House Bill 1029 established The My Safe Florida Condominium Pilot Program (the “Program”) effective July 1, 2024. This new Program aims to assist eligible condominium associations by offering hurricane mitigation inspections to determine how to reduce a property’s vulnerability to hurricane damage, as well as mitigation grants that can be used towards projects for hardening the property to improve its resilience against hurricanes. The current information is that applications will be available in fall 2024.
Here is what you need to know:
- To apply for a hurricane mitigation inspection, an association must receive either approval by a majority vote of the board of directors or a majority vote of the total voting interests of the association. Within 14 days of an affirmative vote to participate in the Program, an association must provide written notice to all unit owners of the Board’s decision.
- After the mitigation inspection has been conducted, to apply for a mitigation grant, an association must receive approval by either a majority vote of the board or a majority vote of the total voting interests of the association. In addition, all unit owners within the building that is the subject of the mitigation grant must approve the grant application.
- Before conducting a unit owner vote, an association must provide a clear disclosure of the Program to all unit owners on a form that will be created by the Florida Department of Financial Services. The form must be signed by the Board’s President and Treasurer and kept as a part of the association’s official records.
- Mitigation grants can be used by associations to fund projects for improvements recommended in a hurricane mitigation inspection report, including the following:
- Opening protection, such as exterior doors, garage doors, windows, and skylights
- Reinforcing roof-to-wall connections
- Improving the strength of roof-deck attachments
- Secondary water resistance for roofs
- Mitigation grants cannot be used to install the same type of improvement that was previously installed on the property and cannot be used to pay a deductible for a pending insurance claim that is part of the property for which grant funds are being received.
- Mitigation grants are capped at a maximum of $175,000 per association, and are matching funds on a 2-1 basis, with 2 dollars granted for every 1 dollar provided by the association. Grant funds are limited to 50% of the cost of the project.
- Construction of the improvements and a final inspection must be completed within one year of receiving grant approval.
Stay informed and take advantage of the opportunities provided by the My Safe Florida Condominium Pilot Program. As of the date of this alert, the Program website states as to application availability:
“We do not have a launch date for this newly enacted program at this time. Please keep in mind that House Bill 1029 and the associated funding included in the budget is not effective until July 1. DFS will not have any funding available to begin implementation until July 1st, so a launch of the program cannot begin until sometime after that date.”
For questions, please contact any of the listed Roetzel attorneys.