Structural integrity reserve studies (SIRS) in Hollywood

Local rules that shape a SIRS in Hollywood

• Broward County, which includes Hollywood, reported 155 required Phase 2 milestone inspections in 2025.
• The city issues a Notice of Required Inspection, and its page gives the owner 90 days from receiving it to complete the inspection, shorter than the 180 days in BORA's policy text, so work to the date on your notice.
• BORA Policy 05-05, which Hollywood's program follows, counts the Broward safety inspection as compliance with both phases of the state milestone inspection.
• Where the report finds conditions that threaten life, health or safety, the owner has 180 days from the report date to obtain the required permits.
• Broward's program began as a 40-year program, created in 2005 and in effect from January 2006, and calls for structural and electrical safety inspections.
• After the Surfside collapse the city re-issued certified letters to the properties on its list, set up a Recertification Taskforce and assigned dedicated staff.
• Under the BORA policy, balconies, elevated decks and seawalls or docks attached to a structure are part of the inspection, and parking garages and guardrails are not exempt.
• The BORA policy has the electrical safety report prepared by a Florida-licensed professional specializing in electrical design, on the BORA electrical form.

How we handle structural integrity reserve studies in Hollywood

Because the Broward inspection covers electrical systems as well as structure, a recent Hollywood report already speaks to two of the items a SIRS must cover. We send the reserve professional the latest structural and electrical reports and any permits pulled for repairs so the study prices what the engineers found.[1][4]

Permits for structural integrity reserve studies (sirs) in Hollywood

• City of Hollywood Building Safety Program: 25-Year or Older Building Safety Program notices and filings in Hollywood

What does a SIRS cover?

At a minimum the roof; the structure, including load-bearing walls and primary structural members and systems; fireproofing and fire protection systems; plumbing; electrical systems; waterproofing and exterior painting; windows and exterior doors; and any other item above the reserve threshold whose failure would harm those items. For each item the study gives the estimated remaining useful life and the replacement cost or deferred maintenance expense, and it includes at least a baseline funding plan that keeps the reserve cash balance above zero in every budget year.[4]

Who may perform or verify the study?

An engineer licensed under chapter 471, an architect licensed under chapter 481, or a person certified as a reserve specialist or professional reserve analyst by the Community Associations Institute or the Association of Professional Reserve Analysts. The rule covers the visual inspection portion too. We arrange the study with one of these professionals and coordinate the schedule; the professional signs the study.[4][6]

What are the deadlines?

• Owner-controlled associations existing on or before 1 July 2022 had to complete a SIRS by 31 December 2025.
• With a milestone inspection due on or before 31 December 2026, the SIRS may be done at the same time, but no SIRS may be completed after 31 December 2026.
• After that, at least every 10 years.
• Within 45 days of receiving the study, owners get a copy or notice and the association files a statement with the Division.

How does the SIRS change the budget?

Reserves for the SIRS items must be based on the most recent study, and for budgets adopted on or after 31 December 2024 an owner-controlled association that must have a SIRS cannot vote to waive or reduce those reserves, except a multicondominium with a Division-approved alternative funding method. SIRS items may be funded by regular assessments, special assessments, lines of credit or loans; the last three need a majority of the total voting interests.[4]

Frequently asked questions