The listing looked fine. The price was competitive. The building was in North Miami, close to the water, and well-maintained on the surface. Then the Structural Integrity Reserve Study came back, and owners at the Cricket Club were handed special assessments of up to $134,000 per unit.
At Mediterranean Village in Aventura, some owners faced assessments reaching $400,000. These were not abandoned buildings or obvious money pits. They were condos where reserves had been underfunded for years under rules that made it perfectly legal to do so.
The document that reveals all of this before you close is the Structural Integrity Reserve Study, the SIRS. Most buyers purchasing in Miami from out of state have never heard of it. In Florida's post-Surfside condo market, not knowing it exists is one of the most expensive mistakes you can make.
If you are currently searching for a Miami condo, this is the guide you need to read before making an offer.
What Is the SIRS and Why Does It Now Exist?
A Structural Integrity Reserve Study is a mandatory financial and structural assessment required by Florida law for all condominium and cooperative buildings three or more habitable stories tall. It evaluates the physical condition of eight critical structural components, roof, load-bearing walls, primary structural systems, fire protection systems, plumbing, electrical systems, waterproofing and exterior features, and windows and exterior doors, and calculates what it would cost to maintain and repair each one. It then maps those costs to a funded reserve plan.
The SIRS exists because of June 24, 2021. That morning, the Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Florida, partially collapsed while residents were asleep. Ninety-eight people died. Investigators found that the building's reserve fund was approximately 7% funded at the time of collapse, a fraction of what was needed to address the structural deterioration that had been documented for years.
Florida's legislative response was the most sweeping overhaul of condo law in the state's history: SB 4-D in May 2022, SB 154 in June 2023, and HB 913 in 2025. Together, they created the SIRS mandate, set hard deadlines, and permanently changed the rules on reserve funding.
The Old Rule That Put Buyers at Risk - And Why It Is Now Illegal
For decades, Florida condo associations were permitted to call a membership vote to waive or reduce reserve contributions, including contributions for structural components. Many associations did exactly this, year after year, to keep monthly maintenance fees artificially low. It was a selling point. It was also a slow-motion financial disaster.
The Champlain Towers South had passed such votes repeatedly. The reserve shortfall that resulted meant that known structural problems went unaddressed because there was no money to fix them.
As of budgets adopted on or after January 1, 2025, waiving reserve contributions for SIRS-required structural components is illegal in Florida. Full stop. Non-structural reserves can still be waived by a member vote. Structural ones cannot.
The practical consequence for buyers today is this: buildings that spent years legally waiving structural reserves are now being forced to fund them, rapidly, through special assessments levied on whoever owns the unit at the time the bill comes due. If you close without checking the reserve status, that owner is you.
At Batra Real Estate, our Miami team has worked through this transition period with buyers from New York and across the country. The SIRS is now a standard part of our due diligence review on every Miami purchase.
Real Numbers: What Underfunded Reserves Actually Cost
These are not hypothetical figures. These are buildings in the Miami market:
Cricket Club, North Miami — Special assessments up to $134,000 per unit
Mediterranean Village, Aventura — Assessments reaching $400,000 per unit for some owners
Mariners Bay, North Miami — 46 unit owners each facing over $100,000 in combined maintenance dues and fees
Isola Condominium, Brickell Key — Building facing a $19 million assessment for pool deck and garage repairs accumulated over years of deferred maintenance, followed by three additional smaller assessments
As of early 2025, only 47.6% of Miami-Dade condo buildings subject to the SIRS requirement had reported compliance, meaning more than half were still non-compliant at that point. Miami-area condo median sale prices fell approximately 6.1% year-over-year in May 2025, partly driven by assessment pressure pushing buyers toward buildings with cleaner reserve profiles.
These numbers are not meant to alarm you away from the Miami condo market, they are meant to show you exactly what the SIRS is designed to protect you from.
How to Read a SIRS Before You Close
This is the practical section. Five things to check in any SIRS before you make an offer, or before you let your rescission period expire.
Is the SIRS complete and current?
Buildings that were under owner control on or before July 1, 2022 were required to complete a SIRS by December 31, 2025. Buildings that coordinated their SIRS with a milestone inspection have until December 31, 2026. If an association cannot produce a completed SIRS when asked, that is a serious red flag. Under Florida law, officers and directors who fail to complete a required SIRS can be found in breach of their fiduciary duty to owners.
What is the reserve funding percentage?
The SIRS will show how funded the structural reserves currently are as a percentage of what they should be. A building at 20–30% funded is carrying significant deferred liability that must now be made up, through higher contributions, special assessments, or association loans. Ask for the annual funding plan and the timeline to full compliance.
Are there any pending or levied special assessments?
