- A milestone inspection is a mandatory structural safety inspection of Florida condo/co-op buildings three or more habitable stories, created after the 2021 Surfside collapse (SB 4-D). The clock starts when the certified notice arrives.
- Timing: due by Dec 31 of the year the building turns 30 — but 25 for most coastal buildings (Miami-Dade and Broward apply 25-year triggers) — then every 10 years. Owners must be notified within 14 days; Phase One within 180 days.
- Two phases: Phase One is visual. If no "substantial structural deterioration" is found, you're done for 10 years. Phase Two — testing plus a repair program — is triggered only when Phase One finds real structural distress.
- 2025's HB 913 added teeth: a 365-day repair clock every county must enforce, annual public reporting of unsafe buildings, "habitable stories" language, and conflict-of-interest disclosures between inspectors and repair bidders.
- After a Phase Two report finds deterioration, repairs must commence within 365 days — engineered scope, permits filed, contractor mobilized. Boards that move early stay ahead of the clock and the cost.
In This Article
When a certified letter arrives from the local building department notifying your condominium association that a milestone inspection is due, it isn't a formality. Florida law sets a cascade of deadlines that starts the moment that letter is received — and the consequences for missing them range from daily fines to an unsafe-occupancy review. Most online guides walk you through the compliance steps and stop there.
This guide goes further: what the inspection actually covers, what Phase One and Phase Two mean in practice, what the 2025 law changes require, and — the part boards most need — what to do when the report comes back with findings. It's written for condo board members, association managers, and building owners, and it's current through the 2025 HB 913 amendments.
What Is a Milestone Inspection?
A milestone inspection is a mandatory structural safety inspection of a building's load-bearing walls and primary structural systems, performed by a licensed Florida architect or engineer under s. 553.899, F.S. The program grew directly out of the 2021 Surfside collapse that killed 98 people and was codified through SB 4-D (2022). The goal is a professional structural assessment — not an insurance inspection, not a code review — that confirms whether a building's primary structure is sound or identifies what needs attention.
Two things the milestone inspection is not:
Not a code-compliance review
The inspector isn't checking whether the building meets the current Florida Building Code or fire codes — only whether the existing primary structure is sound.
Not a 40-year recertification
Though the two overlap heavily in South Florida and are often satisfied together by the same engineer at the same time — more on that below.
Which Buildings Need One — and Which Are Exempt
The statute draws a clear line — though the 2025 "habitable stories" language created some interpretive gray area near the edges.
Required
Buildings three or more habitable stories, owned in whole or in part by a condominium association (Ch. 718) or cooperative association (Ch. 719).
Exempt
Single-, two-, three-, and four-family dwellings with three or fewer habitable stories above ground.
What counts as a "story"? Under the Florida Building Code, a basement counts — and so does a garage or parking level beneath the living space. A mezzanine does not. "Habitable" means living, sleeping, eating, or cooking areas; storage and utility don't qualify. The 2025 "habitable stories" language leaves buildings like a two-story condo over an open-air garage in genuinely unsettled territory — if you're near that line, get a formal opinion from association counsel before assuming you're exempt.
When Your Building Is Due
The first milestone inspection is due by December 31 of the year the building turns 30, counting from the certificate-of-occupancy date — then every 10 years thereafter. The coastal wrinkle: local building departments can require the first inspection at 25 years for buildings near salt water, and both Miami-Dade and Broward apply 25-year triggers through their existing recertification programs. Once the inspection is due, three deadlines stack quickly.
Written notice. The local enforcement agency sends notice by certified mail to the condominium or cooperative association in the year the inspection is due.
14 days. The association must notify all unit owners within 14 days of receiving that certified notice — not 14 days from when someone gets around to reading it.
180 days. Phase One of the milestone inspection must be completed and the report submitted to the local enforcement agency within 180 days of the initial notice.
Most coastal buildings are on the 25-year clock.
Miami-Dade and Broward apply 25-year triggers through their recertification programs. Extensions exist but require documented good cause — and in Palm Beach County extensions run only 60 days.
Phase 1 vs. Phase 2: How the Inspection Works
The two phases are not two halves of the same process — Phase Two exists only when Phase One demands it.
Phase One
A visual examination of habitable and non-habitable areas and major structural components, ending in a qualitative assessment. Find no substantial structural deterioration and Phase Two is never triggered — the report is filed and you're done for 10 years.
Phase Two
Triggered when Phase One finds substantial structural deterioration. Involves destructive or nondestructive testing as needed to confirm structural soundness, ending with a recommended program to assess and repair the damaged portions.
"Substantial structural deterioration" is the phrase that decides everything. It means structural distress or weakness that negatively affects structural integrity — not surface imperfections. Hairline cracks, minor sagging, and peeling finishes don't trigger Phase Two on their own, unless the inspector determines they're symptoms of deeper distress.
Both phases end in a sealed report submitted to the association and the local building official, identifying any deterioration, recommended repairs, and unsafe conditions. Several counties now require the standardized EB18-2024 report form. The association must distribute a summary of the report to all unit owners within 45 days.
What Changed in 2025 (HB 913)
The 2025 legislative session added meaningful teeth to the milestone inspection framework. Four changes matter most to boards and managers.
"Habitable stories."
The statute now measures applicability in habitable stories, with the interpretive gray areas noted in Section 2. Buildings near the three-story threshold should verify their status with association counsel.
The 365-day repair clock has teeth.
HB 913 requires every county and municipality to adopt an ordinance specifically enforcing the 365-day requirement for repairs to commence after a Phase Two report — no longer advisory.
Public reporting.
Local agencies now report inspection data to DBPR annually — including lists of buildings deemed unsafe or uninhabitable. Noncompliance is becoming a matter of public record.
