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There are two parts to a SIRS Report:

1. The Financial Study - The financial portion of the SIRS must be completed by a person qualified to perform such a study.
2. The Visual Inspection - The visual inspection portion of the SIRS must be performed or verified by a Licensed Engineer, Architect, or a Certified Reserve Specialist or Professional Reserve Analyst licensed by the Community Associations Institute or the Association of Professional Reserve Analysts.

Once a SIRS is complete, the Association will:

• Receive a component list that provides the life expectancy of each common element in the building that was visually inspected. 

• Receive an evaluation of the current Reserve Fund.

• Receive a recommended Funding Plan.

If your budget is adopted on or before December 31, 2024, you may vote to waive or provide less than required SIRS reserves with a majority vote of the total voting interest of the association. You will need to begin funding your SIRS reserves in accordance with the reserve study January 1, 2026.

If your budget is adopted on or after January 1, 2025, you may not waive your SIRS reserves and need to begin funding your SIRS reserves in accordance with the reserve study.

The law does not require reserves to be fully funded at the completion of the Reserve Study.  The amount that needs to be reserved is calculated based on the estimated remaining useful life and estimated replacement cost of the item.

For example: If the cost required to replace the roof in 10 years is $100,000, the Association is not required to have $100,000 immediately reserved for repairs.  Instead, the Association must reserve sufficient funds each year to have the required funding available at the time of anticipated repairs. The required reserve studies help Floridians living in a condominium or Cooperative to be aware of the condition of their building and provide a clear guideline for budgeting to ensure repairs can be completed when necessary.

With respect to items for which an estimate of useful life is not readily ascertainable or that have an estimated remaining useful life of greater than 25 years, an association is not required to reserve replacement costs, but an association must reserve the amount of deferred maintenance expense, if any, that is recommended.

To remain in compliance, Condominium and Cooperative Associations must meet the reserve funding schedule outlined in the SIRS. If a Condominium’s or Cooperative's SIRS finds that the Association does not have enough reserve funding to cover the anticipated cost to maintain or replace major structural items, fee assessments may be necessary to meet the funding schedule in the SIRS.

As of June 9, 2023, Condominium and Cooperative Associations that are required to complete a SIRS are required by Florida law to base their budget adopted on or after January 1, 2025, on the findings and recommendations in the Association’s most recent SIRS.  Reserves cannot be waived for the structural items identified in the SIRS.  If a budget is adopted on or before December 31, 2024, funding of the SIRS may be waived until the following budget year.

• Increases the monetary threshold for reserve items from $10,000 to $25,000, with annual inflation increases.
• Extends the deadline by which Associations must complete a required SIRS from December 31, 2024, to December 31, 2025;
• Requires that the SIRS, include a reserve “Baseline” Funding Plan that ensures the Reserve Cash Balance stays above zero.
• Requires that the SIRS must differentiate between Mandatory Reserve items and other Reserve Items.
• Allows associations that have completed the required Milestone Inspection to delay the SIRS for the two consecutive budget years following a Milestone Inspection in order to prioritize funding for repairs and maintenance required the Milestone Inspection.
• Allows all multicondominiums to use the “Alternative Funding Method.”
• Allows a Unit-Owner-Controlled Association that is required to have a SIRS to fund Reserves by a Special Assessment, A Line of Credit, or Loan, with the approval of a majority of the Voting Interests of the Association.

For budgets adopted on or after December 31, 2024, a majority of the Association’s Total Voting Interests is required to waive reserves or to use reserves for another purpose. However, Associations that are subject to the Structural Integrity Reserve Study (SIRS) requirements may not waive reserves for the SIRS items delineated in ss. 718.112(2)(g) and 719.106(1)(k), F.S., relating to Condominium or Cooperative Associations, respectively, or to use such reserves for other purposes.

Additionally, under certain circumstances, the Division may approve an alternative funding method for multicondominium associations operating at least 25 condominiums or more pursuant to section 718.112(2)(f)(2)(a), Florida Statutes.

Relating to the maintenance of reserves by Condominium and Cooperative Associations, SB 913:

• Provides for investment of Reserve Funds in certificates of deposit or deposits in banks and credit unions without a vote of the Unit Owners;
• Allows a Unit-Owner-Controlled Association that is required to have a SIRS to fund Reserves by a Special Assessment, A Line of Credit, or Loan, with the approval of a majority of the Voting Interests of the Association;
• Allows Condominium Boards to pause Reserve funding without Unit Owner approval when the Condominium building is declared uninhabitable by the local building official;
• Allows Unit-Owner-Controlled Associations, for a budget adopted on or before December 31, 2028, that have completed the Milestone Inspection in the previous two years to temporarily pause or reduce reserve contributions for no more than 2 consecutive annual budgets, upon a vote of a majority of the Total Voting Interests, in order to fund needed repairs recommended by the Milestone Inspection. If an Association pauses or reduces Reserve Funding, it must perform a SIRS before continuing Reserve Contribution in order to determine the Association’s Reserve Funding needs and to recommend a Reserve Funding Plan; and
• Allows for funding of SIRS Reserves by the Pooling Accounting Method and allows Boards to change the accounting method for Reserves to a Pooling Accounting Method or a Straight-Line Accounting Method without a vote of the Members.