The requirements · Milestone Inspections
Who Needs One, and When
Florida introduced statewide milestone inspections in 2022 following the Surfside collapse. If you are on a condominium or co-op board of a building three stories or taller, this applies to you.
We will turn it into a buildable scope, a phasing plan and a realistic range — so the board can decide with numbers rather than adjectives.
Not us
We do not perform the inspection. An engineer does
30/25
Years to first milestone — 25 within 3 miles of coast
Occupied
Buildings stay occupied while we work
Licensed
General contractor, licensed in the state of Florida
The timing, plainly
A milestone inspection is required for condominium and co-operative buildings three stories or more in height, at 30 years from the certificate of occupancy — or 25 years if the building is within three miles of the coastline — and every 10 years afterwards. Those thresholds were set by SB 4-D in 2022 and amended by SB 154 in 2023.
What that means in practice is that two buildings on the same street can have different deadlines, because the clock runs from each building's own certificate of occupancy rather than from any common date. Boards frequently assume they are on the same schedule as a neighboring association and discover otherwise when a notice arrives.
What to establish for your building
- The date of the certificate of occupancy, which sets the clock.
- Whether you are within three miles of the coastline, which changes 30 to 25.
- Whether your local jurisdiction has its own recertification program as well.
- Who your engineer or architect will be — it must be licensed, and it is not us.
- What your association attorney says about notice and member communication.
Why this became law
The statewide milestone inspection requirement was introduced in 2022 following the collapse of a residential building in Surfside the previous year. Before that, Miami-Dade and Broward operated county recertification programs and most of the state had no equivalent requirement at all.
Understanding that history explains the shape of the law: it is aimed at structural deterioration in older coastal buildings, which is why the trigger is earlier within three miles of the coastline, and why the inspection is structural rather than a general condition survey.
How we handle it
- 01We do not perform the inspection. A licensed engineer or architect does.
- 02We can price and build the repairs the report identifies.
- 03We can attend board meetings to explain scope and cost.
- 04We work to the engineer's specification, not to our own opinion of it.
Miami-Dade and Broward have operated their own recertification programs for decades, and those continue alongside the statewide requirement. If your building is in either county, you may have more than one obligation running, and your attorney should confirm which applies and when.
Said plainly
Where we stop
This page is general information and it is not legal advice. Requirements change, and your association attorney and your engineer determine what applies to your building. Do not rely on a contractor's website for a compliance deadline.
FAQ
Common questions
- Does this apply to our building?
- Condominium and co-op buildings three stories or taller. Your attorney should confirm your specific position.
- 30 years or 25?
- 25 if within three miles of the coastline, 30 otherwise, then every 10 years. Confirm with your attorney.
- Can you do the inspection?
- No. It must be a licensed engineer or architect, and a contractor inspecting work it would then price is a conflict.
- What about Miami-Dade or Broward recertification?
- Those county programs continue alongside the statewide requirement. You may have both.
What we repair
Concrete Restoration
Salt reaches the reinforcement, the steel rusts, rust expands, and the concrete cracks off. It is the single most common finding in coastal Florida recertification and the hardest to price honestly.
Read more →
Balcony Repairs
Balconies are the most common structural finding and the most disruptive repair, because every one belongs to somebody who is living behind it.
Read more →
Building Envelope
The envelope is what stops water reaching the structure. Most concrete deterioration began as an envelope failure years earlier.
Read more →
Waterproofing & Decks
Elevated decks, walkways and pool surrounds sit on structure, and when their waterproofing fails the structure below is what pays for it.
Read more →
Railings & Guardrails
Railings are usually found deteriorated at their embedments, and replacing them frequently triggers current code requirements the original did not meet.
Read more →
Parking Structures
Garage repairs are structurally routine and logistically miserable, because every space belongs to somebody with nowhere else to put a car.
Read more →
More the requirements
Phase 1 and Phase 2
Phase 1 is a visual inspection. If it finds substantial structural deterioration, Phase 2 follows — and that is the point at which boards start calling contractors.
Read more →
Structural Integrity Reserve Studies
A structural integrity reserve study identifies the major components and what it will cost to maintain them — and unlike the old reserve regime, funding for those items is no longer something a membership can vote to waive.
Read more →
Funding the Work
Once the scope exists, the board's problem stops being construction and becomes funding. There are three routes and they suit different associations.
Read more →
Next step
Find out what is actually wrong with it.
An inspection, photographs of what we found, and a written scope. If the honest answer is that it can wait another season, that is the answer you will get.