Buyers now have a 7-day rescission period after receiving association financial disclosures, that window is a legal right, not a courtesy. Use it to request the full financial package: current year budget, reserve account balance, any pending or recently passed special assessments, and the SIRS itself. Under Florida Statute 718.407, associations are required to disclose this information to prospective buyers.
What did the milestone inspection find?
The SIRS works alongside the milestone inspection, a separate structural inspection required for buildings reaching 25 years of age (30 years for inland buildings). A Phase 1 inspection that finds potentially unsafe conditions triggers a Phase 2 inspection, which means structural repairs are likely imminent. Ask for both the milestone inspection report and the SIRS. If only one exists, find out why.
Is the association registered and compliant with DBPR?
As of July 1, 2025, all applicable associations are required to create an online account with Florida's Division of Condominiums, Timeshares and Mobile Homes (DBPR) and submit SIRS completion data. You can check an association's compliance status directly in the SIRS Reporting Database at condos.myfloridalicense.com. A compliant, well-managed association will have this information ready. One that cannot or will not provide it is telling you something.
What NYC Buyers Need to Know That Florida Buyers Already Do
If you are coming from New York, you are used to co-op board packages, financial statements, underlying mortgage disclosures, and thorough attorney review before any purchase closes. That process is rigorous. It trains buyers to do their homework.
Florida's condo purchasing process feels looser on the surface, but the SIRS and milestone inspection requirements create a due diligence framework that is just as important as anything in a New York board package. The difference is that it is newer, it is still in a transition period, and the majority of out-of-state buyers are not yet asking for it.
New York has had its own façade inspection mandate, Local Law 11, since 1980. The concept of mandatory structural oversight is familiar. What is unfamiliar is the reserve funding crisis that Florida's buildings are currently working through, and the assessment exposure that creates for buyers who do not check before they close.
HB 913 (2025) added one more layer of complexity. Associations can now fund SIRS reserves through special assessments, loans, or lines of credit, with majority owner approval. This means the building you are buying into may have just voted to take on significant collective debt. That debt will be reflected in future monthly fees and potential assessments. It needs to be disclosed. Request it.
If you are currently weighing a Miami property purchase alongside the NYC-to-Miami lifestyle and tax considerations we covered in our last guide, the SIRS should sit at the top of your due diligence list, before the price negotiation, before the inspection, before the offer.
The SIRS Is Not Fine Print - It Is the Most Important Page in Your Due Diligence Stack
A Miami condo purchase is one of the largest financial decisions most buyers will make. The building's structural reserve status determines not just the safety of the asset but its future carrying cost. A condo with a strong SIRS, a well-funded reserve account, and a compliant association is a sound long-term investment. One with a missing study, a 15% funded reserve, and pending assessments is a liability, regardless of how attractive the listing price looks.
At Batra Real Estate, our Miami property advisors review SIRS documentation, milestone inspection reports, and association financials as a standard part of every buyer transaction. We know which Brickell and Coral Gables buildings are fully compliant, which are mid-assessment, and which to approach with caution. For New York clients making their first Miami purchase, that local knowledge is the difference between a smart acquisition and an expensive lesson.
Start a conversation with our Miami team before you make your next offer, or browse current Miami listings with reserve status as part of your evaluation criteria from day one.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a SIRS and do I need to ask for it before buying a Miami condo?
SIRS stands for Structural Integrity Reserve Study, a mandatory structural and financial assessment required by Florida law for all condo and cooperative buildings three or more habitable stories tall. Yes, you should request it before making an offer. It is the single most important financial document in any Miami condo purchase and the primary tool for assessing your exposure to future special assessments.
What happens if a Miami condo building does not have a completed SIRS?
Buildings under owner control on or before July 1, 2022 were required to complete a SIRS by December 31, 2025, or December 31, 2026 if coordinated with a milestone inspection. Failure to comply is considered a breach of fiduciary duty by the association's officers and directors and can result in fines and legal consequences. For a buyer, a missing or incomplete SIRS is a material red flag that warrants serious consideration before proceeding.
Can a Miami condo association still vote to waive reserve contributions?
Not for structural components. As of budgets adopted January 1, 2025 or later, Florida law prohibits waiving or reducing reserve funding for the eight SIRS-required structural elements. Associations that attempt to do so violate state law. Non-structural reserves can still be reduced by member vote, but the structural reserve waiver that caused so much damage in buildings like Champlain Towers South is no longer permitted.
How do I check if a Miami condo building is SIRS compliant before I buy?
Request the SIRS directly from the seller or listing agent. You can also check compliance status independently through Florida's SIRS Reporting Database at condos.myfloridalicense.com. As of July 1, 2025, all applicable associations are required to submit their SIRS completion information to the DBPR portal, a compliant association will have a record on file.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, or real estate advice. Please consult a licensed Florida real estate attorney and a qualified inspector before making any purchase decision.
