In June 2026, a condominium association in Boca Raton filed a lawsuit in Palm Beach County Circuit Court asking a judge to force the sale of a unit. The case, filed against the owner of Unit 207 at 906 Southwest 9th Street Circle in the Boca Terrace community, a 226-unit complex near Sugar Sand Park, sought to collect $8,412.38 in unpaid assessments dating back to July 2024, plus attorney's fees, postage, and recording costs. Buried in the filing was a detail that matters more than the dollar figure: the owner's monthly bill included a $107.81 special assessment on top of dues that had already climbed from $495 a month in 2025 to $524 in 2026.
Nobody signing a purchase contract on a Boca Raton condo wants to end up in that filing. The problem is that the paperwork designed to warn buyers away from a building headed toward trouble does not actually require the seller to show you the trouble. It requires the seller to say whether it exists.
What the Disclosure Law Actually Requires
Florida Statute 718.503 governs what a condo seller must hand a buyer before closing on a resale unit. The list includes the declaration, bylaws, the most recent annual budget and financial statement, a milestone inspection summary if one applies, and the building's Structural Integrity Reserve Study, known as a SIRS.
Read that last item again. The statute does not say the seller must produce a completed SIRS. It says the seller must provide the SIRS "or a statement that none has been completed." A building with no reserve study on file is not violating disclosure law by telling you so. That answer is a legal, complete disclosure. It just happens to be the moment where a buyer's own homework needs to start, because a missing SIRS on a building old enough to need one is not neutral information. It is a building where nobody has yet calculated what the roof, the plumbing, or the load-bearing structure will cost to maintain, and where the money to pay for it has not been set aside.
The Line That Runs Through the Middle of Boca
Most buyers assume a building's age is the only number that matters for inspection timing. In Boca Raton, a second number matters just as much: distance from the coast.
Florida's milestone inspection law generally requires buildings three stories or taller to complete a structural inspection at 30 years, based on the certificate of occupancy date, and every 10 years after that. But the same law lets local governments require inspections earlier for buildings within three miles of the coastline, and the City of Boca Raton has done exactly that. Under Ordinance No. 5589, adopted by the City Council in 2021 and codified as Section 19-162 of the city's code, any qualifying building located within three miles of the coastline, as defined by state statute, must recertify at 25 years instead of 30.
| Statewide baseline | Boca Raton application | |
|---|---|---|
| Inspection trigger | 30 years from certificate of occupancy | 25 years for buildings within the city's coastal zone |
| What sets the clock | Certificate of occupancy date | Same, not when the association formed or when owners took control from the developer |
| Repeat cycle | Every 10 years after the first inspection | Same |
| City filing fee | Varies by jurisdiction | $500 per recertification submittal |
Because most of Boca Raton falls inside that three-mile line, a large share of the city's condo inventory is on the 25-year clock, not the 30-year one most buyers have heard about. A building built in 2000 is not a safe assumption just because it feels newer than the 1970s and 1980s towers everyone already worries about. It may already be past its first required inspection.
The city maintains a recertification schedule and takes inquiries through its Building Recertification Coordinator, which means the certificate of occupancy date and a building's place in that schedule are things a buyer, or an agent working on a buyer's behalf, can actually go check rather than guess at.
What to Ask For Before You Sign
A resale disclosure packet that technically complies with the law can still leave real questions unanswered. Before a contract goes firm, ask for:
- The certificate of occupancy date, not the year the association was formed
- The most recent milestone inspection report, or written confirmation of when the next one is due
- The SIRS itself, or the specific statement that none has been completed
- The current reserve funding schedule tied to that study
- Board minutes or budget notes referencing any pending or recently passed special assessment
If the seller's packet says no SIRS has been completed, the follow-up question is not whether that's legal. It is legal. The question is what the building's reserve account actually holds, and what happens to your monthly cost once a study does get done.
The Waiver Vote That No Longer Exists
For decades, Florida condo boards could vote to waive or underfund reserves entirely, and plenty did, which kept monthly dues artificially low for years. That option closed for a defined group of buildings starting with the 2022 reforms passed after the Champlain Towers South collapse in Surfside, and House Bill 913, effective July 1, 2025, tightened the rules further while giving some breathing room on timing. Associations got until December 31, 2025 to complete their first SIRS, with a further extension to December 31, 2026 available only if the SIRS is coordinated with a milestone inspection also due by that date.
The funding side is less forgiving. Under state guidance, if an association's budget was adopted before December 31, 2024, owners could still vote to waive or reduce SIRS reserves for that budget year. If the budget was adopted on or after that date, that vote is no longer available, and the association had to begin funding reserves in line with its study starting January 1, 2026. For a building that spent years keeping dues low by skipping reserve contributions, that funding requirement typically shows up as a monthly increase, a special assessment, or both, arriving at the same time buyers are trying to evaluate whether the unit is a good deal.
A related change adds a layer of protection worth knowing about. House Bill 1021 now requires associations with 25 or more units to post governing documents, budgets, and reserve studies to a website or app starting in 2026, and owners have a right to see the SIRS and milestone reports within 30 days of completion. That transparency requirement gives buyers leverage they did not have a few years ago. If a seller or board resists producing documents that should already be posted, that resistance is itself worth noting.
Reading an Inspection Report Like a Buyer, Not a Board Member
If a milestone inspection or SIRS is already in hand, the report itself is worth reading past the summary page. A Phase 1 milestone inspection for a typical Boca Raton mid-rise building runs roughly $3,000 to $8,000, while larger high-rise properties along the beach can run $10,000 to $20,000 or more, according to one Palm Beach County engineering firm that performs these inspections. Turnaround is typically four to six weeks for Phase 1 alone, stretching to eight to twelve weeks if the engineer flags something that requires Phase 2 testing, which involves more invasive investigation of the structure.
A full SIRS is a separate engagement, with 2026 pricing for mid-size buildings running roughly $5,500 to $16,500 depending on size and complexity. What the report actually covers matters more than the price tag: state law defines eight structural categories a SIRS must assess, including the roof, load-bearing structure, fireproofing, plumbing, electrical systems, waterproofing, and windows and doors, plus a catch-all category for any other item over $25,675 that could affect one of the first seven if it fails. A report that flags deferred maintenance in any of those categories is not a reason to walk away automatically, but it is a reason to ask exactly how the association plans to fund the fix, and on what timeline.
FAQ
If a building has no SIRS on file, does that mean the sale can't close? No. The seller's disclosure obligation is satisfied by stating that no SIRS has been completed. The sale can proceed. What changes is the buyer's diligence burden, since a missing study on a building old enough to need one tells you nothing has been priced out yet, including what your future assessments might look like.
How do I find out if my building has already crossed the 25-year threshold? Start with the certificate of occupancy date, not the year the association was created or the year the last unit sold. The City of Boca Raton's Building Recertification Program tracks this schedule and takes direct inquiries, which makes it possible to confirm a specific building's status rather than estimate it from the year construction finished.
Can a board still vote to skip funding the reserves to keep dues low? Not for budgets adopted on or after December 31, 2024. That waiver option closed under the current funding rules, and associations were required to begin funding reserves in line with their SIRS starting January 1, 2026.
A condo disclosure packet that checks every legal box can still hide the one question that matters most to your monthly budget. If you are weighing a Boca Raton condo purchase, or preparing to sell one, Gregory Glenn brings both a Realtor's market read and a lawyer's eye for what the paperwork actually says. Schedule a consultation before you sign anything.
