Florida condo owners look at higher costs as new regulations take effect in the new year

MIAMI — Florida condominium owners are looking at higher costs from condo associations in the new year, a consequence of a safety law passed by state lawmakers in 2022. But am I safe?” Rick Madan, president of the Biscayne Neighborhoods Association, which represents 22 condo associations, said the law is bringing condo owners strife by forcing buildings to take full coverage and bringing forth a blanket solution that doesn’t holistically address the crisis. “On top of that, you’re not giving us any flexibility on the insurance side where the insurance companies are basically making so much profit because they write a policy for $100 million, which they know they’ll never have to pay a claim on.” Democratic State Sen. Jason Pizzo, who represented Surfside at the time of the collapse, said he agrees with Madan’s point about property insurance. That’s by operation of common sense.” Luis Konski, a Miami attorney who deals with construction and commercial liability cases, said previous condo regulations kept fees low by failing to save money for future repairs, and then owners were hit with special assessments when repairs finally needed to be done. “You can’t do both.” Real estate agent Rebeca Castellon, who owns a condo in Coral Gables, said she agrees with the idea of requiring condo associations to maintain reserves for future repairs but acknowledges that the timing is bad when the increased fees are combined with higher insurance costs and recent inflation.