Florida condo owners are already facing higher fees due to new safety regulations, but many are now questioning whether the state’s fragile property insurance market can handle back-to-back hurricane damage.

“This year, with these two big hurricanes [Helene and Milton], we’re anticipating a big increase,” said Pat Hutson, a condo owner in Tampa. “I’m very worried that our monthly dues will not cover the new insurance premium.”

“Condo fees are going up and insurance is going up,” Joe Todd added. “We did have a huge insurance premium increase. It was like a $300,000 increase that we hadn’t budgeted for.”

Additionally, many condo owners are dealing with hefty special assessment fees to comply with a new state law following the deadly Surfside condo collapse in 2021, which requires condo reserves to be fully funded for potential structural repairs.

“They’re about to get hit with all kinds of financial issues,” said Eric Glazer, a board-certified attorney specializing in condominium and planned development law. “We’ve got insurance, mandatory reserves, mandatory inspections, and mandatory repairs. For condominium owners, it’s a perfect storm.”

Glazer recently hosted a four-hour certification course now required for all condo and HOA board members in Florida. “For those condos that waived reserves for years, if not decades, and didn’t take good care of their building, they’re in big trouble,” Glazer noted.

Florida’s Chief Financial Officer, Jimmy Patronis, emphasized that Florida learned lessons from Hurricane Ian and believes the insurance market is robust enough to handle these claims. “We then have to increase the amount of capital they have to do business in the state of Florida, whether it be because of the violent nature of the storms or the cost of the damage. This is something we prepare for,” Patronis explained. “I don’t think this is going to be like Ian. Ian generated almost 800,000 claims and $21 billion in losses.”

For more information about the Tampa Bay Condo & HOA Expo, go here: https://www.tampabaycondohoaexpo.com/

(Image credit: Sarasota Herald-Tribune)