Blog > Structural Integrity Reserve Study in Florida: How to Read a SIRS Before You Buy

Structural Integrity Reserve Study in Florida: How to Read a SIRS Before You Buy

by Julia Ray

✓ Reviewed by Julia Ray, Broker and Owner, Raydiant Realty · Florida broker license BK3433857 · Reviewed October 21, 2026 · Our research process

Key takeaway: A structural integrity reserve study (SIRS) is the engineer's or reserve analyst's estimate of what a Florida condo building's roof, structure, plumbing, windows and four other systems will cost to replace, with a schedule for saving the money. Since budgets adopted on or after December 31, 2024 can't fund those items below the study, the SIRS tells you what dues are heading toward. Before you buy in an older Hallandale Beach tower, compare the study's yearly reserve figure with the current budget and divide the gap by the units.

Who this guide is for: You're buying or own a unit in an older Hallandale Beach condo and the association has sent, or will send, its structural integrity reserve study. You want to know what it says about future dues, assessments and your loan.

At a glance
Statute	Florida Statutes 718.112(2)(g) (2026 text, amended by HB 913, 2025)
Buildings covered	Condo buildings three habitable stories or higher
How often	At least every 10 years
Deadline	Existing owner-run associations by Dec 31, 2025; none later than Dec 31, 2026
Who performs it	Licensed engineer or architect, or certified reserve specialist or professional reserve analyst
Minimum plan	Baseline funding: reserve cash balance above zero every year
Waivers	Not allowed for SIRS items on budgets adopted on or after Dec 31, 2024
Owners get it	Copy or notice of availability within 45 days

What a Structural Integrity Reserve Study Tells a Hallandale Beach Buyer

A SIRS shows what an older tower's dues are about to become, which the current budget can't. Listing records date most South Ocean Drive towers to the 1970s, so their roofs, concrete, pipes and windows are well into their service lives; check any building's year with the Broward County Property Appraiser. Before 2022, owners of those buildings could vote to skip reserves. For budgets adopted from December 31, 2024, they can't skip them for the items the study covers.

That turns the SIRS into a pricing document. Put its recommended yearly reserve next to the reserve line in the current budget. If the budget is lower, the difference will come from higher dues, a special assessment or a loan, and the owner at the time pays it. Two units at the same price in two buildings can differ by thousands of dollars a year on that gap alone. The wider rules are summarized in our overview of Florida condo law after HB 913.

What Is a Structural Integrity Reserve Study?

Chapter 718 defines it as a study of the reserve funds needed for future major repairs and replacement of the condominium property. It has two parts: a visual inspection of the building and a financial schedule for paying to keep it standing.

Who can perform a structural integrity reserve study

The study must be performed or verified by a Florida-licensed engineer or architect, or by a person certified as a reserve specialist or professional reserve analyst. Anyone bidding on the study who also plans to bid on the repairs it may recommend must disclose that in writing.

What a SIRS must state for each item

For each item inspected, the study must give its estimated remaining useful life and its estimated replacement cost or deferred maintenance expense. It then gives a reserve funding schedule with a recommended annual reserve amount that reaches that cost by the end of the item's life.

Structural Integrity Reserve Study Requirements in Florida

The requirements sit in section 718.112(2)(g) of the Florida Statutes, as last amended by HB 913, effective July 1, 2025.

Condo buildings that need a SIRS

Every building on the condominium property that is three habitable stories or higher. HB 913 added the word "habitable".

SIRS roof and structure items

The roof, and the structure, including load-bearing walls and other primary structural members and systems. On an oceanfront tower, read this part of the study first.

SIRS fire protection, plumbing and electrical items

Fireproofing and fire protection systems, plumbing, and electrical systems. These are inside the walls, so the visual inspection relies on what's accessible and on the building's records.

SIRS waterproofing, windows and exterior door items

Waterproofing and exterior painting, and windows and exterior doors. In an older tower, ask whether unit windows are the association's or the owner's under the declaration, because that decides whose budget pays.

Other SIRS items over $25,000

Any other item with a deferred maintenance expense or replacement cost over $25,000, adjusted for inflation by the state each year, whose failure would hurt the items above. HB 913 raised the figure from $10,000.

SIRS exemptions

Buildings under three stories, one- to four-family dwellings with three or fewer habitable stories, and parts of a building not under condo ownership or maintained by someone other than the association.

How Often a Structural Integrity Reserve Study Is Required

The 10-year SIRS cycle and the 2025 deadline

At least every 10 years. Owner-run associations that existed on July 1, 2022 had to finish their first study by December 31, 2025; SB 4-D originally set December 31, 2024, and HB 913 moved it. An association with a milestone inspection due by December 31, 2026 could do both together, but no SIRS may be completed after that date.

When a milestone inspection replaces the SIRS visual inspection

A milestone inspection done in the past 5 years can stand in for the study's visual inspection. After a milestone inspection, an association may also delay its SIRS for up to 2 consecutive budget years. Our guide to milestone inspections in Broward and Florida covers the inspection side.

When the association must update its SIRS

Before adopting any budget whose reserve funding doesn't match the latest study's plan, and after choosing how to pay, since the study must reflect the funding method. A study that predates a big assessment vote may already be out of date.

