FLORIDA CONDO LAW | 2026
Condo Rules for Buyers in 2026
No new condo laws passed this year. The rules that affect your purchase came earlier, and the lending and insurance changes are the ones with dates on them.
Quick answer
No new condo laws passed in the 2026 Florida session, which ended March 13, 2026, and the major HOA and condo bills including HB 657 died. HB 913 from 2025 still governs: the SIRS deadline was December 31, 2025, or December 31, 2026 for buildings pairing the SIRS with a milestone inspection due in that window, and SIRS reserves cannot be waived. The changes buyers feel in 2026 are coming from lenders and insurers instead, including Fannie Mae retiring Limited Review on August 3, 2026 and Citizens routing condo master policies through commercial clearinghouses by January 1, 2027.
What Changes and When?
These are the dates that change what a condo purchase looks like. Two of them are already behind us and apply to any loan application dated after them.
July 1, 2026
Fannie Mae deductible cap
For loan applications dated on or after this date, the master policy per-unit deductible is capped at $50,000. A higher deductible can make the project ineligible, so ask for the master policy early.
August 3, 2026
Limited Review retired
For loan applications dated on or after this date, Fannie Mae retired Limited Review for established projects over 10 units. Expect full project review and more association documents on most condo loans.
December 31, 2026
Paired SIRS deadline
Buildings that paired their SIRS with a milestone inspection due in this window have until this date. The original SIRS deadline was December 31, 2025.
January 1, 2027
Citizens commercial clearinghouses
Under SB 1028, Citizens must have commercial clearinghouses set up. Condo master policies get routed through them, and a comparable private or surplus lines offer within 15 percent of the Citizens price ends the association's Citizens eligibility.
January 4, 2027
Reserve minimum rises
Fannie Mae raises the reserve minimum from 10 percent to 15 percent of annual budgeted assessment income. Budgets that qualify today may not qualify in January.
What Does HB 913 Require?
HB 913 passed in 2025 and it is the law your purchase runs into. The SIRS deadline was December 31, 2025, with December 31, 2026 for buildings pairing the SIRS with a milestone inspection due in that window. SIRS reserves cannot be waived, which removes the old workaround where owners voted to skip funding.
Associations can fund SIRS items with loans, lines of credit, or special assessments approved by a majority of owners. All three are legitimate, and all three can land on your owner statement after closing, so the question is not whether the association has a plan but which plan it chose.
Phase 2 milestone repairs must begin within 365 days. If a building is in Phase 2, there is a clock running and a cost attached to it.
There is also a budget guardrail worth knowing: if a proposed budget exceeds 115 percent of the prior year, the board must prepare a substitute budget that excludes discretionary spending. When you see that substitute budget in the records, it is a signal that required work is driving the increase.
What Do the SIRS and Milestone Inspection Cover?
A SIRS is required for condo buildings three or more habitable stories. It covers the roof, structure, fireproofing and fire protection, plumbing, electrical, waterproofing and exterior painting, windows and exterior doors, and other items over $25,000, with that threshold adjusting annually.
A milestone inspection is a structural inspection by a licensed engineer or architect, required by December 31 of the year a building three or more habitable stories turns 30, then every 10 years. Local building officials can require it at 25 years when conditions such as salt water exposure warrant it. The automatic coastal 25-year trigger was removed in 2023.
You can look up a SIRS yourself in the public DBPR SIRS reporting database, keeping in mind the entries are self-reported by associations. There is no public statewide milestone inspection database, so milestone status comes from the association, the disclosure, or the building official. See where Pinellas Gulf-front buildings stand.
Associations with 25 or more units owe you a document portal.
Governing documents, budgets, financials, insurance policies, contracts, and 12 months of minutes have to be kept on a website or owner portal. If you are being told those are hard to get, that is information too.
How Did Condo Lending Change in 2026?
Fannie Mae Lender Letter LL-2026-03, issued March 18, 2026, is the document that changed condo financing this year, and not all of it is bad news for buyers.
