Last updated 2026-07-24
TL;DR
A structural integrity reserve study (SIRS) is a licensed inspection of a condo building's major structural components, done at least every 10 years, that sets no-waiver reserve funding for those items under Florida Statutes 718.112. Kissimmee is inland, so it's exempt from the 3-story milestone inspection rule, but SIRS applies statewide to condos 3 stories and up regardless of coastal location.
What is a reserve study, and how is it different from a SIRS?
A reserve study is a financial planning document. Someone (often an engineer, sometimes a reserve specialist) looks at everything the association is responsible for maintaining, estimates how long each item will last and what it costs to replace, and builds a funding schedule so the association isn't caught flat-footed when the roof or the parking lot needs replacing. Most Florida HOAs have done some version of this informally for decades. It's a budgeting tool, not a legal mandate, unless your governing documents or a statute say otherwise. A structural integrity reserve study (SIRS) is a specific, narrower, statutory requirement created by SB 4-D in 2022 and refined by SB 154 in 2023, following the Champlain Towers South collapse in Surfside in June 2021. A SIRS only covers structural and life-safety components: roof, load-bearing walls, primary structural members, floor, foundation, fireproofing and fire protection systems, plumbing, electrical, waterproofing, and windows and doors, among other listed items [1]. It has to be performed by a licensed engineer or architect, and it has to happen at least once every 10 years for condo buildings 3 stories or taller [1]. So think of it this way: every SIRS is a reserve study, but not every reserve study is a SIRS. A condo association can (and usually should) still get a full reserve study covering paint, landscaping, pool equipment, and paving, on top of the narrower SIRS for structural items. HOAs (single-family and townhome associations that aren't condos) are not subject to the SIRS requirement at all under current law, though some choose to do a reserve study anyway for good budgeting. For a walkthrough of what belongs in a full study, see our reserve study guide.
What is a reserve study for an HOA, specifically?
For a homeowners association, a reserve study is a voluntary (unless your documents require it) analysis of the shared components the HOA maintains, roads, clubhouse, pool, gates, drainage, roofs on common structures, and so on. It projects the remaining useful life of each item, an estimated replacement cost, and a savings schedule to fund it without a surprise special assessment. Florida's SIRS statute (718.112) applies to condominiums, not HOAs. HOAs fall under Chapter 720, which does not currently impose a mandatory structural inspection or SIRS-style reserve requirement [2]. Some HOA boards get confused because they hear "reserve study" and "milestone inspection" thrown around together in the news; if your association is a homeowners association governing single-family homes or townhomes (not condominium units), the 718 structural reserve mandate simply doesn't reach you. Check your declaration, though. Many well-run HOAs require a reserve study by rule or by lender requirements (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac ask about reserve adequacy on condo project reviews, and increasingly on some HOA financing too). For HOA-specific guidance, see our HOA reserve study article.
What is an HOA assessment, and how is it different from a special assessment?
An assessment is just the regular fee owners pay to fund the association's budget: landscaping, insurance, management, utilities, and reserves. Florida Statutes 720.301 defines an assessment as a share of the funds required for the payment of common expenses, which the association levies against each parcel owner [3]. Every owner pays it, on a schedule set by the budget, usually monthly or quarterly. A special assessment is a one-time (or limited-duration) additional charge, levied outside the normal budget cycle, usually because something expensive came up that reserves didn't cover: a roof failure, storm damage, a big structural repair identified in a SIRS or milestone inspection. Boards typically have to follow notice requirements before levying one, and in a condo, 718.112(2)(c) requires specific board meeting notice for a meeting where a special assessment will be considered [1]. Here's the connection that matters for Kissimmee boards facing an aging building: if your reserves are underfunded (which is extremely common) and a SIRS or engineer's report turns up a six-figure structural repair, a special assessment is very often how that gap gets closed. That's why funding reserves properly now is cheaper, in almost every real case, than paying for the same repair later through an assessment plus financing costs. For more on how these show up on an owner's ledger, read HOA special assessment.
