Florida SIRS reserve funding turns into real cash in 2026. The state says associations begin funding structural integrity reserve study reserves on January 1, 2026, and covered components can no longer be waived. URBI gives the board one place for the study, the budget, the votes, and the notices.
What is different about 2026, and why does the waiver advice you have read look wrong?
2026 is the first year the money has to move. The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation tells associations: "You will need to begin funding your SIRS reserves in accordance with the reserve study January 1, 2026" (DBPR FAQs). The same guidance says a budget adopted on or after December 31, 2024 cannot waive them.
Pages ranking for this topic still describe Florida reserves as waivable by majority vote for one fiscal year. That old rule still covers some reserve items. It does not cover the components a structural integrity reserve study includes. Section 718.112 says members of a covered association "may not determine to provide no reserves or less reserves than required by this subsection for items listed in paragraph (g)" (Florida Statutes 718.112, 2025). Those reserves may not be spent elsewhere either. Apply the general waiver advice to covered components and you adopt an unlawful budget.
Which buildings must have a structural integrity reserve study?
Residential condominium buildings of three habitable stories or higher are covered. The statute requires a study "at least every 10 years" for each building "that is three habitable stories or higher in height" (718.112).
The statute also names exclusions: buildings under three stories, single family through four family dwellings with three or fewer habitable stories above ground, property not submitted to condominium ownership, and any component maintained by someone other than the association. So audit building by building, and read the declaration. Who maintains a component decides whether it enters the study.
The milestone inspection is a separate rule with local variation. A local agency may move the first one earlier based on conditions such as proximity to salt water (Florida Statutes 553.899, 2025). Requirements vary, so confirm your position with association counsel before acting on any checklist, including this one.
Which components must the study include?
Seven systems are named, plus a conditional eighth:
- Roof
- Structure, including load bearing walls and primary structural members
- Fireproofing and fire protection systems
- Plumbing
- Electrical systems
- Waterproofing and exterior painting
- Windows and exterior doors
The eighth category is any other item that clears two tests at once. Its deferred maintenance or replacement cost must exceed a stated cost threshold, and failing to replace or maintain it must negatively affect one of the seven named systems (718.112). The common error is treating that threshold as a deductible for everything. A roof stays in scope no matter what it costs. Four professional categories may perform or verify the study, not two: engineer, architect, certified reserve specialist, or professional reserve analyst.
How does inflation enter the numbers?
Inflation enters at the threshold, not as a blanket formula on every component estimate. The Division adjusts the catch all threshold using the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, and the updated amount "will be posted by February 1st of each year starting in 2026" (DBPR reserve threshold). Record which threshold year the preparer used.
The funding baseline is a separate idea. The statute sets the minimum as a schedule where each budget year's funding "is sufficient to maintain the reserve cash balance above zero" (718.112). That is an annual cash flow test, not a demand that every future replacement cost sit in the account today.
Sundeep Jay, senior reserve specialist and professional reserve analyst at J.R. Frazer Inc., put it plainly in the Florida Community Association Journal in January 2024: "The State of Florida is not requiring associations to be fully funded." Owners hear fully funded and picture a bill for everything. Show them the annual number, and hand new directors our guide to the reserve fund versus the operating fund.
What must the board report, and how fast must records be produced?
Four different clocks run, and boards mix them up.
| Obligation | Clock | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Statement to the Division that the study was completed and made available to owners | 45 days from receipt | 718.112 |
| Send every owner the study, or notice that it is available on request | 45 days from receipt | 718.112 |
| Post the latest study to the association website or app, at 25 or more units | 30 days from receipt | 718.111 |
| Make official records available after a written request | 10 working days | 718.111 |
| Retain the structural integrity reserve study | At least 15 years | 718.111 |
The Division filing is electronic. DBPR says "associations will now confirm the completion of the Structural Integrity Reserve Study through the association's online account" (DBPR SIRS reporting). The statute wants a statement that the study was completed and made available to owners, not the report itself.
