WAIVING OF RESERVES, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, OR ALLOWING ALTERNATIVE USES OF EXISTING RESERVES MAY RESULT IN UNIT OWNER LIABILITY FOR PAYMENT OF UNANTICIPATED SPECIAL ASSESSMENTS REGARDING THOSE ITEMS.
Florida law requires that sentence on any proxy ballot asking condo owners to waive or reduce reserves. It must appear in capital letters, in bold, and in a larger font than anything else on the page. For most owner-run towers in West Palm Beach, that vote is no longer allowed for the structural items. The cost of an aging building now goes into the monthly fee or a special assessment, and a buyer gets to see the plan for it before closing.
That changes when a condo purchase actually gets priced. The list price and the comps get you to a signed contract. The building's reserve study arrives after that, and it decides whether the deal holds.
The seven days after the packet arrives
Under section 718.503 of the Florida Statutes, a buyer under contract on a resale condo is entitled to a current copy of these documents, at the seller's expense:
- The declaration of condominium
- The association's articles of incorporation
- The bylaws and rules
- The annual financial statement and annual budget
- The inspector-prepared summary of the milestone inspection report, if the building has one
- The most recent structural integrity reserve study, or a statement that the association has not completed one
- Any turnover inspection report performed on or after July 1, 2023
- The state's "Frequently Asked Questions and Answers" document
Once the contract is signed and those records are delivered, the buyer has seven days to cancel. Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays don't count. If the buyer asks in writing, closing can be pushed back by up to seven of those days. The right can't be waived, and it ends at closing. Resale contracts signed after Dec. 31, 2024 must also state clearly whether the required inspections and studies have been completed, or confirm that the current reports were delivered and spell out the seven-day review right.
So the contract price gets tested against item six inside a short, fixed window. A buyer who has seen the study before writing an offer uses that week to confirm what they already know. A buyer who hasn't spends it scrambling.
Associations managing a condominium of 25 or more units that contains no timeshare units must also keep a password-protected website or app for owners. It has to include structural and life-safety inspection reports and, where one applies, the latest reserve study. That portal is for owners, but sellers have access to it. A seller who shares the study when the property is listed lets offers reflect it from the start.
What a reserve study tells you about the price
A structural integrity reserve study, or SIRS, is required at least every 10 years for each residential condo building three habitable stories or taller. It covers the roof, the structure, fireproofing and fire protection, plumbing, electrical, waterproofing and exterior painting, and windows and exterior doors. It also covers any other item costing more than $25,000, or the state's inflation-adjusted threshold, whose failure would affect those systems.
The study is based on a visual inspection. For each item it lists the estimated remaining useful life and the estimated replacement cost or deferred-maintenance expense, and it lays out a funding schedule. At a minimum, that schedule must keep the reserve cash balance above zero every budget year. For owner-controlled associations required to have a SIRS, budgets adopted on or after Dec. 31, 2024 can't vote to reserve less than required for those items. The one statutory exception is a multicondominium association whose alternative funding method has been approved by the state division.
Put those two rules together and the study works like a forecast of future fees. If a roof has four years left and the reserve account is thin, the shortfall gets spread over those four years of budgets, or the association covers it with a special assessment, a line of credit or a loan. Each of those funding options requires a majority vote of all voting interests. Any assessment or loan taken on this way must appear in the annual financial statement that prospective buyers receive.
Two units with the same view and the same square footage can carry very different costs over the next five years. The study is where that difference shows up.
Three kinds of buildings, three kinds of paperwork
West Palm Beach has all three building types the law treats differently, and each one hands a buyer a different set of documents.
| Building type | What the buyer typically receives | Reserve rules that apply |
|---|---|---|
| Older owner-controlled building, three or more habitable stories | Milestone inspection summary if one is due, plus the SIRS or a statement that none exists | SIRS-item reserves can't be waived in budgets adopted on or after Dec. 31, 2024, except by a multicondominium association with a state-approved alternative funding method |
| New tower still under developer control | Developer documents; a turnover inspection report is required before owners take control | The developer-controlled association can't vote to waive or reduce reserves before turnover |
| Low-rise building under three habitable stories | Budget and financials; SIRS and milestone rules don't apply | Owners can still vote by majority to fund less than full reserves |
The top row covers the towers along Flagler Drive and Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard. The middle row covers the new projects downtown and along the Intracoastal. In March 2026, The Real Deal reported Olara at about 50% presold, South Flagler House at $700 million in presales over 90 days, and Mr. C above 85% presold. It also reported Shorecrest on pace to sell out in 2026. Those are developer-reported figures. Buyers in those buildings will eventually receive a turnover inspection rather than a reserve study history.
