To all Century Village and Associations important issues to consider.

Stewart Richland

Two important issues were discussed at the UCO Executive Board meeting held yesterday that must be addressed by  every Condominium Association here in Century Village.

The first issue deals with the retro fitting of fire sprinkler systems in all condo units. The second issue deals with  infrastructure elements that focuses on the deteriorating condition of concrete walk ways, hand rails and rusted rebar supports.

CHAPTER 718 FLORIDA STATUTES THE CONDOMINIUM ACT

Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares, And Mobile Homes Northwood Centre 1940 North Monroe Street Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1030

The information below is found on page 22 of the Florida Business/Professional regulations for Condominiums.

I have taken the liberty to highlight the passages that explain what an Association can do to “op-out” of this very costly retro fitting requirement.  The important issue here is that all Associations must act on this issue prior to the December 31, 2016 deadline date.  Based on the cost to retrofit, it is reasonable to assume that all our Century Village Associations will opt out of this requirement. 

However, what is vital is that each Association follow the opt out instructions outlined below in order to protect their Association from any action that could be taken by the state of Florida.

(l) Certificate of compliance.—A provision that a certificate of compliance from a licensed electrical contractor or electrician may be accepted by the association’s board as evidence of compliance of the condominium units with the applicable fire and life safety code must be included. Notwithstanding chapter 633 or of any other code, statute, ordinance, administrative rule, or regulation, or any interpretation of the foregoing, an association, residential condominium, or unit owner is not obligated to retrofit the common elements, association property, or units of a residential condominium with a fire sprinkler system in a building that has been certified for occupancy by the applicable governmental entity if the unit owners have voted to forego such retrofitting by the affirmative vote of a majority of all voting interests in the affected condominium. The local authority having jurisdiction may not require completion of retrofitting with a fire sprinkler system before January 1, 2020. By December 31, 2016, a residential condominium association that is not in compliance with the requirements for a fire sprinkler system and has not voted to forego retrofitting of such a system must initiate an application for a building permit for the required installation with the local government having jurisdiction demonstrating that the association will become compliant by December 31, 2019. 1. A vote to forego retrofitting may be obtained by limited proxy or by a ballot personally cast at a duly called membership meeting, or by execution of a written consent by the member, and is effective upon recording a certificate attesting to such vote in the public records of the county where the condominium is located. The association shall mail or hand deliver to each unit owner written notice at least 14 days before the membership meeting in which the vote to forego retrofitting of the required fire sprinkler system is to take place. Within 30 days after the association’s opt-out vote, notice of the results of the opt-out vote must be mailed or hand delivered to all unit owners. Evidence of compliance with this notice requirement must be made by affidavit executed by the person providing the notice and filed among the official records of the association. After notice is provided to each owner, a copy must be provided by the current owner to a new owner before closing and by a unit owner to a renter before signing a lease

2. If there has been a previous vote to forego retrofitting, a vote to require retrofitting may be obtained at a special meeting of the unit owners called by a petition of at least 10 percent of the voting interests. Such a vote may only be called once every 3 years. Notice shall be provided as required for any regularly called meeting of the unit owners, and must state the purpose of the meeting. Electronic transmission may not be used to provide notice of a meeting called in whole or in part for this purpose.

3. As part of the information collected annually from condominiums, the division shall require condominium associations to report the membership vote and recording of a certificate under this subsection and, if retrofitting has been undertaken, the per-unit cost of such work. The division shall annually report to the Division of State Fire Marshal of the Department of Financial Services the number of condominiums that have elected to forego retrofitting

4. Notwithstanding s. 553.509, a residential association may not be obligated to, and may forego the retrofitting of, any improvements required by s.553.509(2) upon an affirmative vote of a majority of the voting interests in the affected condominium. (m) Common elements; limited power to convey.—

Please note that there is some confusion over retrofitting buildings that are considered high rise structures.  Use Google to connect with the current fire department regulations for multi-storied buildings.

Every Condo owner must become aware of their environment.  Every unit owner should show due diligence when inspecting their apartments and their outside environment.  When you see something that does not seem right, notify a member of the board so they can act upon it.  The problem arises when an owner sees changes in their surroundings, and ignores it. This is dangerous to the safety to all the residents. Many of the problems are hidden.  Such as cracked and stained concrete could be a result of corroding re-bar and deteriorating concrete. The best advice that can be given to any association is to call in an expert to determine if there is a problem, and if there is one act quickly.

In evaluating concrete problems, one of the important decisions home inspectors must make is determining whether a problem is the result of conditions that have stabilized with a low chance of continuing future problems, or whether the conditions that caused the problem are such that there is a high probability that problems will continue or worsen. The goal of inspection or quality control programs is to ensure that contract documents and building codes are followed.

Some causes of concrete and re-bar issues are:

Steel Corrosion

Corrosion of embedded steel is the most common cause of concrete problems. As steel corrodes, the corrosion product expands, and this expansion can crack concrete and cause sections to break loose in flakes. Steel is typically protected by a thin film that develops as part of a chemical reaction with cement. This coating, called passivity, lowers the rate of corrosion to a point at which it becomes insignificant.  Several conditions can damage the passive coating and dramatically increase the rate at which reinforcement steel corrodes.

Leaching by water.

Since most concrete is porous, CO₂ will be slowly absorbed by the surface and find its way deeper into the concrete.  Also, water will slowly diffuse through it. If steel has inadequate concrete cover, usually 1-1/2 inches minimum, the pH of the concrete encasing the steel may be lowered to the point at which the passive layer is damaged or destroyed and the rate of the steel’s corrosion may increase dramatically.

Pictured below are just some conditions that develop over time and must be addressed.

The issues addressed in this article are important.  Please take them seriously.  Become proactive. 

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