HB 913 in 2026: No Reserve Exemption, but a Real Pre-Construction Edge Over Older Resales

This article has been rewritten. An earlier version said HB 913 exempts newly built condos from reserve funding for their first 10 years. That was wrong. No provision of Florida law, and nothing in HB 913, gives a new condominium a reserve exemption or a delay. What the law gives a new building is a cleaner starting point: no years of skipped reserves to catch up on, and a developer who has to document the building's condition before handing it over.

Some background helps. After the June 2021 collapse of Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Florida passed its 2022 condo safety law, SB 4-D, which created milestone inspections and the structural integrity reserve study, or SIRS, and ended the habit of boards voting to waive structural reserves. HB 913, passed in 2025, did not undo that law. It adjusted it. My SB 4-D special assessments guide covers the original law in full.

What HB 913 Actually Changed in 2025

According to the Florida Senate bill page for HB 913 (2025) and the current text of Florida Statutes 718.112, the main reserve changes were these:

• Scope. A SIRS is required for each building three habitable stories or higher, at least every 10 years after the condominium's creation.
• Deadline. Associations that existed on or before July 1, 2022 and are controlled by unit owners other than the developer had until December 31, 2025 to complete their SIRS.
• The $25,000 threshold. Beyond the core structural items, reserves must cover any other item whose deferred maintenance expense or replacement cost exceeds $25,000, an amount the state adjusts for inflation each year.
• Baseline funding and pooling. At a minimum, the SIRS must recommend a funding schedule based on a baseline funding plan that keeps the reserve cash balance above zero, and boards may pool reserves for the structural items in the study.
• Relief tools for existing buildings. Owner-controlled associations can fund SIRS reserves with a loan or line of credit, and after a milestone inspection they can pause or reduce reserve contributions for up to two consecutive annual budgets to pay for the recommended repairs.

What HB 913 Did Not Do

It did not exempt new buildings. Florida Statutes 718.112(2)(f) says the budget must include reserve accounts for capital expenditures and deferred maintenance, and an association that must have a SIRS has to maintain reserves for the items in it. Before turnover, a developer-controlled association may not vote to waive the reserves or reduce their funding.

The relief tools in the list above point the same way. The loan option and the pause of up to two budgets expressly do not apply to an association controlled by a developer, or to one where the non-developer owners have been in control for less than one year. The only breathing room the statute offers on reserves is closed to brand new buildings. A buyer in a new tower pays reserves from the first assessment.

Why a New Building Still Has a Real Edge

The advantage of pre-construction over an older resale is not a legal carve-out. It is the absence of history. A tower delivered under the current rules carries reserves in its budget from the first year, so there is no backlog of underfunded repairs waiting for a SIRS to turn it into a special assessment.

The second advantage is paperwork. Under Florida Statutes 718.301(4)(p), before the developer turns over control, it must deliver a turnover inspection report built on a structural integrity reserve study, covering the roof, structure, fireproofing and fire protection, plumbing, electrical systems, waterproofing and exterior painting, and windows and exterior doors. Owners take over with a written baseline of the building's condition and replacement costs.

The third is time. Under Florida Statutes 553.899, a condo building's first milestone inspection is due by December 31 of the year it reaches 30 years of age, counted from its certificate of occupancy, and every 10 years after that.

New towers such as St. Regis Residences Miami, Waldorf Astoria Residences Miami and Baccarat Residences Brickell enter this system clean. That is a real difference from a building of the 1970s or 1980s, but it does not make a new building cheap to carry. The true cost of owning a Miami luxury condo in 2026 lays out what owners actually pay.

The Hidden Cost of an Older Resale

For a resale in an older tower, the question is how much reserve funding the building skipped before the 2022 law and how much of that gap is still open. Where boards waived reserves for years, the SIRS shows the shortfall and the association has to fund it, through higher monthly assessments, a special assessment or a loan. A buyer inherits that bill with the unit.

That does not make every older building a bad buy. A well-run association that has finished its SIRS, funded the schedule and completed its milestone repairs can be better value than a new tower at a launch price. My 2026 pre-construction vs resale data analysis and the Miami condo insurance guide for 2026 cover the other costs that belong in the comparison.

What I Check Before a Client Signs

My advice on any Miami condo purchase is to read the reserve line before the floor plan. On a resale, I ask for the most recent SIRS, the current budget and the milestone inspection status, and I compare the funded reserves with what the study says the building needs. On a new tower, I read the estimated operating budget in the offering documents and confirm the reserve line is there, because that is what you pay from your first month as an owner. Then I weigh the developer's delivery record, which is what protects your deposit if the project slips. The full sequence is in the Miami pre-construction buying process and the LuxuryDade Miami pre-construction buyer guide.

"HB 913 did not hand new buildings a pass on reserves. What a new tower gives you is a clean start: no skipped years to pay for, and a written condition report at turnover."

Whether pre-construction is the right move still depends on price, delivery date and your own timeline, which is the subject of whether Miami pre-construction is a good investment in 2026.

Gerardo Gonzalez

Luxury Dade Group at Compass