How much should an HOA (or condo) have in reserves?
There's no single dollar figure; the honest answer is "enough to fully fund the replacement cost of every reserve component by the time it needs replacing, prorated by remaining useful life." That's the standard actuaries and reserve professionals use, sometimes called "full funding." A rougher industry rule of thumb some reserve specialists use is that a healthy association keeps reserves at 70% or more of the fully-funded level; anything much below 30% is considered a red flag by many lenders and reserve professionals, though this isn't a statutory line, it's an industry convention from firms like Association Reserves and the Community Associations Institute. For Florida condominiums specifically, the law changed the rules dramatically. Starting with fiscal year 2025 (with a few limited relief provisions passed in 2024, see below), condo associations can no longer vote to waive or reduce reserve funding for the components covered by a SIRS. Under 718.112(2)(f), reserves for SIRS-required components must be funded at the full amount identified by the study, member vote or not [1]. That's a hard break from the old rule, where owners could vote annually to underfund or waive reserves almost entirely. A quick 2024 legislative note: SB 1103 gave some limited flexibility, including allowing associations to use lines of credit or partially delay funding in narrow circumstances, and clarified milestone inspection deadlines tied to certificate of occupancy dates. If your board is counting on any kind of waiver or delay, don't assume it; read the current statute language and confirm with counsel, because these provisions have been amended multiple times since 2022 and will likely be amended again. See our Florida condo reserve fund relief piece for the latest on what relief options exist and how narrow they are.
How much does a reserve study cost in Florida?
| SIRS (structural only) | $3,000 to $15,000+ | Licensed FL engineer or architect | Yes, condos 3+ stories, 718.112 [1] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full reserve study (all components) | $1,500 to $6,000+ (often bundled with SIRS) | Reserve specialist or engineer | No (unless docs require it) | |
| Milestone inspection, Phase 1 | $3,000 to $10,000+ | Licensed FL engineer or architect | Yes, condos/co-ops 3+ stories per 553.899 [5] | |
| Milestone inspection, Phase 2 (if triggered) | Often 2 to 5x Phase 1 cost | Licensed FL engineer or architect | Only if Phase 1 finds substantial deterioration | These are planning ranges, not quotes. Get your specific building priced by a licensed professional. |
For a full-building SIRS performed by a licensed engineer, costs typically run from roughly $3,000 to $15,000+ depending on building size, number of components, unit count, and how much of the building requires invasive or destructive testing to inspect (behind walls, under slabs, etc.). Larger high-rises or buildings needing extensive concrete or rebar testing can run higher. There is no statewide fee schedule; DBPR does not set or cap SIRS or milestone inspection fees [4]. A broader, non-structural reserve study (covering paint, paving, pool equipment, roofing on top of the SIRS items) usually adds a separate cost, often in the $1,500 to $6,000 range for a mid-size condo or HOA, though very large properties with dozens of components can cost more. Get at least two or three engineer/reserve-specialist quotes; prices vary a lot by region and by how much on-site testing (like a garage slab probe) the scope includes. Here's a rough comparison of what boards typically budget for each type of study: | Study type | Typical cost range | Who performs it | Required by statute? |
What does Kissimmee's inland location change about milestone inspections?
Kissimmee sits in Osceola County, well inland from the coast, and that matters for one specific statute, not for SIRS. Florida's milestone inspection law (553.899) sets the initial inspection deadline at 30 years after the building's certificate of occupancy, except for buildings located within three miles of the coastline, which must be inspected at 25 years due to the added deterioration risk from salt air and humidity [5]. Kissimmee condo buildings are not within three miles of the coast, so the 30-year milestone deadline applies rather than the 25-year coastal deadline. That gives inland Central Florida buildings, including Kissimmee, Poinciana, and much of Osceola County, five extra years before the first mandatory Phase 1 inspection compared to a comparable building in Miami Beach or Fort Lauderdale. After the initial inspection, buildings get reinspected every 10 years [5]. The SIRS requirement, though, does not have a coastal exception. It applies to all condominiums 3 stories or taller, statewide, on a flat 10-year cycle, regardless of distance from salt water [1]. So a Kissimmee condo board can relax slightly on milestone timing but shouldn't assume the same slack applies to SIRS. Check your building's certificate of occupancy date with the Osceola County building department to nail down your exact milestone deadline, since the clock starts there, not from when the building was first occupied informally.
