Florida Residents Are Outraged As Senate Leader Refuses to Call Special Session to Solve Catastrophic Condo Crisis

Floridians have expressed their outrage after Florida Senate President Kathleen Passidomo sent out a memorandum to her fellow colleagues and explained that she would not call for a special legislative session.

In the last few years, condo fees and monthly payments have been skyrocketing as condo associations rush to meet an upcoming December 31 deadline.

This is believed to be Florida’s most severe real estate crisis in decades. One condo in Saint Petersburg was originally listed at $1.2 million but has since gone down to $715,000.

These regulations were first passed after the tragic Surfside condo collapse which resulted in the deaths of 98 people.

To keep a tragedy like Surfside from ever happening again, new regulations were passed in Florida to hold condo associations responsible and ensure they have enough money in their reserves to pay for these potential special assessments and maintenance.

However, condo associations have put the burden of these assessments on condo owners. This has resulted in many Floridians having to pay hundreds — if not thousands and tens of thousands.

This condo owner has had to pay these monthly payments to meet the whopping $81,000 assessment. This payment will be spread out over the next 20 years.

The issue many homeowners are facing is that they love their condo. They wouldn’t have bought it if they didn’t love it. They love the tranquility that it brings, as well as being right next to the coast.

Teixeira first purchased her condo 14 years ago. She’s never seen added fees like this before. She, along with so many other condo owners, are struggling to afford these skyrocketing prices.

This is the harsh reality for many condo owners: do they stay and pay the money so they can live in a safe building, or do they sell up and move to a property where they can afford to buy food?

HOA fees have become so high that many retirees are being forced to return to work just so that they can afford the payments. This is after spending years working in the hope they could spend their golden years relaxing in their condo.

Due to the stress many condo owners are facing, there have been many calls for state legislators to delay some of the new law’s requirements in the hope they will revise them.

As many condo owners cannot afford to pay these incredibly high monthly fees, many people are trying to sell their property. Condo sale listings have skyrocketed, as a result.

Not only are people refusing to purchase a Florida condo, but others have started the buying process only to cancel the home purchase agreement at the last minute.

As this deadline nears, and as the condo market continues to face massive difficulties, many Floridians have called for the legislature to hold a special session.

Unfortunately for many of these condo owners, Senate President Passidomo has refused to hold a special legislative session.

Passidomo has expressed her worries that “misconceptions and inaccuracies” about the new condo legislation are being spread, and she wants to stop these rumors.

Passidomo further explained that no law is perfect — and this is an example of that belief.

The earliest action might be taken is after the November 2024 presidential elections. Passidomo has said lawmakers should wait until then to take up the issue.

Passidomo believes that the most important time is allowing these new changes time to be fully implemented, hoping that the chaos currently ensuing in the Sunshine State will have died down by then.

Incoming State President Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula, has mirrored Passidomo’s statement. He believes that committee weeks and the regular session are the times to discuss this issue.

Former State Senator Jeff Brandes has demanded immediate action from the state legislature to prevent some condo owners from experiencing financial ruin.

The issue for condo owners struggling with the fees is that public safety has to be the main priority. Politicians know people are struggling but don’t seem to be doing much about it.

Calls for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to call for a special session have also grown. DeSantis has stated that he has encouraged state lawmakers to help people and fix the law.