Your engineer just sent a 90-page report. It lists roof, plumbing, and paint costs in six figures. Now the board wants one answer: what goes on next year’s budget line?

A structural integrity reserve study Florida condos must complete turns building parts into a funding schedule, and Florida Statutes section 718.112(2)(g) then makes that schedule mandatory to fund. The law covers buildings three habitable stories or higher, with a hard stop of December 31, 2026.

Accounting guidance, not legal advice. Confirm every deadline and dollar threshold against current statute with your association’s attorney.

Why Generalist Bookkeeping Breaks on SIRS

Generalist bookkeeping breaks here for one reason. A reserve study is a funding model, not a file to save. Most bookkeepers just save it, so the ledger never changes and the audit finds the gap a year later, once the budget is adopted.

Here is what must happen instead. Each part needs its own reserve account, a starting balance, a yearly funding amount, and a replacement cost tied to a remaining useful life. A structural integrity reserve study Florida engineers produce speaks in building parts, while your chart of accounts speaks in GL codes, and someone has to map one to the other. Because the law ties funding to remaining useful life, a five-year item drives a far bigger yearly number than a twenty-year item of similar cost. And reserve cash must stay reserve cash, so the bank must agree with the schedule every month.

What a Structural Integrity Reserve Study Florida Law Requires

The statute sets the scope, the height rule, and the date.

“In no event may the structural integrity reserve study be completed after December 31, 2026.” Source: Fla. Stat. section 718.112(2)(g) (2025)

The study repeats at least every ten years, and a licensed engineer must perform or verify the visual inspection. The 2025 text references other items above $25,000, adjusted for inflation, so confirm the threshold in force for your budget year rather than reusing last cycle’s number.

The Required Parts and Where They Land

Milestone timing sits in a separate statute: a covered building generally needs a milestone inspection by December 31 of the year it turns 30 (Fla. Stat. section 553.899). Many boards face engineer fees and a reserve step-up in the same budget cycle.

From Report to Budget Line in Five Steps

Build the budget line before you argue about the total.

1. Pull the component table into one worksheet with replacement cost and remaining useful life per part.
2. Map each part to its own GL account. Never net them into a single “reserves” code.
3. Split the current reserve balance by part and write down the basis.
4. Run the funding formula: remaining cost divided by remaining useful life is your yearly number.
5. Tie reserve cash to the schedule so the bank agrees every month, then draft the owner disclosure.

Step five is where audits are won or lost. See our breakdown of why property management audits fail.

Illustrative Scenario: A 96-Unit Miami-Dade Condo

This is an illustrative composite, not a client. Say an eight-story, 96-unit board gets its report. Replacement cost across the seven parts totals $3,140,000, reserve balances total $598,000, and the board sits at 19 percent funded. Run the formula on every line and total annual funding is $215,000, or $186.63 per unit per month, up from last year’s $72.92. Paint and waterproofing dominates that number despite a mid-range cost, because its short remaining life drives the math.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a structural integrity reserve study in Florida? It is a study of named building parts that sets replacement cost and remaining useful life, which the board then uses to set required reserve funding under Florida Statutes section 718.112(2)(g). A licensed engineer, architect, or certified reserve professional must perform or verify the visual inspection.

When is the structural integrity reserve study Florida deadline? Existing associations had to finish by December 31, 2025, and a board with a milestone inspection due by December 31, 2026 may run both together. In no event may the study be completed after December 31, 2026.

Can our board still vote to waive reserves? No, not for the covered parts in a unit-owner-controlled association. Members may not provide no reserves or less reserves than required.

Accounting guidance, not legal advice. Confirm current text and dates with your association’s counsel. Bills passed in 2025, including HB 913, amended provisions above.