How to Support a Bipartisan Act for Making Condos Safer and Affordable to Fix

The firm’s latest Miami Herald “Real Estate Counselor” column was authored by shareholder Christyne D. Santisteban. The article, which is headlined “How to Support a Bipartisan Act for Making Condos Safer and Affordable to Fix,” focuses on the recent reintroduction of the Making Condos Safer and Affordable Act in the U.S. Congress by South Florida Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Maria Elvira Salazar. The Community Associations Institute, which is the leading voice of the associations industry, announced its support and wrote that “the bipartisan legislation modernizes and expands federal loan programs to help condominiums access financing for structural repairs, streamline approvals, and strengthen long-term building safety.”

Christyne’s article reads:

. . . As with its predecessor, the new Act is designed to expand access to federal financing tools to help condominium owners and associations afford essential structural repairs and special assessments. It also streamlines the loan process and increases flexibility for communities undertaking large-scale rehabilitation projects, which would help them avoid costly emergency repairs and protect long-term housing stability.

CAI thanked Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Maria Elvira Salazar for their leadership in reintroducing the bill. Its announcement notes that condominium communities across the country are facing the growing challenge of funding critical structural repairs while maintaining affordability for homeowners.

The organization’s blog post also noted that an estimated 32.2 million Americans live in condominium and housing cooperative buildings nationwide, according to its Foundation for Community Association Research.

“Many of these buildings are more than 30 years old, increasing the importance of proactive maintenance, structural inspections, and long-term financial planning,” reads the article. “In recent years, heightened attention to building safety, particularly following the Surfside condominium collapse, has reinforced the need for sustainable funding solutions to support necessary repairs.”

In a Miami Herald op-ed that appeared on June 24, CAI CEO Dawn M. Bauman wrote that the Champlain Towers South tragedy “forever changed families, a community and our nation’s understanding of condominium safety.”

As we mark this five-year anniversary, she urged that we remember those who lost their lives, and reaffirm the responsibility we share to help ensure condominium buildings remain safe, resilient and prepared for the future.

The op-ed reads:

. . . Over the past five years, policymakers, engineers, reserve specialists, community leaders, community managers, board members and residents have done important work to address building infrastructure, maintenance, reserve funding, inspections, transparency and long-term planning. Across the country, laws have changed, communities have taken a harder look at aging infrastructure and deferred maintenance, and homeowners have become more engaged in conversations about the financial sustainability and safety of their buildings.

These are meaningful steps forward. But progress should not be mistaken for completion.

Buildings continue to age. Infrastructure continues to require investment. Communities continue to face difficult decisions about repairs, insurance, affordability, and long-term planning. The lesson of Surfside is not simply that buildings must be maintained. It is that warning signs cannot be ignored, difficult decisions cannot be endlessly deferred and long-term financial planning is essential to protecting lives.

This work matters. It matters for the safety of families. It matters for protecting more than $2 trillion in condominium infrastructure across the United States. And it matters for preserving housing options and protecting the long-term value and sustainability of these communities.

The work is not always easy. Community leaders face difficult decisions about budgets, major repairs, insurance costs and homeowner affordability. One of the greatest challenges is helping residents understand the importance of making responsible financial decisions today to support both life safety and long-term sustainability tomorrow. . .

Bauman wrote that more than 155,000 condominium associations provide homes for millions of Americans, and preserving the safety of these communities is a responsibility that extends far beyond any single building or neighborhood. She noted that the progress made over the past five years is encouraging, but the work is not finished, and she keeps a piece of concrete from the Surfside collapse on her desk as a “daily reminder that behind every reserve study, inspection report, maintenance project and policy discussion are real people and real lives.”

She concluded: “Five years later, we remember those we lost. We honor the families forever changed. And we continue our steadfast commitment to this important work. We remember. We honor. And we act.”

Our firm’s attorneys and professionals applaud the Community Associations Institute and its advocacy efforts for the reintroduced Act as well as other federal and state legislation aimed at helping communities with associations. To learn more about CAI’s commitment to condominium safety and access resources on legislation, laws, and regulations that support structurally sound and fiscally responsible communities, visit www.condosafety.com.

CAI concluded its recent announcement by noting that the Act would provide practical financing tools to help communities address infrastructure needs, protect residents, and plan responsibly for the long term. . .

Christyne concludes her column by noting that the organization offers an online platform for everyone to voice their support to federal and state legislators for this and other initiatives at www.votervoice.net/CAI/home, and additional information on all of its efforts is available at www.caionline.org/advocacy. She and our firm’s other community association attorneys encourage everyone to visit these sites to learn more about its activities and how to support them.

Our firm salutes Christyne for sharing the news on this reintroduced federal legislation and CAI’s efforts in support of it as well as other important measures for associations with the readers of the Miami Herald. Click here to read the complete article in the newspaper’s website.

Our South Florida community association attorneys write about important matters for associations and other property owners in this blog and our Miami Herald column, which appears every two weeks on Sundays, and we encourage association directors, members and property managers as well as all property owners to click here and subscribe to our newsletter to receive our future articles.