What changes are coming to the 40 year Building Safety Program in Broward County

The 40-year or older Building Safety Program was created in 2005 and is now in effect throughout Broward County. Modeled after Miami-Dade County's program which has been in effect since the 1970's, Broward County's?program had called for structural and electrical safety inspection for buildings 40 years old or older and every ten years, thereafter. Following the tragedy of the Surfside building collapse a new state law was passed placing building inspection requirements on municipalities statewide to ensure building safety. Following is a plain English overview of Broward Counties Building Safety Program as amended to comply with these new state Milestone Inspection requirements.

The first change is when the first inspection is due to take place. Whereas it had been when the building reaches 40 years in age, it is now required when the building reaches 30 years in age, and 25 years of age if the building is within 3 miles of a coastline. Then a follow up inspection is required every 10 years from the date of that initial inspection. A building’s age is to be determined as the difference between the present year and the year-built information recorded with the County Appraiser.

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Between the dates of June 1st and August 31st (preceding the specified calendar year) a list of buildings meeting the program requirements is provided to Building Officials from a database that the Board of Rules and Appeals obtains from the County Property Appraiser’s Office. The Building Officials then send out by Certified Mail Return Receipt Requested a Notice of Required Inspection to the owner or association of all such buildings or structures being due for Building Inspection during that calendar year.

The owner of a building or structure who receives the notice then has 90 days to furnish the required Safety Inspection forms to the Building Official, prepared by an engineer or architect licensed to perform such inspection in Florida. The written report shall bear the date, seal and signature of the certifying Engineer or Architect. In the event that repairs are necessary, the owner has 180 days from the date of the building inspection report in which to correct the structural and electrical deficiencies that pose an immediate threat to life safety. Repairs that are incidental and non-life threatening can be completed at a later date.

Once repairs are completed, if they are needed, an architect shall re-inspect the areas noted on the original report and provide the building owner a signed and sealed letter stating the corrections have all been completed. The building owner will then submit that letter to the Building Official. For deficiencies that cannot be corrected within 180 days, the time frame may be extended when a time frame is specified by the Professional Engineer or Registered Architect and approved by the Building Official. Any extension requests will be contingent on maintaining an active building permit as specified in Florida Building Code Section 115015 (Broward County Administrative Code).

In the event an owner fails to submit the Building Safety Inspection Program report, the governing authority may elect the choice of either a Special Magistrate or Code Enforcement Board as set forth under Florida Statutes Sec. 162, et. al., to conduct a hearing to address the failure. In the event an owner fails to comply with repair or modification requirements as determined from the Building Safety Inspection Report, the structure may be deemed to be unsafe and unfit for occupation. Such findings will be reviewed by the Building Official and may be sent to the Special Magistrate, Code Enforcement Board or Unsafe Structures Board, as appropriate.

Not all buildings are required to have these Milestone inspections though. The following types of buildings are exempt from this program:

o???One- and two-family dwellings

o???U.S. government buildings

o???State of Florida owned buildings.

o???Schools under the jurisdiction of the Broward County School Board

o???Buildings built on Indian reservations.

o???All buildings under 3,500 square feet

More changes are in store for the inspection requirements that are mandated by the state law to begin no later that December 31, 2024. Broward County could adopt those chances sooner, although we have not seen any movement to do so yet. These State Law changes will break the inspection into Phase I which will just be a visual inspection but will be a more in depth inspection than is required now. And a Phase II Inspection which will be an invasive inspection to be a more thorough examination in the event that there are any issues found in the Phase I inspection. The Phase II will not be required if there are no unsafe conditions found in the Phase I inspection.

The other big change in store for the Building Milestone Inspections is the need for the building owners, managers, or HOA’s to show they are setting aside sufficient reserves to cover the cost of future repairs. An example of this would be; if a building has a roof that is 10 years old with an expected life expectancy of 20 years and a replacement cost of $100,000, the building will need to show they are setting aside $10,000 per year to cover the $100,000 cost of the new roof that will be needed in another 10 years. This must be filed for all condo and coop buildings in the state of Florida that are 3 stories or taller, before December 31st, 2024, it is known as the Structural Integrity Reserve Study or ‘SIRS’ report, and is required to include reserves for:

1.??????Roof

2.??????Load-bearing walls or other primary structural members

3.??????Floor

4.??????Foundation

5.??????Fireproofing and fire protection systems

6.??????Plumbing

7.??????Electrical Systems

8.??????Waterproofing and exterior paint

9.??????Windows

10.??Any other item that has a deferred maintenance expense or replacement cost that exceeds $10,000 and the failure to replace or maintain such item negatively affects the 9 items previously listed. as determined by the licensed engineer or architect performing the visual inspection portion of the structural integrity reserve study.

As the property owner or manager, it is your responsibility to acquire a professional service company to perform the 40-Year Recertification, once you have received the “Notice of Required Inspection” by the Building Official. Failure to do so could result in, steep fines, an order to evacuate the building, and could even result in an order to demolish the building. Also, condo boards that do not follow through with getting these reports in on time will be in breach of their fiduciary responsibility. So it is imperative to stay on top of this and get those reports taken care of!

If you have received notice to complete your Building’s Milestone Inspection, be sure to call or email HomeCore Inspections. We are experts, here to help you through what can be a daunting process.

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HomeCore Inspections – www.homecoreinspections.com??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? Chris Johndrow – Inspection Coordinator: (954) 224-8422 / [email protected]