Florida House OKs bill to prevent condominium collapses

By BRENDAN FARRINGTON
Associated Press

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The Florida House unanimously passed a bill that would require statewide recertification of any condo building above three stories high in response to the Surfside condominium collapse that killed 98 people. The legislation passed Thursday would require recertification after 30 years, or 25 years if the building is within 3 miles of the coast, and every 10 years thereafter. The Champlain Towers South was 40-years-old and was going through the 40-year-recertification process required by Miami-Dade County when it collapsed last June. At the time, Miami-Dade and Broward counties were the only two of the state’s 67 that had condominium recertification programs.