Milestone inspections in Tampa

Tampa timeline

• Notice from the city: the 180-day Phase 1 clock starts
• Within 14 days: association notifies owners (state law)
• Within 180 days: Phase 1 report filed as an RCT record
• Within 180 days of Phase 1: Phase 2 report, if Phase 2 is required
• Within 45 days of each report: summary to owners (state law)

Milestone inspection rules in Tampa

• Phase I must be completed within 180 days after the owners receive the city's written notice under s. 5-110.9.8.
• Reports are filed in Accela Citizen Access, where a registered user applies for an RCT record, and each report must be performed, signed and sealed by a Florida design professional.
• The city's program page shows the 30-year trigger only and no 25-year rule for buildings near salt water, so bayfront towers on Bayshore and Harbour Island follow the same 30-year clock as inland buildings unless the city notifies otherwise.
• Buildings that should be in the program but have not received a notice are asked to contact CSDLSP@tampagov.net or 813-307-3980, and the city posts its Milestone Inspection Notification Letter.
• The city's page sets inspection deadlines but no repair deadline of its own, so the state rule applies, under which repairs for substantial structural deterioration must start within 365 days of the Phase II report.

How we handle milestone inspections in Tampa

Tampa keeps to the statute's shape with its own filing route. The city's notice starts a 180-day Phase I clock, Phase II follows within 180 days of the Phase I report, and both are filed by a Florida design professional as an RCT record in Accela. We get the engineer registered and the record opened early, because the clock does not stop while the account is set up.[1]

Permits for milestone inspections in Tampa

• City of Tampa Construction Services: Milestone notices, RCT filings in Accela and repair permits

When is a milestone inspection due?

By 31 December of the year the building reaches 30 years from its certificate of occupancy, and every 10 years after that. If the certificate date is not available, the building official's records of occupancy set the date. Buildings that turned 30 before 1 July 2022 were due before 31 December 2024, and those that turned 30 between 1 July 2022 and 31 December 2024 were due before 31 December 2025.[2]

Is it 25 years within 3 miles of the coast?

Not automatically any more. The 2022 law set 25 years for buildings within 3 miles of the coastline. The 2023 law (SB 154) replaced that with a local choice, so the local enforcement agency now decides whether local circumstances, such as proximity to salt water, require 25 years. Many South Florida departments chose to keep the 3-mile line; Tampa and Pinellas use 30 years. Check your own department.[2][4][5][6][1][7]

How do Phase 1 and Phase 2 work?

• The building department sends written notice by certified mail, return receipt requested.
• The association tells unit owners within 14 days, with the due date.
• Phase 1, a visual examination and qualitative assessment, is completed within 180 days of the notice, when the architect or engineer submits the report to the building department.
• Phase 2, with destructive or nondestructive testing, is required only if Phase 1 finds substantial structural deterioration. A progress report with a timeline is due within 180 days of the Phase 1 report.
• The association sends the inspector's summary to every owner within 45 days of receiving a report.
• Repairs for substantial structural deterioration must start within 365 days of the Phase 2 report.

Who performs the inspection?

An architect licensed under chapter 481 or an engineer licensed under chapter 471 who is authorized to practise in Florida. A team may do the work with an architect or engineer as the registered design professional in responsible charge, and all work and reports are signed and sealed by the qualified team member. We arrange and coordinate the inspection; the professional performs it and seals the report.[2]

Frequently asked questions