What Is a SIRS? Florida’s Structural Integrity Reserve Study

Quick answer

A SIRS is a reserve study Florida requires for condo and co-op buildings three stories or taller. It inventories the structural components, states each item's remaining useful life and replacement cost, and sets a funding plan. Budgets adopted on or after December 31, 2024 cannot waive reserves for SIRS items.

A Structural Integrity Reserve Study, or SIRS, is Florida’s answer to decades of condominium associations waiving their reserves and hoping for the best. It is a statutorily required study, under Section 718.112(2)(g), Florida Statutes, that tells an association what its critical structural components will cost to maintain and replace, and locks in a funding schedule that owners can no longer vote away. It applies to residential condominium buildings three habitable stories or higher, and a multicondominium association must analyze each building separately.

Key facts

Required for residential condo buildings three habitable stories or higher.
Covers eight mandatory categories: roof; structure including load-bearing walls; fireproofing and fire protection; plumbing; electrical; waterproofing and exterior painting; windows and exterior doors; plus any other item over the indexed threshold ($25,675 for 2026) whose failure would affect those components.
For budgets adopted on or after December 31, 2024, owners cannot vote to waive or underfund reserves for SIRS components.
May be performed or verified by a licensed engineer or architect, or a CAI Reserve Specialist or APRA Professional Reserve Analyst.
Repeats at least every 10 years per building.

Why did this become law?

For years, many Florida associations voted annually to waive or reduce reserve contributions. Low monthly dues kept owners happy, and when something broke, the association special assessed. After Surfside, the Legislature ended that model. The SIRS funding schedule must at minimum keep the projected reserve cash balance above zero, and the membership cannot vote to waive contributions for the statutory components.

What are the deadlines?

The baseline deadline, reset by HB 913 to December 31, 2025, has passed. The one remaining statutory route applies to associations whose milestone inspection is due on or before December 31, 2026: they may complete the SIRS simultaneously with that milestone, but no later than December 31, 2026. After the initial study, the SIRS repeats at least every ten years. An association that missed the baseline should involve counsel rather than assume a grace period.

Who can perform a SIRS?

HB 913 settled this: the entire SIRS, including the visual inspection portion, must be performed or verified by a licensed engineer, a licensed architect, or a person certified as a Reserve Specialist by the Community Associations Institute or a Professional Reserve Analyst by the Association of Professional Reserve Analysts. A milestone inspection performed within the past five years may substitute for the visual inspection portion.

SIRS reserves versus general reserves

The eight SIRS categories relate to structural integrity and life safety, and their funding cannot be waived. Everything else the association replaces over time, such as pool resurfacing, parking surfaces, elevator cab interiors, and lobby furniture, sits in general reserves, which the membership may still adjust through the annual budget. Some items are judgment calls: elevator machinery, for example, enters the SIRS only through the catch-all test. A qualified professional makes these classifications building by building, and boards should understand the rationale behind each one.

How can associations fund it?

HB 913 expanded the toolbox: SIRS reserves may be funded through regular assessments, special assessments, loans, and lines of credit, with a special assessment, loan, or line of credit requiring approval of a majority of the total voting interests. Pooling is permitted, but SIRS reserves may only pool with other SIRS reserves. There is also a narrow, conditional pause: through budgets adopted on or before December 31, 2028, an association that completed a milestone inspection within the previous two calendar years may, with majority approval, pause or reduce contributions for up to two consecutive annual budgets to fund the milestone repairs. That is a bridge, not a waiver. Chapter 23 of the book covers the full mechanics, including the officer affidavit requirement and how CAI reserve study levels fit with the Florida statute.

Common questions

How often is a SIRS required?

At least every 10 years. Associations should also revisit the funding plan whenever a major project, a milestone inspection finding, or a large cost change makes the current schedule unrealistic.

Which items must a SIRS cover?

Roof, structure including load-bearing walls, fireproofing and fire protection systems, plumbing, electrical systems, waterproofing and exterior painting, windows and exterior doors, and any other item whose deferred maintenance or replacement cost exceeds the indexed threshold ($25,675 for 2026) and affects the structure or life safety.

Can owners still waive reserves?

Only for items outside the SIRS. For budgets adopted on or after December 31, 2024, reserves for SIRS components must be funded, though HB 913 added tools such as loans and lines of credit and a limited pause mechanism for associations doing mandated repairs.

This guide is educational, not legal or engineering advice. Statutes change and every building and declaration is different. Confirm how the law applies to your association with your attorney and a licensed professional. Figures current as of July 2026.