Condo associations that secured initial approvals for state-funded storm-hardening grants are now discovering they may no longer qualify under tougher new requirements.
For the Pierpointe V Condo III in Pembroke Pines, the news has been devastating. The 24-unit complex was among 165 Florida condominiums initially approved for the My Safe Florida Condominium Pilot Program, which launched last November. But a recent bill awaiting the governor’s signature has introduced stricter qualification criteria, including a requirement that eligible buildings be at least three stories tall.
“It’s really unfortunate, and it’s a little bit disappointing,” said Dawn Munera, treasurer of Pierpointe V’s governing board, who submitted the application. “I was also surprised that none of the condominiums that applied for this have been approved for grants yet.”
The pilot program, modeled after the successful My Safe Florida Home initiative, was created in 2024 to help condominiums strengthen their properties against hurricanes. The program promised $2 in state funding for every $1 spent by associations on approved mitigation projects, up to $175,000 per property.
Applications were accepted for just six days before officials closed the portal after receiving 174 submissions – enough to potentially exhaust the $30 million budget if all applicants requested maximum funding. Of those applications, 165 were approved for the next step: inspections to determine specific improvement needs.
However, the Department of Financial Services confirmed Thursday that all applicants must meet the revised requirements in the amended legislation to receive funding. “Once the grant window is opened, all applications are subject to the provisions of law at the time of approval,” department spokesman Devin Galetta said.
The revised legislation imposes several new constraints. Besides the three-story minimum height requirement, windows must be established as common elements in a condo declaration rather than individually owned. Improvements must result in insurance discounts, and properties must have completed milestone inspections and Structural Integrity Reserve Studies.
According to Galetta, 52 of the 165 approved applicants have buildings under three stories, including Pierpointe V, meaning nearly a third of initially approved properties could be disqualified by this single new requirement.
Rep. Vicki Lopez, a Miami Republican who co-sponsored both the original and amended bills, defended the changes. Requirements added to the revised legislation resulted from “what we learned during the initial implementation phase,” she said. Lopez suggested that the department should have notified applicants that program amendments were likely and “only inspected buildings that were aligned with the provisions of the new bill” to avoid confusion.
The Pembroke Pines complex had postponed replacing its third roof after recently spending $142,000 on two others, hoping to use grant funds before hurricane season begins June 1. Each unit owner would have saved approximately $2,000 through the program.
Now Munera must reconvene her association’s owners. “I have to bring all these owners back in for another meeting and explain, ‘You know what? We haven’t fixed this roof for six months because we were waiting for the grant money. Now, it’s not going to come.'”
Some changes may benefit qualifying condos, including reducing the owner approval threshold from 100% to 75%, which Galetta described as addressing “a significant hurdle.” The revised program also increases allowable grant amounts per window and per square foot of roofing.
For properties that remain eligible, the process continues. Officials report that inspections of 378 buildings at 91 condo associations have been completed, though no grants have yet been awarded.
The application portal for the My Safe Florida Condominium Pilot Program closed after just six days in November 2024, with qualifying properties now facing a stricter review under the revised legislation.