How to Read a Structural Integrity Reserve Study Before You Buy

You'll get the latest SIRS, or a statement that none exists, with the resale documents. Read these parts first.

The SIRS baseline funding schedule

At minimum the study must recommend a baseline plan that keeps the reserve cash balance above zero in every budget year. It may also show other schedules. Find the recommended amount for the coming year; that's your comparison number.

SIRS items with more than 25 years of life

For items with more than 25 years left, or no readily known life, the study can skip replacement reserves and recommend a deferred maintenance amount. Reserves it recommends but the law doesn't require must be listed separately, so you can tell the legal minimum from the engineer's advice.

How the board plans to fund the SIRS

Reserves for these items can come from regular dues, special assessments, a line of credit or a loan, and the last three need a majority of the total voting interests. A loan for milestone or SIRS work must also be disclosed in the annual financial statement that buyers receive.

The SIRS affidavit and DBPR report

Each officer or director must sign an affidavit acknowledging receipt of the study, and within 45 days the association must tell DBPR the study is done. You can check DBPR's SIRS Reporting Database for the building's name.

Example: SIRS funding gap per unit

These figures are hypothetical; use your building's. A 250-unit tower's SIRS recommends $900,000 in reserves for next year. The current budget has $500,000. The $400,000 gap is $1,600 per unit a year with equal shares, about $133 a month on top of today's dues. Multiply by your unit's percentage in the declaration if shares aren't equal. If the board covers it with a special assessment instead, our guide to special assessments in Florida condos shows how that bill reaches you.

Structural Integrity Reserve Study vs Milestone Inspection

The milestone inspection asks whether the building is safe now and can order repairs, starting with phase one at 30 years, or 25 in Broward. The SIRS asks how much money the building needs to set aside so it stays safe, and it sets the reserve line in the budget. One finds the problem; the other prices the repair over time. Read them together: a phase two finding that the SIRS doesn't yet reflect means the study is due for an update.

Structural Integrity Reserve Study Cost and Who Pays for It

The study is the association's duty, so its fee is a common expense shared by every owner through the budget. The statute sets no price. The fee for a building's study shows up in the board minutes that approved the contract and in the annual financial statement, so read the invoice rather than an online estimate. The bigger cost is what the study recommends, and that is also shared among the owners.

Directors who willfully and knowingly fail to complete a SIRS breach their fiduciary duty to owners.

Structural Integrity Reserve Study Checklist for Florida Condo Buyers

Get the full study, not a summary. Note its date and who signed it.
Write down next year's recommended reserve. Compare it with the budget's reserve line.
Divide any gap by the units, or by your share. That's your likely dues increase or assessment.
Check the funding method. Ask about loans, lines of credit and any reserve pause after a milestone inspection.
Ask your lender to review the building early. An open assessment for a critical repair can make the project ineligible for a conventional loan; see our page on non-warrantable condos.

The study arrives inside a 7-day cancellation window, so read it as soon as it lands; the timing is in our Florida condo buying steps. If you're comparing towers, our Hallandale Beach condos for sale guide sorts them by age, and sellers can read how to sell a Hallandale Beach condo with an open SIRS gap. I can request a building's SIRS, budget and minutes before you write an offer.

Reader check: This page explains section 718.112 as published on October 21, 2026, and isn't legal or engineering advice. Confirm a building's figures with the association, its engineer or reserve analyst, and a Florida attorney.

Structural Integrity Reserve Study FAQs

What is a structural integrity reserve study?

It's a study of the reserve funds a Florida condo building needs for future major repairs and replacement. A licensed engineer or architect, or a certified reserve specialist, visually inspects the roof, structure, fire protection, plumbing, electrical, waterproofing, windows and doors, then sets a yearly reserve amount to pay for them.

What are the requirements for a structural integrity reserve study in Florida?

Under section 718.112(2)(g), condo buildings three habitable stories or higher need one at least every 10 years. It must list each item's remaining life and replacement cost and recommend a baseline funding plan that keeps reserves above zero. Owners get a copy or notice within 45 days, and DBPR is told it's done.

How much does a reserve study cost?

Florida law sets no price. The association pays it as a common expense, so every owner shares it through the budget. The fee for a specific building appears in the board minutes that approved the contract and in the annual financial statement. The reserves the study recommends usually cost owners far more than the study itself.

How often should a Florida HOA get a reserve study?

For condominium associations, the structural integrity reserve study is required at least every 10 years for each building three habitable stories or higher. It must also be updated before the board adopts a budget whose reserve funding doesn't follow the latest study. This rule sits in chapter 718, the condominium statute, so ask a Florida attorney how reserves work for a homeowners association.

Can condo owners vote to waive SIRS reserves?

No, not for budgets adopted on or after December 31, 2024. Owners can't vote to provide no reserves or less than the SIRS requires for its items. Through budgets adopted by December 31, 2028, a majority of total voting interests can pause reserves for up to two budgets only to pay for milestone repairs.

Where can I see a condo building's SIRS?

Resale buyers receive the latest SIRS, or a statement that none exists, at the seller's expense under section 718.503. Owners can request it from the association. DBPR's SIRS Reporting Database lists associations that have reported a completed study, though it doesn't publish the study itself.

Reviewed by Julia Ray, Broker and Owner, Raydiant Realty, October 21, 2026. This guide explains how the rules work; it is not legal, tax or insurance advice.