Who has to get a SIRS, and when is it due?
Any residential condominium association with a building 3 stories or more in height, regardless of unit count, has to complete a SIRS. The statute requires it by December 31, 2024 for existing buildings that had reached their milestone inspection threshold, and then every 10 years after that, timed to when the building qualifies for its initial or next milestone inspection [1]. Buildings that received a certificate of occupancy after July 1, 1992 have their own recalculated schedule tied to the CO date under the 2023 and 2024 amendments. The statute is explicit that the SIRS "must be based on a visual inspection performed by an engineer authorized to practice engineering in this state or an architect authorized to practice architecture in this state" [1]. Boards themselves, and reserve companies without a licensed engineer or architect on the report, cannot self-certify a SIRS. This is one place where a board's job is to hire, schedule, and follow through on the professional's findings, not to substitute its own judgment for the inspection itself. Once the SIRS is done, the association has to distribute a summary to owners and, per 718.112(2)(f), incorporate the SIRS-identified reserve amounts into the next fiscal year's budget without a waiver vote available for those specific line items [1]. That's the part that trips up a lot of boards used to the old waiver process. If your board is trying to keep track of which inspection is due when, and which components need full reserve funding versus which can still be voted on annually, that's exactly the kind of scheduling and document-organizing problem the $199 Building-Specific Board Compliance Kit is built to help with. It doesn't replace your engineer or your attorney; it keeps deadlines, past inspection reports, and reserve line items in one place so nothing falls through when board members turn over.
Are HOA special assessments tax deductible?
For most owners, no. Special assessments for capital improvements, repairs, or structural work on a personal residence are generally not tax deductible under IRS rules, in the same way regular condo or HOA fees for a primary residence aren't deductible. The IRS treats these as nondeductible personal living expenses, similar to regular maintenance costs, per IRS Publication 530 guidance on homeowner expenses [6]. There are two situations where the tax treatment can differ, and a licensed tax professional (not this article, not your board) needs to confirm specifics for the owner's situation. First, if the unit is a rental property, special assessments for repairs may be deductible as a business expense in the year paid, and assessments for capital improvements may need to be depreciated over time rather than deducted immediately, per IRS guidance on rental property expenses [6]. Second, if part of the assessment funds a casualty-loss-related repair (say, storm damage) and the owner itemizes, there may be a partial casualty loss deduction available under IRC Section 165, though the rules tightened significantly after the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act limited personal casualty losses mostly to federally declared disaster areas [7]. Boards should not give owners tax advice on assessments. Point owners to a CPA or tax attorney and keep clean, itemized records of what the assessment funded (structural repair versus amenity upgrade versus insurance deductible) since that breakdown matters for whatever the owner's accountant decides.
What happens if a Kissimmee condo board skips or delays its SIRS?
Nothing pleasant. Once the SIRS is due and unperformed, the association is out of compliance with 718.112, which exposes the board to several real risks: potential DBPR complaints or investigation (DBPR's Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes handles condo compliance issues) [4], difficulty getting or renewing master insurance policies since many carriers now ask for milestone and SIRS documentation before binding coverage, and trouble at resale, since buyers' lenders increasingly require SIRS status as part of condo project review. There's also a practical reason to not delay: the SIRS drives your legally-required reserve funding levels. If you skip it, you don't get to skip the underlying obligation to maintain the building safely, you just lose the documented, engineer-backed number that should be driving your budget. Boards that put this off tend to end up doing the study anyway, later, under worse conditions (deferred maintenance has usually gotten more expensive, and the board has less runway to plan a phased assessment instead of a shock one). If your association has never had a SIRS or full reserve study and isn't sure where it stands relative to its milestone deadline, the fastest fix is contacting a Florida-licensed engineer or architect experienced in SIRS work and getting a proposal on the calendar. Waiting rarely saves money; it just moves the bill to a worse year.