Conflict-of-interest disclosures.
Design professionals and contractors who bid on milestone or SIRS work must disclose in writing if they intend to bid on the recommended repairs. Undisclosed conflicts make the resulting contract voidable.
What Happens If the Inspection Finds Problems
This is the part most guides skip, and it's where boards feel the real pressure.
Reading the Phase Two Report
In South Florida, Phase Two reports follow a predictable pattern driven by the coastal environment. Understanding that pattern helps boards read findings without catastrophizing — or minimizing.
Salt air penetrates the concrete
Embedded rebar rusts and expands
Expanding steel forces concrete apart
Delamination — layers separate, hollow when tapped
Spalling — concrete breaks away from the surface
In post-tensioned slabs, corrosion at cable anchors is a separate, serious finding. Balconies, parking decks, and pool decks are the most common locations for Phase Two findings.
None of these findings means your building is coming down. They mean the structure is telling you, through the inspection, what it needs — and the law now sets the schedule for listening.
— New Age Construction Group
The 365-Day Clock
Once the local enforcement agency receives a Phase Two report citing deterioration, repairs must commence within 365 days. Under HB 913, county ordinances are now required to enforce this deadline. The word "commence" has a specific meaning the 2025 law clarifies.
"Commence" means real motion.
An engineered repair scope, permits filed with the local government, and a contractor mobilized — not a signed proposal sitting in a drawer. Miss it and the agency must review whether the building is unsafe for occupancy; in Palm Beach County, noncompliance can also mean daily fines exceeding $500.
From Report to Repair — Closing the Loop
Engineered scope. The association's engineer translates the Phase Two findings into a permitted repair scope — structural drawings and specifications your building department can issue a permit against. This is the prerequisite for everything else.
Bid to licensed contractors. Who coordinate with the repair-design engineers. Under HB 913, written conflict-of-interest disclosures are now required from any contractor or design professional who bid on the inspection work and intends to bid on the repairs.
Phased, occupied repair. Balcony and façade structural repair in phases, deck work scheduled around residents and seasonal occupancy. Concrete restoration on an occupied building is a different discipline from new construction — contractor experience in live buildings matters.
Amended report closes the file. After repairs, the architect or engineer re-inspects and files an amended report confirming the building is structurally sound. That amended report — not the repair invoice, not the permit final — is what closes your file with the building department.
Choosing a Repair Contractor
Three things to verify before signing with any contractor for milestone-related repairs:
Milestone Inspection vs. 40-Year Recertification vs. SIRS
Three overlapping programs confuse nearly every board in South Florida — they have different triggers, different scopes, and different consequences, but they share a 10-year inspection cycle and are often run together.
Milestone Inspection
The statewide structural safety inspection under s. 553.899. Applies to condo/co-op buildings of three or more habitable stories. Assesses current structural condition — the question is whether the structure is sound today.
40-Year Recertification
A local program older than the state law. Miami-Dade and Broward require recertification at 25 or 30 years and every 10 years after — reaching buildings the state law doesn't, including some under three stories. In practice nearly identical to the milestone inspection and often satisfied together. Learn more about 40-year recertification.
SIRS
The structural integrity reserve study: a funding study pairing a visual inspection of roof, structure, and waterproofing with a reserve schedule the association must fund. Required every 10 years; as of 2025, SIRS reserve funding generally can no longer be waived. Learn more about structural integrity reserve study.
The Bottom Line for South Florida Boards
The milestone process rewards boards that move early. Buildings that enter Phase One with maintenance current — no deferred concrete repairs, waterproofing up to date, drainage maintained — rarely see Phase Two. Those that have kept up cost less to recertify and spend less time managing findings.
When Phase Two is triggered, the boards that stay in control of cost and timeline are the ones that treat the report as a project plan rather than a crisis — engineer, permit, repair, amended report, in that sequence, on their own schedule instead of racing a county enforcement clock. Concrete deterioration is progressive: the same finding costs more every year it waits.
The pattern that stays in control: engineer → permit → repair → amended report. Boards that run it in that order manage costs on their own timeline instead of racing a 365-day clock under county enforcement.
- 1Don't set aside the certified letter — deadlines stack fast: unit owners notified within 14 days, Phase One within 180 days, and extensions require documented good cause (only 60 days in Palm Beach).
- 2Most South Florida coastal buildings are on the 25-year clock, not 30 — confirm your trigger with your local building department, and if you're near the "habitable stories" line, get an opinion from association counsel before assuming you're exempt.
- 3Phase Two is not a death sentence — spalling, delamination, and rebar corrosion are the structure telling you what it needs. The law just sets the schedule for listening.
- 4Treat a Phase Two report as a project plan: engineer translates findings into a permitted scope → licensed contractor (with written conflict-of-interest disclosure) repairs → engineer files the amended report that actually closes your file.
- 5Concrete deterioration is progressive — the same finding costs more every year it waits. Verify a repair contractor's state GC license, conflict-of-interest disclosure, and occupied-building track record before signing.
Stephanie Lopez
Owner, New Age Construction Group
Stephanie Lopez is the owner of New Age Construction Group, a state-licensed structural restoration contractor (CGC#1531273) serving Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach County. She leads the firm's concrete restoration, structural repair, waterproofing, and recertification work for condominiums, HOAs, and commercial properties across South Florida.
View Full Profile →Frequently Asked Questions
Have a milestone inspection coming up — or a Phase 2 report already in hand? New Age Construction Group provides free structural assessments across Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach County. We're a state-certified structural restoration contractor (CGC #1531273) that works on occupied buildings every day. We'll talk through what your report actually requires.
