Milestone Inspections and Structural Integrity Reserve Studies in a Florida Cooperative

Jason Hamilton Mikes, JD, MBA
Founder & Managing Shareholder

• Published September 25, 2026
• Reviewed by Jason Hamilton Mikes, JD, MBA, September 26, 2026
• Florida Statutes as of July 1, 2026
• Applies to: Cooperatives

Both of the post-Surfside requirements reach Florida cooperatives. The milestone inspection statute, section 553.899, names residential cooperatives under Chapter 719 by their own terms. The structural integrity reserve study requirement is in section 719.106(1)(k), which is a freestanding cooperative provision rather than a cross-reference to the condominium statute. The obligations look almost identical to the condominium versions. The deadlines do not, and that difference has caught co-op boards that copied a condominium compliance calendar.

Yes, both requirements apply to cooperatives

This is worth stating plainly because the question still comes up at co-op board meetings. A residential cooperative is not exempt from either requirement.

Milestone inspections. Section 553.899 applies to the owner of a building three habitable stories or more in height that is subject, in whole or in part, to the condominium or cooperative form of ownership as a residential condominium under Chapter 718 or a residential cooperative under Chapter 719. Cooperatives are named in the operative sentence. Section 719.106(1)(l) then places the duty on the association: where a milestone inspection is required, the association must arrange for it and is responsible for compliance with section 553.899.

Structural integrity reserve studies. Chapter 719 has its own study regime. Section 719.103(24) defines the term by reference to section 719.106(1)(k), and section 719.106(1)(k)1. requires a residential cooperative association to have a study completed at least every 10 years for each building on the cooperative property that is three habitable stories or higher in height. Nothing in Chapter 719 borrows section 718.112(2)(g). A board reading the condominium version of the requirement will get most of the substance right and the dates wrong.

Which buildings, and which are exempt

The trigger is height, measured in habitable stories as the Florida Building Code defines that term, not unit count and not age. Three habitable stories or higher brings the building in.

The statute then exempts:

• Buildings of less than three habitable stories.
• Single-family, two-family, three-family and four-family dwellings with three or fewer habitable stories above ground.
• Any portion or component of the property that is not submitted to the cooperative form of ownership.
• Any portion or component that is maintained by a party other than the association.

A garden-style co-op of two-story buildings is outside the study requirement entirely. A mid-rise with a three-story parking structure and a two-story clubhouse has one building in and two out, and the study should say so rather than quietly cover everything.

The deadline that is different from the condominium deadline

This is the single point most worth getting right. Section 719.106(1)(k) provides that an association existing on or before July 1, 2022 must have had a structural integrity reserve study completed by December 31, 2024. An association required to complete a milestone inspection on or before December 31, 2026 may complete both at the same time, but in no event may the study be completed after December 31, 2026.

If your co-op does not have a completed study, the association is already past the primary deadline as the statute reads, and the outside date is now within the current budget cycle. That is a fact to put in front of the board in writing, at a noticed meeting, with a proposal to engage a qualified professional. It is not a fact to manage quietly.

The milestone inspection timetable

Section 553.899 runs on its own clock, driven by the local building official rather than by the association.

1. The building must have a milestone inspection by December 31 of the year it reaches 30 years of age, measured from the date the certificate of occupancy was issued, and every 10 years after that.
2. A local enforcement agency may require the inspection at 25 years where environmental conditions such as proximity to salt water warrant it. On the Southwest Florida coast this is the version many buildings will face.
3. Phase one is a visual examination of habitable and nonhabitable areas by a licensed architect or engineer, and must be completed within 180 days after the owner receives the written notice from the local enforcement agency.
4. Phase two follows only if substantial structural deterioration is identified in phase one, and may involve destructive or nondestructive testing.
5. Within 45 days after receiving the inspection report, the association must distribute a copy to the owners.
6. Where the report calls for repairs, those repairs must be commenced within 365 days after the association receives the report.

The 365-day repair clock is the one that turns an inspection into a capital project. Our guide to overseeing a major project covers the contracting and oversight steps that follow.

What the study covers and who may sign it

The study is based on a visual inspection of the cooperative property and must address, at a minimum, the roof; the structure, including load-bearing walls and other primary structural members and systems; fireproofing and fire protection systems; plumbing; electrical systems; waterproofing and exterior painting; windows and exterior doors; and any other item with a deferred maintenance expense or replacement cost exceeding $25,000, or the Division's inflation-adjusted amount if greater, whose failure would negatively affect one of the listed items.

