Selling a condo in Florida comes with its own paperwork, and the state’s condo safety laws have added to it. Condo buildings of three or more habitable stories now face milestone inspections and structural integrity reserve studies. For contracts signed after December 31, 2024, the resale contract itself has to address where the association stands on them.
Most of that work belongs to the association. Your part as the seller is narrower but strict: give the buyer the right documents and sign a contract with the right clauses.
Key takeaways
- The seller pays for the buyer’s copies of the condo documents, including the milestone inspection summary (if applicable) and the latest reserve study, or a statement that none has been completed.
- Each resale contract needs one of two standard clauses in conspicuous type.
- Under the cancellation clause, the buyer can cancel in writing within 7 days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays, after signing and receiving the documents (s. 718.503, Florida Statutes).
- Contracts signed after December 31, 2024 must also address the association’s milestone inspection, turnover inspection report and reserve study status.
- The inspection and the study are the association’s job. Yours is the documents and the contract.
What does a condo seller have to give the buyer in Florida?
The seller pays for current copies of a set list of documents. Florida law says each unit owner who isn’t the developer must comply before the sale, and that a buyer under contract is entitled to the copies “at the seller’s expense” (s. 718.503, Florida Statutes). The statute lists eight items:
- The declaration of condominium
- The association’s articles of incorporation
- The association’s bylaws and rules
- An annual financial statement and annual budget
- The inspector-prepared summary of the milestone inspection report, if applicable
- The association’s most recent structural integrity reserve study, or a statement that it hasn’t completed one
- The inspection report for a turnover inspection performed on or after July 1, 2023, if there was one
- The document titled “Frequently Asked Questions and Answers”
Most of these sit with the association rather than in your own files, so ask for them early.
Which clauses does a Florida condo resale contract need?
Each resale contract for a residential condo unit must contain one of two clauses in conspicuous type (s. 718.503, Florida Statutes). The first is the buyer’s acknowledgment of receiving items 1 to 4 and 8 on the list above more than 7 days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays, before signing.
The second makes the contract voidable. The buyer can cancel by written notice within 7 days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays, after signing and receiving current copies of those documents, if so requested in writing. Any waiver of that right has no effect. The buyer may also extend closing by up to 7 such days after receiving the documents, if requested in writing, and the right to void ends at closing.
If you remember a 3-day window from an earlier sale, the Florida Senate’s summary of HB 913 (2025) says the bill extended that period to 7 days for condo sales by owners who aren’t the developer (Florida Senate).
A contract with neither clause is voidable at the buyer’s option before closing, so have a Florida real estate attorney confirm the wording before anyone signs.
What must the contract say about inspections and reserve studies?
For contracts signed after December 31, 2024, the statute adds wording that depends on where the association stands on three documents: the milestone inspection, the report for a turnover inspection performed on or after July 1, 2023, and the structural integrity reserve study (s. 718.503, Florida Statutes).
| Where the association stands | What the contract must contain, in conspicuous type |
|---|---|
| Required to have a milestone inspection, turnover inspection report or reserve study, and hasn’t completed it | A statement that the association is required to have the inspection, report or study and has not completed it |
| Not required to have a milestone inspection or a reserve study | A statement that the association is not required to have a milestone inspection or a reserve study, as appropriate |
| Has completed a milestone inspection, turnover inspection report or reserve study | Two clauses: the buyer’s acknowledgment of receiving the milestone summary, turnover inspection report and latest reserve study (each if applicable) more than 7 days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays, before signing; and the buyer’s right to cancel by written notice within 7 such days after signing and receiving them |
Unlike the either-or clauses above, the statute joins these two with “and”, so the contract needs both. Any waiver of the buyer’s right to cancel under them has no effect.
When is a milestone inspection due in Palm Beach County?
Under state law, a residential condo or co-op building three habitable stories or more in height needs a milestone inspection by December 31 of the year it reaches 30 years of age, based on its certificate of occupancy, and every 10 years after that (s. 553.899, Florida Statutes). The local enforcement agency may require the first one at 25 years instead, citing local circumstances such as proximity to salt water.
Palm Beach County’s schedule for unincorporated areas
Palm Beach County’s Building Division applies milestone inspections to condo and co-op association buildings three stories or taller in unincorporated Palm Beach County, performed by a licensed architect or engineer authorized to practice in Florida (Palm Beach County Building Division). Its schedule:
- Within 3 miles of a coastline: first inspection at 25 years of age, then every 10 years
- More than 3 miles from a coastline: first inspection at 30 years of age, then every 10 years
That schedule is for unincorporated Palm Beach County, so don’t assume it applies inside a city, town or village. The local enforcement agency is usually the local building department, according to the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR). Confirm the schedule with the building department for the building’s address.
Where the milestone report goes
The architect or engineer must send a sealed copy of the report, with a separate summary of at least the material findings and recommendations, to the association and the local building official (s. 553.899, Florida Statutes). Within 45 days after receiving it, the association must send each unit owner a copy of the summary regardless of the findings, post it in a conspicuous place on the property, and publish both on its website if it’s required to have one. That summary is item 5 on your resale list.