The bottom row is the easiest to misread. A two-story building's lower monthly fee can reflect a smaller building. It can also reflect reserves the owners voted not to fund, which the law still allows for buildings outside the SIRS rules. The budget shows which one it is.
What the West Palm Beach record shows
The local cases show what these rules look like in practice.
Whitehall Condominiums of Palm Beach Lakes. In December 2024, owners at this 480-unit association voted not to fund SIRS reserves in the 2025 budget, hoping the legislature would offer relief. WLRN reported an estimated future increase of about $800 per unit per month on top of an existing $600 HOA payment. One owner told the station he and his fiancée had decided to leave and start house hunting. That was the association's position in 2024, not necessarily its position today. It shows how large the gap between a fee and a funded reserve can be.
Plaza of the Palm Beaches, 525 S. Flagler Drive. A 2024 Phase One milestone report cited deterioration in the balconies, garage, amenity deck and parapets. It called for immediate measures and a Phase Two inspection, and said parts of the pools and spa needed to be demolished. Reporting at the time expected a multimillion-dollar special assessment but gave no amount. Once a Phase Two report is issued, repairs must begin within 365 days. A buyer reviewing a building at that stage is buying into a repair timeline.
One City Plaza. In January 2026, the Palm Beach Post reported that One City Plaza's association had sued the developer of the neighboring Mr. C Hotel and Residences, alleging that excavation eroded soil beneath One City Plaza's foundation. In February 2026, the association's lawyer said the foundation had been shored up by injecting a special compound. No cost or owner assessment was reported. Pending litigation and completed repairs both show up in association records that a careful buyer requests along with the statutory packet.
Where the market numbers fit
The market data that follows is countywide. In August 2026, according to MIAMI REALTORS, Palm Beach County had 5,770 active condo and townhouse listings, down 17.1% from a year earlier. Months of supply fell to 6.7 from 9.0. Pending inventory rose 9.8% to 1,381. The median sale price was $300,000, and the median time to contract was 69 days. In June 2026, the county had 6,216 active listings and 7.2 months of supply, with a $325,000 median.
Compared with a year earlier, the oversupply has shrunk. Sellers in August 2026 still received a median 92.6% of their original list price, up from 90.3% a year earlier. A typical condo still closes roughly 7% below its original asking price. A September 2026 BeachesMLS tally, using a narrower data set current through Oct. 5, shows the same pattern. The median Palm Beach County condo or townhouse closed at $315,000, about 6.8% under its original asking price, and inventory stood at 7.1 months. With fewer listings than a year ago to compare against, that discount increasingly depends on what the documents show about a specific building, more than on how many competing units are for sale.
The Dec. 31, 2026 backstop and the 2028 pause
Owner-controlled associations that existed by July 1, 2022 had until Dec. 31, 2025 to complete their first SIRS. An association with a milestone inspection due by Dec. 31, 2026 may complete the study along with that inspection, but no study may be completed after Dec. 31, 2026. As of Oct. 6, 2026, that final deadline is less than three months away. For the coming winter season, a resale packet that says no study has been completed means something different than it did a year ago.
Milestone inspections generally apply at age 30 and every 10 years after that. A local enforcement agency can require the first one at age 25 based on local conditions such as proximity to salt water.
The law also includes a temporary pause. For budgets adopted on or before Dec. 31, 2028, an association that completed a milestone inspection within the previous two calendar years may pause or reduce reserve contributions for up to two consecutive annual budgets to pay for the recommended repairs. This takes a majority of all voting interests. A new SIRS is required before contributions resume. A low reserve balance in a building using this provision may mean the money went into repairs that are already done. The budget and the meeting minutes show which.
A few questions buyers ask
Can I see the reserve study before making an offer? The statute guarantees it after you're under contract. Before that, it depends on whether the seller shares it from the association's owner portal.
Does a newer building mean lower fees later? A developer-controlled association can't waive reserves before turnover, and a turnover inspection is required before owners take control. Fees after turnover depend on what that inspection finds and how the new board budgets.
Are low-rise condos exempt from all of this? Buildings under three habitable stories fall outside the SIRS and milestone requirements. General reserve rules still apply, and owners can vote by majority to fund less than full reserves.
This post is general market information, not legal advice. A real estate attorney can review the contract terms themselves.
If you're comparing West Palm Beach condos and want help reading a reserve study, a milestone summary or an association budget before your seven-day window starts, Ashley Washburn can go through the documents with you and help you decide what they mean for your offer. Let's Connect.
