Structural Integrity Reserve Study (SIRS) in Florida: A Buyer's Guide

What is a structural integrity reserve study (SIRS)?

A structural integrity reserve study is a building-by-building budget study that Florida requires for condominium buildings three habitable stories or higher. It looks at the building parts that matter most for structural safety, estimates how long each will last and what it will cost to replace or repair, and sets out a plan for how much the association should save each year to pay for that work.

The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) describes it this way: "A SIRS is a type of reserve study used to ensure condo owners are reserving the funds needed for future major repairs and replacement of structural elements on the condominium property." The rule itself is in Fla. Stat. § 718.112(2)(g).

For a buyer, the SIRS answers a practical question: is the building saving enough for its big repairs, or will the owners have to find that money later? This guide covers what the law requires as of October 2026 and what to read in the study before you buy. It is general information, not legal advice; talk to a Florida real estate attorney about a specific purchase.

Which Florida condo buildings need a SIRS?

Under § 718.112(2)(g), "A residential condominium association must have a structural integrity reserve study completed at least every 10 years after the condominium’s creation for each building on the condominium property that is three habitable stories or higher in height." Height is measured as the Florida Building Code determines it.

The same paragraph lists what it does not cover: "This paragraph does not apply to buildings less than three stories in height; single-family, two-family, three-family, or four-family dwellings with three or fewer habitable stories above ground." It also excludes parts of a building that were never submitted to condominium ownership and parts maintained by someone other than the association. So a two-story condo building is outside the rule, while most condo buildings three habitable stories or higher are inside it.

What is the SIRS deadline in Florida?

There are two dates. For associations that existed on or before July 1, 2022 and are controlled by unit owners rather than the developer, the first SIRS was due December 31, 2025. An association with a milestone inspection due by December 31, 2026 may do the SIRS together with it, and the paragraph closes with an outer limit of December 31, 2026. As of October 2026, the text reads:

The December 31, 2025 date comes from the 2025 condo law, CS/CS/HB 913 (Chapter 2025-175, Laws of Florida), which moved it from December 31, 2024 (enrolled bill text). Older articles that give the 2024 date describe the law before that change. After the first study, the cycle is at least every 10 years.

DBPR's Inspections page reads the two dates the same way: "SIRS completed in conjunction with a milestone inspection must be completed by December 31, 2026."

What does a SIRS cover?

The statute names eight groups of items that every SIRS must study as they relate to the building's structural integrity:

• Roof.
• Structure, including load-bearing walls and other primary structural members and primary structural systems.
• Fireproofing and fire protection systems.
• Plumbing.
• Electrical systems.
• Waterproofing and exterior painting.
• Windows and exterior doors.
• Any other item with a deferred maintenance expense or replacement cost that "exceeds $25,000 or the inflation-adjusted amount determined by the division", whichever is greater, if failing to maintain it harms the items above.

Amenity areas count only if they fall under one of the listed items, which the engineer, architect or reserve specialist decides in the study. Other items can still sit in the association's general reserve accounts under § 718.112(2)(f), but the limits on waiving reserves described below apply to the SIRS items.

Who prepares a SIRS and what must it contain?

A SIRS "is based on a visual inspection of the condominium property," and the statute says it must be performed or verified by a Florida-licensed engineer or architect, or by a certified reserve specialist or professional reserve analyst.

At a minimum, the study must identify each item inspected and "state the estimated remaining useful life and the estimated replacement cost or deferred maintenance expense of each item of the condominium property being visually inspected". It must also give a recommended annual reserve amount, including "a reserve funding schedule based on a baseline funding plan that provides a reserve funding goal in which the reserve funding for each budget year is sufficient to maintain the reserve cash balance above zero."

Two details matter when you read one. First, the study "may recommend that reserves for replacement costs do not need to be maintained for any item with an estimated remaining useful life of greater than 25 years", so a long-lived item can show little or no replacement reserve. Second, the study must account for how the association pays: if the association later approves a special assessment, a line of credit or a loan, the study must be updated to show that funding method.

A contractor or design professional who bids to do the SIRS must disclose in writing any intent to bid on the repair work the study recommends, so ask whether the firm that wrote the study is also doing the repairs.

How a SIRS affects reserves and your monthly fees

The budget in the resale documents should line up with the SIRS funding plan. Under § 718.112(2)(f) and (g), the reserve amount for the SIRS items must be based on the most recent study, and the association must get an updated study before adopting a budget whose reserve funding does not match it.

Owners also lost the option to vote those reserves down, with narrow exceptions. For a budget adopted on or after December 31, 2024, members of a unit-owner-controlled association that must have a SIRS "may not determine to provide no reserves or less reserves than required by this subsection for items listed in paragraph (g)" (§ 718.112(2)(f)). The statute carves out a multicondominium with an alternative funding method approved by the division, and owners who vote to terminate the condominium may vote to waive the SIRS reserves.