Tighter: Limited Review was retired for loan applications dated on or after August 3, 2026 for established projects over 10 units, so expect a full project review. The master policy per-unit deductible is capped at $50,000 for applications dated on or after July 1, 2026. And on January 4, 2027 the reserve minimum rises from 10 percent to 15 percent of annual budgeted assessment income.
Looser: the 50 percent investor concentration cap was eliminated, and the Florida PERS requirement for new attached projects was retired. Both of those had been killing otherwise good deals in beach buildings with heavy rental ownership.
The practical move is to get the building documents to your lender before you are under contract, not after. If you are buying in an entity, the loan type changes too, which is covered on the buying in an LLC page.
What Is Changing With Citizens and Condo Insurance?
SB 1028 took effect June 16, 2026. It requires Citizens Property Insurance to set up commercial clearinghouses by January 1, 2027. Condo master policies will be routed through those clearinghouses.
Here is the part that hits owners: if a private or surplus lines insurer offers comparable coverage within 15 percent of the Citizens price, the association loses Citizens eligibility. An association sitting on a Citizens master policy today could be shopping the private market in 2027, and the master policy premium flows straight into the monthly fee.
Ask two questions on any building you are serious about: who writes the master policy right now, and is building insurance inside the monthly fee or billed separately. On these beaches the answer is not consistent from building to building.
Have the Rules Checked Against a Real Building
Rules on a page are easy. Applying them to one association, one budget, and one insurance policy is the work. Barrett does that part before you write an offer.
Florida Condo Rule Questions
Did Florida pass new condo laws in 2026?
No. The regular 2026 session ended March 13, 2026, and the major HOA and condo bills, including HB 657, died. The rules in force for buyers right now come from HB 913, passed in 2025.
When was the SIRS deadline?
The Structural Integrity Reserve Study deadline was December 31, 2025. Buildings that paired the SIRS with a milestone inspection due in that window have until December 31, 2026. Under HB 913, SIRS reserves cannot be waived.
When does a Florida condo building need a milestone inspection?
Condo buildings three or more habitable stories need a milestone inspection by December 31 of the year the building turns 30, then every 10 years. A local building official can require it at 25 years when conditions like salt water exposure warrant it. The automatic coastal 25-year trigger was removed in 2023.
How can an association pay for SIRS items?
HB 913 allows associations to fund SIRS items with loans, lines of credit, or special assessments approved by a majority of owners. If a proposed budget exceeds 115 percent of the prior year, the board must prepare a substitute budget that excludes discretionary spending.
What changed with condo financing in 2026?
Fannie Mae Lender Letter LL-2026-03, issued March 18, 2026, retired Limited Review for established projects over 10 units for applications dated on or after August 3, 2026, capped the master policy per-unit deductible at $50,000 for applications dated on or after July 1, 2026, eliminated the 50 percent investor concentration cap, and retired the Florida PERS requirement for new attached projects. The reserve minimum rises from 10 percent to 15 percent of annual budgeted assessment income on January 4, 2027.
Where do I find a building's condo documents?
Associations with 25 or more units must maintain a website or owner portal with governing documents, budgets, financials, insurance policies, contracts, and 12 months of minutes. The Florida DBPR also keeps a public SIRS reporting database, which is self-reported. There is no public statewide milestone inspection database.
Get These Rules Applied to Your Building
Send Barrett the building you are considering and he will check the SIRS status, milestone status, budget, and insurance setup against what the current rules require.
Prefer to talk it through? Call or text Barrett Henry, REMAX Collective, (813) 733-7907.
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Last updated: October 2026. Sources: Florida HB 913 (2025), the 2026 regular session record, Fannie Mae Lender Letter LL-2026-03 dated March 18, 2026, Florida SB 1028 effective June 16, 2026, and the Florida DBPR SIRS reporting database, checked October 2026. This page is general information, not legal advice. Status, pricing, and rules change. Verify current documents with the association and your lender before you write an offer. Barrett Henry is a licensed Florida Broker Associate with REMAX Collective, not an attorney, lender, engineer, or tax advisor.