What is a structural integrity reserve study, and what must it cover?
A structural integrity reserve study, or SIRS, is a study a residential condo association must have completed at least every 10 years after the condominium’s creation, for each building three habitable stories or higher (s. 718.112, Florida Statutes). At a minimum, it covers the roof, the structure, fireproofing and fire protection systems, plumbing, electrical systems, waterproofing and exterior painting, and windows and exterior doors. It also covers any other item whose deferred maintenance expense or replacement cost exceeds $25,000 or the inflation-adjusted amount the state’s condo division sets, whichever is greater, if failing to maintain or replace it negatively affects those items.
Associations that existed on or before July 1, 2022, and are controlled by unit owners other than the developer had to have a study completed by December 31, 2025, for each building three stories or higher. One whose milestone inspection is due on or before December 31, 2026, may do the study alongside it, but in no event after December 31, 2026.
Reserve funding is the other piece. For a budget adopted on or after December 31, 2024, owners in a unit-owner-controlled association that must obtain a SIRS can’t vote to provide no reserves, or less than the statute requires, for the study items. The one exception in that sentence is a multicondominium using an alternative funding method the division has approved. The budget is item 4 on your resale list.
The association must keep reserve studies for at least 15 years after completion, and milestone and other structural or life-safety inspection reports for 15 years after receipt, as part of its official records (s. 718.111, Florida Statutes).
For an outside check, DBPR’s SIRS Reporting Database lists associations that have reported completing a SIRS (DBPR). Entries appear exactly as submitted, and only complete submissions are shown, so confirm your building’s status with the association. For how association costs look from the buyer’s side, see our guide to HOA costs in Palm Beach Gardens.
Can the building’s inspection status affect a buyer’s loan?
It can. Fannie Mae won’t purchase or securitize mortgage loans secured by units in condo or co-op projects with characteristics that make the project ineligible, according to its Selling Guide (B4-2.1-03). If an inspection report shows unaddressed critical repairs, the project is ineligible until the required repairs are completed and documented.
Fannie Mae’s critical repairs include any project that failed a state, county or other jurisdictional mandatory inspection or certification specific to structural safety, soundness and habitability. So if a buyer’s lender plans to sell the loan to Fannie Mae, the building’s inspection results matter to that loan.
A seller’s checklist for a Palm Beach County condo
Before you list:
- Ask the association for current copies of the documents on the resale list above, including the milestone summary and turnover inspection report if they apply, and the latest reserve study or the statement that it hasn’t completed one.
- Ask which row of the contract table applies, so the contract carries the right statement or clauses.
- Look the association up in DBPR’s SIRS Reporting Database, then confirm what you find with the association.
- Ask about any open repairs the inspection reports call for.
Once you’re under contract:
- Give the buyer current copies of the documents, at your expense, and keep a record of when the buyer received them.
- If the contract includes a cancellation clause, build the buyer’s 7-day window into the closing date, along with any closing extension the clause allows.
Still deciding when to list? See our guides to the best time to sell in Palm Beach County and what your Palm Beach County home is worth.
Planning to sell a condo in Palm Beach County?
From 2017 to 2024, Keller Williams recognized Cibie Cahur as being in the top 1% of all agents, based on county sales statistics, and HomeLight named her a Top Negotiator from 2021 to 2024.
If you’d like help gathering the association documents and planning your sale, contact us. A consultation is free, with no obligation.
Call or text 561-401-5758 · The Cahur Group, Keller Williams Jupiter
Frequently asked questions
Who pays for the condo documents when you sell in Florida?
The seller does. Florida law entitles a buyer under contract to current copies of the condo documents “at the seller’s expense” (s. 718.503, Florida Statutes). The list runs from the declaration and bylaws to the budget, the milestone inspection summary if applicable, and the latest reserve study or a statement that none has been completed.
How long does a buyer have to cancel a Florida condo resale contract?
Under the cancellation clause, 7 days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays, after the buyer signs and receives the listed documents. Notice must be in writing, any waiver has no effect, and the right ends at closing (s. 718.503, Florida Statutes). The Florida Senate’s summary of HB 913 (2025) says the bill extended the period from 3 days to 7.
When does a Palm Beach County condo building need its first milestone inspection?
State law sets it by December 31 of the year a building of three or more habitable stories turns 30, or 25 where the local enforcement agency requires it (s. 553.899). Palm Beach County’s schedule for unincorporated areas uses 25 years within 3 miles of a coastline and 30 years beyond that. Inside a city, town or village, confirm with its building department.
The short version
Under Florida’s condo laws, a seller’s main jobs are to give the buyer current copies of the association documents, at the seller’s expense, and to sign a contract with the right clauses. The milestone inspection and the reserve study are the association’s work, but their status shapes your contract, so request the documents before you list.
Rules come from the Florida Statutes, the Florida Senate, the Palm Beach County Building Division, DBPR and Fannie Mae, as cited inline. Requirements change. This is general information, not legal or lending advice; confirm the contract with a Florida real estate attorney, financing with the buyer’s lender, and the building’s status with the association and the building department for its address.