How does a SIRS fit with a milestone inspection, and does Kissimmee need both?
Yes, if your Kissimmee condo building is 3 stories or taller, you need both, and they serve different purposes. The milestone inspection (553.899) is a structural safety inspection focused on whether the building is sound; it's triggered at 30 years (inland, like Kissimmee) or 25 years (coastal), then every 10 years after [5]. A Phase 1 milestone inspection is a visual check; if the engineer finds "substantial structural deterioration," a more invasive Phase 2 inspection follows. The SIRS (718.112) is a reserve-funding document. It looks at many of the same structural components but exists to generate a dollar-based funding schedule so the association can't legally underfund those items. Many engineering firms bundle the two studies together for efficiency, since they're often inspecting the same roof, foundation, and structural elements anyway, but they produce two separate deliverables with two separate statutory purposes. A Kissimmee board doing both around the same time (say, at year 30 for an inland building) can often negotiate a combined engineering contract that covers both scopes for less than hiring two firms separately. Worth asking about when you request proposals. For background on how these two studies interact with your budget, see reserve study for condo association.
What should Kissimmee boards do if the SIRS finds a big repair bill?
First, don't panic-vote a huge lump-sum special assessment before you've looked at every funding option. Boards typically have three or four real levers: raise regular assessments gradually, levy a special assessment (lump sum or installment plan), use a line of credit or bank loan secured against future assessment income, or some combination. Under 2024's SB 1103 amendments, associations facing SIRS-driven funding shortfalls got some limited additional flexibility, including clearer authority to use financing (loans or lines of credit) to cover the funding requirement rather than forcing an immediate lump-sum special assessment [1]. This doesn't waive the underlying obligation to reach full funding, it just changes the mechanism and timeline in narrow ways. Confirm exactly what's available for your association's specific circumstances with your association's counsel, since this is an area the legislature keeps revising almost every session. Second, get real quotes and a phased repair plan from the same engineer who did your SIRS, or a qualified contractor, before setting the assessment amount. Boards sometimes over- or under-assess because they used a rough estimate rather than a firm bid. Third, communicate early and often with owners. A special assessment that arrives as a surprise generates way more anger (and sometimes litigation) than one owners saw coming for a year because the board explained the SIRS findings at annual meetings and in writing well ahead of the vote. For insurance angles that sometimes offset part of a structural repair bill, see condo special assessment insurance.
Frequently asked questions
What is a reserve study?
A reserve study is a professional assessment of an association's common-area components (roof, paving, pool equipment, and for condos, structural elements) that estimates remaining useful life and replacement cost, then builds a savings schedule. Florida condos 3+ stories must get a narrower version, the SIRS, covering only structural and life-safety items, under Florida Statutes 718.112 [1].
What is a reserve study for an HOA?
For an HOA, it's a voluntary financial planning study covering shared amenities like roads, clubhouses, pools, and common roofs, projecting when each will need replacement and how much to save. Florida's mandatory SIRS rule under Chapter 718 applies to condominiums, not HOAs, which fall under Chapter 720 with no equivalent structural reserve mandate currently in state law [2][3].
What is an HOA assessment?
An HOA assessment is the regular fee, usually monthly or quarterly, that owners pay to cover the association's shared expenses: insurance, landscaping, management, utilities, and reserve contributions. Florida Statutes 720.301 defines it as each parcel owner's share of common expenses [3]. A special assessment is a separate, one-time or limited charge outside the regular budget.
What are HOA assessments used for?
Regular assessments fund ongoing operating costs (insurance, landscaping, management, utilities) and reserve savings for future big-ticket replacements. Special assessments cover unexpected or underfunded costs, like a storm-damaged roof or a structural repair a SIRS or milestone inspection uncovered that reserves didn't cover. Both are levied by the board under authority in the governing documents and Florida Statutes.
