Surfside Recommendations: “Scary and Extraordinarily Difficult”

A Miami-Dade County grand jury has issued its report on the Surfside condo collapse, including several recommendations for making buildings safer.

“I expected something scary and extraordinarily difficult to do, and that’s exactly what the grand jury recommended,” says Kelly Richardson, a partner in the law firm Richardson Ober De Nichilo in Pasadena, Calif.

The bulk of the recommendations focus on inspections and recertifications.

“The biggest thing that stood out to me was the recommendation that new construction have certification sooner, and the reports have to be sent to officials within seven days,” says Brad van Rooyen, president of HomeRiver Group-Florida, the management company for about 160 associations in the state.

Specifically, the report suggests that buildings statewide should undergo inspections no less than 10 years, and no more than 15 years, after completion. This would pose a stark contrast to the 40-year recertifications currently required by only some Florida counties.

“Forty years does seem too long but what is the right interval?” Richardson says. “That’s really for engineers, not lawyers, to decide.”

The grand jury further stated that existing buildings 10 years or older should be required to have their initial detailed inspections completed and filed with local building departments no later than the end of 2023.

Read the full article now (the first of a two-part series), and learn what you need to know about the report’s recommendations and what they could mean for your boards:

Surfside Update: The Call for Condo Safety Reforms, Part 1

Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President