What is a SIRS? A plain-English guide to condo reserve studies for Vero Beach owners

If you own a condo in Vero Beach, two sets of letters have probably shown up at your board meetings. One is the milestone inspection, which we covered earlier this week. The other is SIRS. It is the one that tends to show up in your budget.

SIRS stands for structural integrity reserve study. It is not an inspection to find out if the building is safe today. It is a savings plan. It looks at the big parts of the building, estimates how long each one will last, and says how much money the association should set aside so the cash is there when the bill comes due.

Which buildings need a SIRS

The rule lives in section 718.112(2)(g) of the Florida Statutes. According to the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR), which oversees condo associations, a residential condo association must complete a SIRS for every building that is three habitable stories or higher.

Smaller buildings are left out. DBPR lists the exclusions as buildings under three stories, and single-family, two-, three- or four-family dwellings with three or fewer habitable stories. So many one- and two-story villa communities around Vero do not need one, even if a condo association runs them. A building's age is counted from its certificate of occupancy.

What the study looks at

DBPR describes the SIRS as a visual-based budget planning tool. A qualified professional looks at the parts of the building the association maintains, estimates how much useful life each one has left, and lays out a funding plan. The items it must cover are:

• The roof.
• The structure, including load-bearing walls and primary structural systems.
• Fireproofing and fire protection systems.
• Plumbing.
• Electrical systems.
• Waterproofing and exterior painting.
• Windows and exterior doors.
• Any other item costing more than $25,000 to fix or replace whose failure would hurt the items above.

There is one shortcut. If the building had a milestone inspection in the past five years, DBPR says it may take the place of the SIRS visual inspection, as long as it meets the SIRS requirements.

The deadlines

For associations that existed on or before July 1, 2022, the first SIRS was due by December 31, 2025. After that, it repeats at least every 10 years.

There was one exception for buildings with a milestone inspection due on or before December 31, 2026. DBPR says those associations may do the SIRS at the same time as the milestone inspection, but the SIRS can never be finished later than December 31, 2026. That date is about two months away.

Once the association gets the finished study, it has 45 days to report it to DBPR through its online account. DBPR says it checks the process, such as whether a licensed professional did the work. It does not check the numbers in the report.

Why your dues may have gone up

For years, many Florida condo owners voted each year to waive or cut reserves to keep dues low. That door is now mostly closed for the big items. DBPR says that for budgets adopted on or after December 31, 2024, owners may still vote to waive other reserves, but not the SIRS items. Associations that used a waiver on an earlier budget had to start funding the SIRS plan on January 1, 2026.

The law does not demand that reserves be full on day one. DBPR says the association must set aside enough each year so the reserve account does not fall below zero when the repairs are due. Starting in 2026, items that cost $25,000 or more must also factor in inflation.

There are narrow exceptions. A board may pause or reduce reserve contributions if the local building official declares the whole building uninhabitable after a natural emergency. And for a limited window, an association that finished a milestone inspection in the past two calendar years can pause contributions to pay for the repairs that inspection found. That takes board action plus a majority of all voting interests, can last no more than two budgets in a row, and a new SIRS must be done before contributions start again.

Locally, owners have felt this. In a December 2024 report in Vero Beach 32963, the president of a condo association on A1A in Indian River Shores warned that the rules could mean large assessments, higher monthly fees or large loans for some buildings.

What to do as a Vero Beach condo owner

1. Find out if your building is three habitable stories or taller. If it is not, the SIRS rule likely does not apply, though regular reserve rules still might.
2. Ask your manager or board for a copy of the most recent SIRS. If your association has 25 or more units, check its website first.
3. Read the summary page. Look for each item's remaining useful life, its estimated cost, and the yearly amount the study recommends saving.
4. Ask the board three questions: Was the SIRS finished, and when? Was it reported to DBPR within 45 days? How does this year's budget fund what the study recommends?
5. If a big item is due soon and the reserve is short, ask how the board plans to cover it, and when owners will hear about it.
6. Selling or buying? Make sure the buyer gets the SIRS. Florida law makes it part of the records a buyer is entitled to.
7. Have questions about how your association followed the process? DBPR's condo information site has an FAQ, and since July 1, 2025 it can take complaints about SIRS completion and reporting.

A higher reserve line is not fun to see. But the idea behind the SIRS is simple: save a little every year so the roof or the balconies do not become one giant bill all at once. Knowing what your building's study says puts you in a much better spot at the next budget meeting.