How much should an HOA have in reserves?
There's no fixed legal minimum for HOAs under Chapter 720. Reserve professionals generally consider 70% or more of the fully-funded replacement cost healthy, with anything under roughly 30% considered a warning sign by lenders and reserve specialists, though this is industry convention, not statute. Florida condos face a stricter, statutory full-funding requirement for SIRS components under 718.112(2)(f) [1].
How much does a reserve study cost?
A SIRS by a licensed engineer typically costs $3,000 to $15,000 or more depending on building size and testing needed. A broader reserve study covering non-structural components often adds $1,500 to $6,000. Costs vary widely by region, unit count, and whether invasive testing (probing slabs or walls) is part of the scope, so get multiple quotes.
Are HOA special assessments tax deductible?
Generally no, for a personal residence, special assessments are treated like nondeductible personal living expenses under IRS rules [6]. Exceptions can apply for rental properties (as a business expense or depreciated capital improvement) or in limited casualty-loss situations tied to federally declared disasters. Owners should confirm specifics with a CPA, not the board.
Does Kissimmee require milestone inspections since it's not coastal?
Yes. Florida's milestone inspection law applies statewide to condo and co-op buildings 3 stories or taller; only the deadline changes based on coastal proximity. Kissimmee, being inland in Osceola County, follows the 30-year initial deadline rather than the 25-year coastal deadline under Florida Statutes 553.899 [5].
Is a SIRS required for buildings under 3 stories?
No. Florida's SIRS and milestone inspection requirements both apply specifically to condominium and cooperative buildings 3 stories or taller, per Florida Statutes 718.112 and 553.899 [1][5]. Buildings under 3 stories aren't subject to these statutory mandates, though associations can still choose to do a voluntary reserve study for good budgeting.
Who is qualified to perform a SIRS in Florida?
Only a Florida-licensed engineer or architect can perform a SIRS. The statute requires it be "based on a visual inspection performed by an engineer authorized to practice engineering in this state or an architect authorized to practice architecture in this state" [1]. Boards or reserve companies without a licensed engineer or architect signing off cannot self-certify one.
Can a condo association still waive reserve funding in Florida?
Not for SIRS-covered structural components. Since fiscal year 2025, Florida condos cannot vote to waive or reduce reserves for items identified in a required SIRS, per 718.112(2)(f) [1]. Some limited financing flexibility (lines of credit, phased funding) was added by 2024's SB 1103, but the underlying full-funding obligation remains; confirm current details with counsel.
What's the difference between a milestone inspection and a SIRS?
A milestone inspection (553.899) checks whether the building is structurally safe, triggered at 25 or 30 years depending on coastal distance. A SIRS (718.112) uses similar structural data to set mandatory, non-waivable reserve funding levels for those components. Many buildings need both, often bundled into one engineering engagement, but they produce separate legal deliverables [1][5].
Sources
- Florida Senate, Florida Statutes 718.112: SIRS scope, 10-year cycle, licensed engineer/architect requirement, and non-waivable reserve funding for structural components
- Florida Senate, Florida Statutes Chapter 720: Homeowners associations are governed by Chapter 720, which does not impose a SIRS or mandatory structural reserve study requirement
- Florida Senate, Florida Statutes 720.301: Definition of an HOA assessment as each owner's share of common expenses
- Florida DBPR, Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes: DBPR oversees condo association compliance; no statewide fee schedule set for SIRS or milestone inspections
- Florida Senate, Florida Statutes 553.899: Milestone inspection deadlines of 30 years (or 25 years within three miles of coastline) and 10-year reinspection cycle
- Internal Revenue Service, Publication 530: Homeowner association fees and special assessments for a personal residence are generally nondeductible personal expenses
- Internal Revenue Service, Topic No. 515, Casualty, Disaster, and Theft Losses: Personal casualty loss deductions are now largely limited to federally declared disaster areas after the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act