or before July 1, 2022 were required to complete their first SIRS by December 31, 2024. Associations created after that date must have a SIRS before turnover of control from the developer, and the developer must complete it. Every association must then update the study at least every ten years after its creation.

What the study must include

The statute lists the components a SIRS must address:

Roof
Structure, including load-bearing walls and other primary structural members and primary structural systems
Fireproofing and fire protection systems
Plumbing
Electrical systems
Waterproofing and exterior painting
Windows and exterior doors
Any other item that has a deferred maintenance expense or replacement cost exceeding the statutory threshold and that affects the structural integrity of the building

For each component the study must state its remaining useful life, its estimated replacement cost or deferred maintenance expense, and the annual reserve contribution needed to fund it. The study may recommend a funding schedule, and the association may use a pooled (cash-flow) method as well as the traditional straight-line method, so long as the structural components are funded as the study recommends.

The study begins with a visual inspection of the building's habitable and non-habitable areas, including the components listed above. That inspection must be performed or verified by a licensed engineer or architect. Other portions of the study, such as the cost and life estimates, may be prepared by a qualified reserve specialist. If a milestone inspection has recently been completed, the association may rely on it for the visual-inspection portion, which is why many associations coordinate the two.

SIRS and the end of reserve waivers

The SIRS matters because of what it does to the budget. Historically, a majority of owners at a duly called meeting could vote to waive reserves or fund them at a reduced level. For budgets adopted on or after December 31, 2024, that vote is no longer available for the SIRS components: the association must include the reserves the study requires, and it may not use those reserve funds for any other purpose. Owners may still vote to waive or reduce reserves for components that are not structural (pavement, non-structural amenities, furnishings) and, if the study identifies them, to reduce or eliminate reserve funding for items the engineer concludes do not need it.

The practical result is that the SIRS drives the largest line item in many budgets. Boards should expect the first fully funded budget to be a shock to owners who have grown accustomed to waivers, and should plan communications accordingly. Our reserve funding article explains the funding rules in detail.

Recent changes: loans, lines of credit and timing

Legislation enacted in 2025 gave associations additional tools when a milestone inspection identifies repairs that must be completed while reserves are also being funded. Among other things, associations may fund reserves through a loan or line of credit, and an association that has completed a milestone inspection within the preceding years may, with owner approval, temporarily adjust reserve contributions to prioritize the repairs the inspection requires. The 2025 law also raised the dollar threshold for the "any other item" category and adjusted deadlines for associations that had recently completed milestone inspections. These provisions have conditions and time limits, and the details should be confirmed against the current statute before a board relies on them.

Consequences of not complying

The statute is unusually direct: if an association fails to complete a SIRS, that failure is a breach of the officers' and directors' fiduciary relationship to the unit owners. The Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes may investigate complaints and impose penalties, insurers increasingly ask for the study before binding or renewing coverage, and lenders and buyers ask for it at every sale. A board that cannot produce a current SIRS is exposed on every front.

The SIRS as an official record

The completed study is part of the association's official records and must be maintained for at least fifteen years after it is completed. Owners may inspect it, associations of 25 or more units must post it on their website or application, and a seller must provide the buyer of a unit with the most recent SIRS (or a statement that none has been completed) as part of the statutory resale disclosures under section 718.503. The association must also notify owners when the study has been completed.

What a board should do now

Confirm whether each building is three or more habitable stories and therefore covered.
If a SIRS has been completed, calendar the ten-year update and confirm the current budget funds the components the study identifies.
If a milestone inspection is coming due, coordinate the two engagements so the engineer's visual inspection serves both purposes.
Review the reserve schedule with the association's accountant and counsel before the budget meeting, and prepare owner communications that explain what changed and why.
Post the study, the budget and the notice of completion where the statute requires.

For community association managers: see The condominium received its milestone inspection report or SIRS: what happens next? in the Manager Resource Center.

Frequently Asked Questions About the SIRS

Does a two-story condominium building need a SIRS?

No. The requirement applies to buildings that are three or more habitable stories in height. Two-story buildings are not covered, although the association must still fund the traditional reserves for roofing, painting, pavement and other items above the statutory threshold unless the owners vote to waive them.

Is a SIRS the same thing as a milestone inspection?

No. A milestone inspection is a structural safety inspection required when a building reaches a certain age; a SIRS is a financial study of what the structural components will cost to maintain and replace. They overlap in the visual inspection, and the statute allows the association to coordinate them, but each has its own deadlines and consequences.

Who may prepare a SIRS?

The visual inspection portion must be performed or verified by a licensed engineer or architect. Other portions may be prepared by a qualified reserve specialist. Boards should ask any provider to confirm which portions its personnel are licensed or certified to perform.

Can the owners vote to waive the reserves the SIRS requires?

Not for budgets adopted on or after December 31, 2024. Owners may still vote to waive or reduce reserves for non-structural components.

How often must the study be updated?

At least every ten years after the association's creation. Many engineers recommend interim updates after major repairs or a hurricane, because the remaining useful life of the components changes.

What happens if our association never completed a SIRS?

The failure is defined by statute as a breach of the directors' fiduciary duty, and it exposes the association to Division enforcement, insurance and lending problems, and claims by owners and buyers. The board should engage an engineer immediately and speak with counsel about the budget and disclosure consequences.

