Condo Milestone Inspections: What Happens After the Engineer's Report

If you sit on a condo board in South Florida, the milestone report is probably the most important document that will cross your desk this decade. It is written by an engineer, for engineers and building officials. Most owners read the summary, see words like "spalling" and "substantial structural deterioration," and start to worry about special assessments.

This article explains what the report means, what the law requires next, and how the repair phase actually works from the contractor's side.

The basics: who needs a milestone inspection

Florida created milestone inspections in 2022, after the Champlain Towers South collapse in Surfside. The rules live in Florida Statute 553.899 and have been adjusted several times since. Today they cover:

• Condominium and cooperative buildings that are three habitable stories or taller. A 2025 law (HB 913) added the word "habitable," which can leave out some buildings where the lowest level is only parking.
• Timing: by December 31 of the year the building reaches 30 years from its certificate of occupancy, then every 10 years.
• The 25-year option: the local building official can require the first inspection at 25 years based on local conditions, such as closeness to salt water. Miami-Dade, for example, uses 25 years for coastal condo buildings built in 1998 or later.
• Single-family homes, duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes with three or fewer habitable stories are not covered.

Miami-Dade and Broward also run their own building recertification programs, which have existed for decades and cover more than condos. If your building gets a county or city recertification notice, ask your engineer how it lines up with the state milestone requirement so you are not paying for the same work twice.

Phase one and phase two, in plain words

A phase one report that finds no substantial structural deterioration is the good outcome. It does not mean the building needs nothing. Engineers often still list maintenance items, like sealing cracks or replacing failed caulking, that are cheaper to fix now than later.

What the association has to share

Within 45 days of receiving the report, the association must send the engineer's summary to every unit owner, post it somewhere visible on the property, and put the full report and summary on the association's website if it is required to have one. Owners can read the whole report. They usually should.

The repair deadline

This is the part that changed in 2025. Every local government must have an ordinance requiring owners to schedule or begin the repairs for substantial structural deterioration within a deadline it sets, and that deadline can be no more than one year after it receives the phase two report. If the building cannot show repairs are scheduled or underway in time, the building official has to review whether the building is safe to occupy.

How the repair phase actually works

1. The engineer designs the repairs. Concrete restoration is not something a contractor designs on the fly. The engineer of record produces repair drawings and specifications, and usually observes the work as it goes.
2. Contractors bid on those drawings. Because nobody knows exactly how much concrete is damaged until it is opened, bids are usually based on estimated quantities with unit prices: so much per square foot of slab repair, per linear foot of balcony edge, per column.
3. Permits. Structural repairs need a building permit. In occupied buildings, shoring, protected walkways and work hours are part of the plan the building department reviews.
4. Opening up. Once damaged concrete comes out, the real quantities show up. With unit pricing, the association pays for what is actually repaired, and the engineer verifies the measurements.
5. Repair and protect. Rusted steel is cleaned or replaced, the section is rebuilt, and coatings or sealants go on to keep water out so the problem does not come straight back.
6. Close-out. Final inspections, the engineer's sign-off, and the records the association needs for the building official and for its next inspection cycle.

How it connects to your reserve study

Buildings covered by the milestone law also need a structural integrity reserve study, often called a SIRS. It looks at major items like the roof, structure, fireproofing, plumbing, electrical, waterproofing, and windows and doors, and sets how much the association must save for them.

The 2025 law gave boards some breathing room when the two collide. An association that completed a milestone inspection in the previous two years can, for a limited time, pause reserve contributions for up to two budget years to pay for the milestone repairs instead, and can delay its reserve study while it focuses on those repairs. The rules are detailed, so the board's attorney and accountant should confirm how they apply to your budget.

What to look for in a repair contractor

• A Florida general contractor license, verifiable on the DBPR website, and insurance that fits an occupied multifamily building.
• Experience working from engineered repair drawings, with unit pricing that matches the engineer's quantities.
• A plan for residents: notices, balcony access, noise hours, protected entrances and parking.
• Clear written change orders when the opened-up conditions differ from the drawings.
• No undisclosed ties to the inspecting engineer.

The bottom line

A milestone report that calls for repairs is not a catastrophe. It is the system working: finding problems while they are still repairable. The boards that come through it best start planning early, read the full report, and hire a contractor who works closely with their engineer. We handle concrete restoration and structural repair for buildings across Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach. If your association has a report in hand, send it to us and we will walk you through what the repair phase will look like.