The study may be performed or verified by an engineer licensed under Chapter 471, an architect licensed under Chapter 481, or a person certified as a reserve specialist or professional reserve analyst by the Community Associations Institute or the Association of Professional Reserve Analysts. The visual inspection portion must be performed by the licensed engineer or architect. A reserve analyst who has never set foot on the property cannot supply that piece.

For each component the study must identify the item, state its estimated remaining useful life and estimated replacement cost or deferred maintenance expense, and provide a reserve funding schedule with a recommended annual reserve amount. Before signing the engagement, confirm in writing that the deliverable will contain each of those elements and will identify which buildings and components were excluded and why.

HB 913 added conflict-of-interest controls. A design professional or contractor involved in the study must disclose an intent to bid on the resulting repair work, and there are restrictions on financial interests and close relatives. Ask the question during selection rather than after the report lands.

How the study drives reserve funding

The study is not a filing exercise. It sets the reserve numbers the board must then fund, and it removes the board's ability to vote those numbers down.

Section 719.106(1)(j)2.c. provides that for a budget adopted on or after December 31, 2024, a unit-owner-controlled association that must obtain a structural integrity reserve study may not determine to provide no reserves, or reserves less adequate than required, for the items listed in paragraph (k). The waiver survives for other reserve items. It does not survive for the roof, the structure, fire protection, plumbing, electrical, waterproofing and exterior painting, or windows and exterior doors.

Three mechanisms soften the landing, and all three are in section 719.106(1)(j) and (1)(k):

• Funding method. The required reserves may be funded by regular assessments, special assessments, a line of credit or a loan, and an association required to have a study may borrow for capital expenses required by a milestone inspection or by the study.
• Delay after a milestone inspection. An association that has completed a milestone inspection may delay performance of a required study for no more than the two consecutive budget years immediately following the inspection.
• The pause window. For budgets adopted through December 31, 2028, an association that has completed a milestone inspection may pause or reduce reserve contributions for no more than two consecutive budget years.

Reserve accounts may be pooled across two or more required components, but reserve funding for the components identified in paragraph (k) may only be pooled with other paragraph (k) components. Pooling a roof reserve with a clubhouse furniture reserve is not permitted. The mechanics of all of this sit in the annual cooperative budget and reserve process.

What the board must do after the study arrives

Three obligations attach on receipt, and each has a short fuse.

1. Within 45 days after receiving the study, distribute a copy to each unit owner, or deliver notice that a copy is available for inspection and copying.
2. Provide the Division a statement that the study was completed and that it was provided or made available to the owners.
3. Have an officer or director sign an affidavit acknowledging receipt of the study, and keep it with the official records.

Willful and knowing failure by officers or directors to complete a required study is a breach of their fiduciary relationship to the unit owners under section 719.106(1)(a). That is not a theoretical exposure. It is the provision an owner's attorney will cite if the building later needs work the reserves do not cover.

What this means for an older Southwest Florida co-op

Most cooperative buildings in Lee, Collier and Charlotte Counties date from the 1960s through the 1980s. A beachfront mid-rise from 1978 has long since passed 30 years, is a candidate for the 25-year coastal trigger on each subsequent cycle, and in many cases came through Hurricane Ian with repairs that were documented for an insurer rather than for an engineer.

The practical sequence for a board in that position is short. Confirm in writing which buildings are three habitable stories or higher. Find out from the local building official where the milestone inspection cycle stands. Engage a qualified professional for the study now rather than after the December 31, 2026 outside date. Then rebuild the reserve schedule from the study's numbers and tell the owners what the new assessment looks like before the budget meeting, not at it.

Expect the number to be large. A co-op that waived reserves for a decade and is now barred from waiving them for the structural components will see a step change in assessments, and the board that delivers that news needs the statute and the study in hand. Storm damage complicates the picture further; our guide to hurricane recovery in a cooperative covers how casualty repairs and reserve obligations interact.

Contact Hamilton Mikes

Hamilton Mikes advises cooperative boards in Southwest Florida on milestone inspection and reserve study compliance, engagement terms with engineers and reserve professionals, and the reserve funding decisions that follow the report. Call 239-594-7227 or visit our Regulatory Compliance page.