The law allows several ways to fund those reserves: "Reserves for the items listed in paragraph (g) may be funded by regular assessments, special assessments, lines of credit, or loans." A special assessment, line of credit or loan for this purpose needs a majority vote of the total voting interests.

There is one temporary exception tied to milestone inspections. For a budget adopted on or before December 31, 2028, if the association completed a milestone inspection in the previous two calendar years, the board, with approval of a majority of the total voting interests, "may temporarily pause, for a period of no more than two consecutive annual budgets, reserve fund contributions or reduce the amount of reserve funding for the purpose of funding repairs recommended by the milestone inspection." A new SIRS is required before contributions continue.

What underfunded reserves can mean for a buyer

When the budget's reserves fall well short of what the SIRS recommends, the difference generally falls on the owners, through higher regular assessments, special assessments, lines of credit or loans, the funding methods the statute lists. That includes whoever buys the unit.

A low monthly fee next to a large shortfall in the study is the pattern to ask about. Special assessments work differently from building to building; ask the association and the seller whether any are proposed or approved, and read the board minutes.

SIRS and the milestone inspection: how they connect

They are two different requirements. A milestone inspection under § 553.899 is a structural safety inspection. DBPR explains that its first phase "is a visual assessment of the building’s structure that determines if evidence of substantial structural deterioration is present", required when a building reaches 30 years of age (or 25 years if the local agency requires it) and every 10 years after that. The SIRS is a budget study.

The law links them in two ways. A milestone inspection done within the past five years that meets the SIRS rules can replace the SIRS's visual inspection. And after a milestone inspection, the association may delay the SIRS for no more than the 2 consecutive budget years immediately following that inspection, so it can pay for the repairs first (§ 718.112(2)(g)). That delay of the study itself is a separate provision from the pause in reserve contributions described in the reserves section above. Whether the delay can push a first SIRS past the December 31, 2026 limit is not spelled out in the statute; that is a question for the association's attorney.

How to check DBPR's SIRS reporting database

The association must tell the state when it finishes a SIRS. Under the statute, within 45 days after receiving the study, the association must give DBPR's condominium division a statement that it was completed. DBPR posts those reports in a public database.

1. Open DBPR's SIRS Reporting and Database page.
2. Open the list for SIRS submitted in July 2025 and after first; if the association is not there, check the list for SIRS submitted before July 2025.
3. Use the dashboard's search or filters to find the association, and note what the entry shows.
4. If the building is not listed, ask the association or the seller for the study or a statement that none was completed.

Treat the database as a starting point. DBPR says the information in its SIRS database "is displayed exactly as submitted" and "Only complete submissions of the SIRS Reporting Form are displayed in the databases." A missing entry can mean an incomplete form, and a listed entry tells you the study exists, not what it found. The study itself is the document to read.

What condo buyers should read in a SIRS before signing

A resale buyer is entitled to the study. Under § 718.503(2), each buyer under contract gets, at the seller's expense, the association's most recent SIRS "or a statement that the association has not completed a structural integrity reserve study."

For contracts signed after December 31, 2024, the statute also requires conspicuous contract language. If the association must have a SIRS and has not completed it, the contract must say so. If a SIRS exists, the contract must include a clause making it voidable by written notice within seven days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays, after the buyer signs and receives the study and the other listed reports. The required clause adds, "ANY PURPORTED WAIVER OF THESE VOIDABILITY RIGHTS SHALL BE OF NO EFFECT." How that window applies to your contract is a question for a Florida real estate attorney.

When the study arrives, read it alongside the budget and the latest financial statement:

• The date of the study and who prepared or verified it.
• The list of items and the estimated remaining useful life of each, especially roof, structure and waterproofing.
• The baseline funding plan and the recommended annual reserve amount.
• Whether the current budget funds the SIRS items at that amount.
• Items with large deferred maintenance amounts, which point to repair work that has been put off.
• Any note that the study was updated for a special assessment, line of credit or loan.
• The milestone inspection summary, if the building has one, and whether its repairs are finished.

Questions about what the numbers mean for a building's finances go to the association's manager or board, and for the contract itself, to your attorney. The full list of documents a condo seller must provide is in the condo section of the guide on how to buy a house in Florida.

Looking at condos in Miami-Dade or Broward

To compare buildings and listings, start with Miami-Dade County homes and data or Broward County homes and data, or go straight to the Brickell condo market and Sunny Isles Beach condos pages.

The official text of § 718.112 lists amendments every year from 2022 through 2026, so the rules may change again. This guide reflects the Florida Statutes as of October 2026; confirm current law with a Florida real estate attorney before relying on it.

Talk to Marina

Marina Garan, REALTOR®, Broker Associate
London Foster Realty

FL lic. BK3336901 · Brokerage lic. CQ1046685

Call (786) 751-5111Send a message

How we wrote this: This article has no market figures. It is general information, not legal, tax or insurance advice. Spot an error? Call or text (786) 751-5111 · London Foster Realty.