What Is A Milestone Inspection In Florida?

A milestone inspection is a structural and life-safety inspection of a building’s load-bearing elements, required by Florida law and performed by a licensed engineer or architect who signs and seals the resulting report. §553.899 establishes the requirement for condominium and cooperative buildings three habitable stories or more, and was enacted by SB 4-D in 2022. The inspection is keyed to the building’s Certificate of Occupancy date rather than to a county timetable, and the sealed report is submitted to the local building department that enforces the statute.

Buildings three habitable stories or more must complete a milestone inspection at 30 years from the Certificate of Occupancy date, or at 25 years where the local enforcement agency requires it, and every 10 years after. The trigger is the Certificate of Occupancy date and local agency discretion — nothing else. The former coastal proximity rule, which triggered the inspection at 25 years for buildings within three miles of the coast, was repealed and does not apply.

Phase 1 is a visual inspection of the building’s structural systems and load-bearing elements, authored by the licensed engineer or architect and delivered as a sealed report. Phase 2 is triggered only when Phase 1 identifies substantial structural deterioration, and it may involve destructive or nondestructive testing and more detailed structural analysis.

Phase 2 is required within 180 days of Phase 1 report delivery if substantial structural deterioration is found. If repairs are needed, they must begin within 365 days after the local enforcement agency receives the Phase 2 report.

A milestone inspection must be performed by a licensed architect or professional engineer under §553.899. The engineer of record signs and seals the report under their Florida professional engineer license, which is what makes the report acceptable to the enforcement agency. Your assessment will be performed and sealed by a Fortis PE working to the Fortis Standard.

The milestone inspection report states the structural findings, classifies them by severity, documents them with photographs, and states whether a Phase 2 inspection is recommended. There is no pass or fail result. The report goes to the local enforcement agency — the building department — not to the condominium association alone.

A milestone inspection evaluates a building’s current structural condition under §553.899, on a trigger set by the Certificate of Occupancy date. A SIRS projects long-term repair and replacement costs under §718.112(2)(g)1, on a 10-year cycle set by the creation of the condominium under §718.112(2)(g)1. — separate statutes, separate triggers, separate scopes.

In Broward and Miami-Dade, the building departments that enforce §553.899 administer it through their county recertification programs, which cover structural and electrical systems. A qualifying building in those counties completes the recertification and does not commission a second milestone inspection. See milestone inspection vs. recertification.

The milestone inspection requirement is governed by §553.899, Florida Statutes, enacted by SB 4-D (2022) and enforced by local agencies — in South Florida, the municipal and county building departments with jurisdiction, which in Broward and Miami-Dade administer the requirement through their recertification programs. Fortis performs milestone inspections across Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach.

Common milestone inspection questions are answered in full on the milestone inspection service page.