The records clock has teeth. Missing the 10 working day window "creates a rebuttable presumption that the association willfully failed to comply" (Florida Statutes 718.111, 2025). An officer or director must also sign an affidavit acknowledging receipt of the study.
What does the first funding year look like month by month?
Treat the study's arrival as a trigger event and the year as a loop. If it lands mid year, the 45 day clocks start on receipt.
| Month | Board action |
|---|---|
| January | Funding begins. Confirm assessments match the study's schedule and covered reserves were not cut. |
| February | Check the Division's updated threshold. Note which threshold year your study used. |
| March | Reconcile the reserve ledger to the schedule. Confirm covered money went nowhere else. |
| April | Walk the covered systems. Open tickets for anything that changes a useful life. |
| May | Confirm milestone inspection timing with the local building department. |
| June | Send owners a mid year update: balance, contributions, what comes next. |
| July | Start next year's budget from the current study, not last year's spreadsheet. |
| August | Price the funding mix: regular assessments, special assessment, credit line, loan. |
| September | If the method is not regular assessments, schedule the owner vote and study update. |
| October | Draft the budget and reserve schedule. Distribute it with reserve lines visible. |
| November | Hold the budget meeting. Record the vote and reserve figures in the minutes. |
| December | Archive study, budget, minutes, notices, affidavit, and filing confirmation. |
Funding method matters more than boards expect. Covered reserves may be funded by regular assessments, special assessments, lines of credit, or loans. Joseph E. Adams, an attorney with Becker and Poliakoff writing in the News-Press in July 2025, described the vote: any method other than regular assessments "requires a vote of a majority of the entire voting interests." A majority of those present is not that. If the method changes the schedule, update the study.
Owner communication is what boards underinvest in. Present five numbers and label each: current reserve balance, projected component cost, this year's baseline contribution, any special assessment, and debt service. Then say the honest thing. Covered reserves cannot be voted away, but method and timing remain board decisions.
Where does URBI fit in the documentation burden?
SIRS compliance is mostly a documentation and communication burden, and that is the layer URBI covers. The document hub holds the study, budgets, AGM package, and minutes together, with the study attached to the announcement that carried it. The version owners saw is the version in the file.
Board decisions and votes run through a real state machine with eligibility verification, automatic quorum tracking, and a permanent audit trail, which is what the funding method vote needs when the bar is a majority of all voting interests. See our overview of condo board voting software. Announcements track who saw each post per resident, so the board can show owners were informed rather than argue later. When an owner requests records, the file is already assembled.
Service tickets close the other half of the loop. Roof, plumbing, electrical, and waterproofing work sits in ticket history with photos, vendor assignment, and a full activity log, so the board can show covered systems were maintained between studies. URBI Accounting is In Beta and adds a reserve ledger view alongside budgets and audit logs. See also the condo board guide to building software, the residential platform overview, and condo financial statements.
Be clear about the boundary. URBI does not perform structural integrity reserve studies, does not determine whether funding is adequate, and does not file reports with the Division for the association. A licensed professional does the study, counsel and your accountant advise on funding, the board files. URBI holds the evidence that it happened.
Frequently asked questions
Can Florida owners still vote to waive reserves in 2026?
Not for structural integrity reserve study components. For any budget adopted on or after December 31, 2024, members of a covered association may not provide no reserves or less reserves than required for those items, and the money may not be spent elsewhere. Other reserve items follow different rules, so confirm with counsel.
Does the cost threshold apply to the roof or the plumbing?
No. The seven named systems are in scope regardless of cost. The threshold applies only to the eighth category, the catch all for any other item, and that item must also fail in a way that hurts a named system. The Division posts the adjusted threshold by February 1 each year.
Do we file the whole study with the state?
No. The statute asks for a statement, within 45 days of receiving the study, confirming it was completed and made available to owners. DBPR routes that confirmation through the association's online account. Separately, associations with 25 or more units post the study to the association website or app within 30 days of receipt.
The boards that get through the first funding year cleanly are not the ones with the biggest reserve balance. They are the ones who can produce the study, the budget, the vote, the notice, and the maintenance history on request. To see how URBI keeps that record, email hello@myurbi.co.
