For years, condominiums offered an affordable way to live the Florida dream. After World War II, millions of middle-class people left their parkas and snow shovels behind in the north and came to the Sunshine State. But today, affordable housing is hard to find, and that Florida dream is fading.
The Miami condominium market has certainly had its ups and downs, not the least of which was the collapse of the 40-year-old Champlain Tower South, a 12-story, beachside condominium in Surfside, that literally fell in the middle of the night, killing 98 people in 2021.
NEW LAWS
In reaction to that shocking event, in 2022 the Florida Legislature passed a law with stringent requirements for condominiums, including the mandatory creation of a reserve fund so that condominium associations could more easily cope with emergencies. In the past, condominiums were allowed to waive reserves.
Thanks to the 2022 law, there are more compulsory inspections than before 2021, such as the Milestone Structural Inspections and Structural Integrity Reserve Study (SIRS) meant to uncover and correct structural problems before they become catastrophic. This new law applies to condominiums that are three stories or taller and more than 30 years old, or 25 years old if the buildings are within three miles of the coast.
But the law means that condo owners must pay a lot more for the upkeep of their properties. Once this law went into effect, widespread concern spread among condo owners. The specter of bankruptcy and the loss of their units loomed over condo owners, because the more problems detected, the more money they will have to shell out.
“One client of mine wants to give her condo away, because she has a $27,000 assessment, including $7,000 in interest that she is unable to pay,” said realtor Tashina McKenzie.
(Courtesy McKenzie Realty, LLC)
Realtor Tashina McKenzie
This past June, the Florida Legislature passed Senate Bill 328, signed into law by Governor Ron DeSantis. It was designed as a financial relief bill for condominiums. But the new law may not be enough, said Massimo Tansini, a property manager with United Property Management (UPM) who handles 17 condominium associations. While the new law gives condo owners a year’s break from collecting reserves, when the year is up, condo associations will still have to come up with two years’ worth of reserves, he said.
POSSIBLE RELIEF
There is a special assessment program sponsored by Miami-Dade County which offers loans up to $50,000 for condo owners making less than 140% of the area median income. These loans have repayment terms of 40 years. But because the demand has been so great, the program was shut down as of August 5, with the promise that it will resume in early 2026.
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Natalie Leon,, Chief Communications and Engagement Officer Housing and Community Development (HCD)
“The need is so great,” said Nathalie Leon, who oversees communications for the county’s condo assessment loan program. “We have to catch up on processing all the applications we have now.”
Azure Lakes in northeast Miami
Frances Cobian, a 66-year-old transplant from New York City and a resident of a seniors’ condominium known as Azure Lake in northeast Miami, is one of the lucky ones. She has a $17,000 assessment, but because she qualifies for the loan program, she will pay only $50 a month for the next 40 years.
Cobian, a former social worker in New York City and Miami, and now a pastor and chaplain at House of God’s Power, Inc., a church she founded, considers herself lucky. But she worries about her neighbors who have not been as lucky.
“I gain satisfaction from ministering to people less fortunate than I am,” Cobian said. “I want to be part of the solution.”
Cobian sees her neighbors suffering right now because they’re worried about paying their assessments.
“A lot of seniors in my building are experiencing high blood pressure and sleepless nights,” she said.
BEYOND ASSESSMENTS
But it isn’t just the large assessments that are burdening condominium owners today, said McKenzie. Properties are being re-zoned because of the increased flooding in South Florida in recent years, so property insurance is going up.
Also, property taxes go up for the buyer of an existing home are rising. The “Save Our Homes” state constitutional amendment dictates that the assessed value of existing homesteaded, owner-occupied properties can only go up by 3% per year or the consumer price index, whichever is lower.
But that advantage goes away when a property is sold. For the first year the buyer’s property tax will likely be based on the purchase price, which is considered the new market value. But because the value is often much higher than the previous owner’s capped assessed value, the tax bill for the new owner will reflect that increase. The former owner may have paid $3,000 in taxes while the new may have to pay $9,000.
On top of those costs, first-time buyers who don’t put down a 20% deposit will pay mortgage insurance until they reach the 20% mark, said McKenzie.
Jade Winda Condominium
“I have a client who wants to give away her condo because she has a $20,000 assessment plus $7,000 in interest that she owes,” she said.
FINDING A WAY OUT
“Condos were so mismanaged before the new laws,” said McKenzie. “What a lot of condo owners are doing is renting out their units to tenants and finding someplace else to live.”
McKenzie said owners often choose to live with a relative or friend where they don’t have to pay rent.
Another way out is to sell one’s apartment, but when they do, it is the seller who usually pays for any existing assessments, said Evelyn Alcala, a realtor with Unlimited Real Estate Corporation in Miami.
(Courtesy Evelyn Alcala)
Realtor Evelyn Alcala
“The seller of an apartment in Jade Winds on 191st Street for which I was the broker for the seller that was sold in July had to pay $9,000 for an outstanding assessment on the apartment,” Alcala said.
This particular seller, who is out of country, had to pay three different assessments, a current one through Feb. 2025, one that started in Jan. 2025 and a new special assessment. Because of all these costs, the seller does not get the entire sales price.
“Closings are getting complicated,” said Alcala.
Michele Hilario, a New York transplant, said that high condo assessments are driving her out of Florida. For five years, she owned an apartment in Aventura. But when she recently was hit with an $8,000 assessment and the possibly of another $8,000 assessment down the road, she decided to move to another state.
“The economy is poor, prices are going up,” Hilario said as she plans her exit from Florida. “Condo buildings are not being forced to make repairs. The county and state haven’t enforced the rules.”