Florida legislature expands special session to include condo reforms

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WFLA) — Along with attempting to repair the state’s householders insurance coverage disaster, Florida lawmakers will now additionally look to deal with rental reform throughout a particular session this week in Tallahassee.

Members of the Florida legislature determined Tuesday to increase the particular session, which started Monday, to deal with condominium security within the wake of final yr’s collapse of the Champlain Towers in South Florida.

Virtually 100 individuals died within the collapse in Surfside. Within the wake of that tragedy, state lawmakers promised reform aimed toward stopping it from occurring once more. However throughout this yr’s legislative session, they did not cross any new security measures.

Lawmakers filed a invoice Tuesday within the Home to deal with these security measures. Home Invoice 5D would revise and supply new legal guidelines for rental associations.

The invoice, partly, would require rental associations “to have milestone inspections carried out on sure buildings at specified occasions” and specifies that they’re chargeable for the prices of these inspections.

It might additionally authorize county commissioners to “undertake sure ordinances regarding repairs for substantial structural deterioration” and require native regulation enforcement to “overview and decide if a constructing is unsafe for human occupancy beneath sure circumstances.”

Florida Home Speaker Chris Sprowls, R-Palm Harbor, stated the invoice launched Tuesday comes after lawmakers “grappled” with coming to an settlement on significant reform.

“We are going to always remember the ache, confusion, and sorrow the group and state felt when the Surfside condominium constructing collapsed and took 98 lives with it,” Sprowls stated in an announcement. “The Florida Legislature has grappled with reaching a consensus on what significant reform seems to be like, however right now we now have arrived at an settlement that may assist to make sure this sort of tragedy by no means occurs once more.”