Contact Hamilton Mikes

Hamilton Mikes advises Southwest Florida condominium and cooperative boards on SIRS compliance, reserve funding and the repair projects the studies identify. Call 239-594-7227 or visit our Budgeting and Financial Reporting page.

Statutes and authorities referenced

§ 718.112(2)(g), Fla. Stat. (structural integrity reserve study)
§ 718.112(2)(f), Fla. Stat. (reserve funding; limits on waiver)
§ 719.106(1)(k), Fla. Stat. (cooperatives)
§ 553.899, Fla. Stat. (milestone inspections)
§ 718.503(2), Fla. Stat. (resale disclosure of the SIRS)
Session laws: SB 4-D (2022), SB 154 (2023), HB 1021 (2024), HB 913 (2025)

About this article. This article is published by Hamilton Mikes, P.A. for general educational purposes. It is not legal advice, it is not a legal opinion, and it is not a substitute for advice from a lawyer who has reviewed your association's governing documents and the facts of your situation. Reading it, downloading it, or corresponding with the firm about it does not create an attorney-client relationship. No such relationship arises until the firm and the client have signed a written engagement agreement. Please do not send confidential or time-sensitive information to the firm until a conflicts check has been completed and an engagement is confirmed in writing; information sent before that point may not be treated as privileged.

Scope and currency. This article addresses Florida law as applied to Florida community associations, and the firm is licensed to practice in Florida only. Nothing here should be taken as a statement of the law of any other jurisdiction. Florida's community association statutes have been amended in every regular session since 2021, and subsection numbering has moved more than once in that period. Each article states the edition of the Florida Statutes it was written against. The law may have changed after that date, an appellate court may have construed a provision differently, and an administrative rule or a local ordinance may impose requirements this article does not address.

Your governing documents control. Much of what governs a Florida association is not in the statutes at all. Declarations, articles of incorporation, bylaws, rules, plats and recorded amendments differ from community to community, and on many questions they set the rule while the statute sets only a floor or a default. A procedure that is correct in one association may be a breach of the documents in the association next door. No general article can tell you which is which for your community.

Why general information is not advice. Legal questions are resolved by applying the law to particular facts as a judge, jury, arbitrator or hearing officer finds them. An outcome that appears clear in the abstract frequently turns on the documents, the chronology, the board's own prior conduct, and the procedural posture, none of which an article can anticipate. A lawyer supplies what information cannot: the judgment to identify which facts matter, the experience to know how a court or the Division is likely to treat them, the ability to choose among the courses of action actually available, and the advocacy to carry the association's position through negotiation, hearing or trial.

The standard of care, and the protection the statute attaches to counsel. A director of a Florida community association is held to the standard in section 617.0830, Florida Statutes: to act in good faith, in a manner the director reasonably believes to be in the best interests of the corporation, and to discharge the duties of the office with the care an ordinary prudent person in a like position would reasonably believe appropriate under similar circumstances. That standard is measured against the decision the board actually faced, on the record actually before it. The same statute supplies the protection that goes with the duty. Under section 617.0830(4) and (5)(b), a director who has no knowledge making reliance unwarranted is entitled to rely on information, opinions, reports and statements prepared or presented by legal counsel retained by the association as to matters the director reasonably believes are within counsel's professional competence. The Legislature has written the prudent course into the statute. A board that obtains advice on its own documents and its own facts, and acts on that advice, is standing on ground the statute expressly protects. Nothing on this website confers that protection. General information, however carefully prepared, is not advice on your declaration, your amendments, your board's history or your dispute, and a director who relies on it in place of counsel forgoes a statutory protection that was available for the asking.

Personal exposure is real. Service on an association board is usually uncompensated, but volunteer status is not itself immunity. Under section 617.0834, Florida Statutes, a director or an officer is not personally liable in monetary damages for a statement, vote, decision, or failure to act in that role unless two things are both true: the director or officer breached or failed to perform the duties of the office, and that breach was a violation of the criminal law, a transaction from which the director or officer derived an improper personal benefit, conscious disregard or willful misconduct in a proceeding brought by or in the right of the corporation, or recklessness or bad faith in a proceeding brought by anyone else. That protection turns on how the director acted, not on whether the director was paid. Chapters 718, 719 and 720 add consequences of their own, including removal from office, civil penalties assessed against the individual for certain willful and knowing violations, and in defined circumstances criminal liability. Whether any of that reaches a particular director depends entirely on the facts and on the director's conduct. The practical point is narrower and more useful: the decisions that generate this exposure — levying an assessment, enforcing a covenant, denying a transfer, withholding a record, entering a unit, terminating a contract, signing for construction work — are precisely the decisions on which general information is least adequate, and on which counsel costs least relative to what is at stake.

No guarantee; prior results. The firm makes no representation or warranty that the information in this article is complete, current or applicable to any particular matter, and disclaims liability to any person for any action taken or not taken in reliance on it. Any description of prior results does not guarantee or predict a similar outcome in any other matter; every case turns on its own facts, documents and record.

Do not act on this article alone. If your association faces a decision of consequence, obtain advice from a Florida-licensed attorney who has read your governing documents and the relevant record before the board votes, signs, sends or forecloses. Hamilton Mikes, P.A. represents community associations throughout Southwest Florida and can be reached at 239-594-7227.

What Is a Structural Integrity Reserve Study, and Which Florida Condominiums Need One?