Special assessments key to condominium safety

The partial collapse of the Champlain Towers South condominium in Surfside on June 24 is an unspeakable tragedy.

However, the calls for stronger building codes, more frequent inspections and more in-depth engineering reports, while necessary, are not enough to prevent a future tragedy.

During my 24 years in the Florida Legislature, I represented primarily condominium residents. Condominium safety was always a controversial issue with those residents.

Allow me to share an example of that controversy.

State and local fire departments recommended that all condominium buildings have a sprinkler system, which I fully supported.

Yet, I received a lot of negative feedback from condo residents.

Why?

Because of the cost to install the sprinklers and the impact that cost would have on the residents and condo associations.

I continued to support the fire safety recommendations because they were necessary, and because I did not want to wake up one morning and read about people perishing in a fire that a sprinkler system could have prevented.

This example points to a major problem of condominium safety that must be addressed as we search for ways to prevent a future tragedy.

Condominium associations and individual owners are not willing to make necessary repairs in their buildings because of the financial expenditures.

Will a tragedy like the building collapse in Surfside be the alarm necessary to motivate condominium boards and residents to pay attention to safety issues in their buildings?