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Florida PE-led engineering for South Florida condominium boards, associations and property managers.
For boards and property managers
Florida law gives the association 180 days from receiving the notice to complete Phase 1, meaning a licensed engineer or architect has submitted the Phase 1 report to the building department. The association must also notify unit owners within 14 days of receiving the notice. Phase 1 is a visual inspection of the building's major structural components. If it finds no signs of substantial structural deterioration, Phase 2 is not required. In Broward, Miami-Dade and Boynton Beach the notice comes through the local recertification program, and the deadline printed on that notice is the one that governs.
Send us the notice first. A Fortis PE confirms the deadline on it, the scope the building department is asking for, and what your records already show.
F.S. §553.899(5)–(7)
F.S. §553.899 applies to buildings of three or more habitable stories that are wholly or partly condominium or cooperative residential property. The first inspection is due by December 31 of the year the building reaches 30 years from its certificate of occupancy, then every 10 years. A county or city building department may adopt a 25-year trigger.
F.S. §553.899(3); Miami-Dade County Code §8-11(f); Broward BORA Policy #05-05
The milestone inspection and the SIRS are two separate requirements.
A Fortis PE separates the three on first review of a board's records and reports which are current and which are due.
Phase 2 is triggered by findings, not by the building's age. If Phase 1 identifies substantial structural deterioration, Phase 2 follows: a closer inspection of the affected areas, which may include destructive or nondestructive testing at the least disruptive locations. A progress report with a completion timeline is due within 180 days of the Phase 1 report. The sealed Phase 2 report is what the board uses to plan repairs.
Phase 2 scope and cost follow from what Phase 1 found. A Fortis PE walks the board through the Phase 1 report before any Phase 2 engagement, so the association knows what it is funding and why.
F.S. §553.899(2)(b), (7)
Phase 1 pricing depends on building size, number of structures, access and the scope the building department requires. Fortis quotes each association after reviewing its records and the notice, and does not post a flat rate because every association's scope is different.
The association pays. How it funds the inspection, whether from reserves, a special assessment or a loan, is a decision for the board under its governing documents, with its counsel and CPA. The engineer does not advise on it.
Florida requirements reviewed: 2026-10-19
01 / Licensed FL PE Oversight
Every assessment is performed under the responsible charge of an active Florida Professional Engineer.
02 / Tri-County Jurisdictions
Prepared and filed to each jurisdiction's current requirements — milestone inspections under F.S. §553.899.
03 / Independent Advocacy
We diagnose.
We don't sell repairs.
No restoration contracting, no building-product sales, no contractor referral fees — so our findings protect your reserves, not a repair invoice.
04 / One Documented Standard
Inspection Report
Every finding photo-logged and carried into one PE-sealed report a board can act on.
The milestone inspection and the Structural Integrity Reserve Study are separate obligations under Florida law. They exist for different reasons. They run on different schedules. Reading one clock does not tell you what the other says.
The clocks below run on real statutory dates — §553.899 for the milestone inspection, §718.112(2)(g) for the SIRS. In Broward and Miami-Dade, the milestone clock is coupled to county recertification; the SIRS clock is not.
In Broward & Miami-Dade, county recertification is how the milestone clock is administered — SIRS runs on its own clock.
Hover any part of the building to see the service that answers it, what triggers it under Florida law, and what a typical scope covers. The full catalog is a click away.
Concrete restoration, balcony spalling, railing anchorage — the visible failures that drive complaints and lawsuits. This is the Phase 1 milestone inspection. In Broward and Miami-Dade, a current county recertification satisfies the milestone requirement.
The county recertification program satisfies the milestone inspection requirement in these two counties. SIRS is a separate obligation and is not replaced by recertification. In Palm Beach, the milestone inspection is administered directly under §553.899.
Local rule appliesIntake through close-out on a single timeline. Every stage owns a deliverable, an owner, and a date. Nothing about your project lives in someone's inbox.
Start your projectRelevant condo records and prior notices reviewed, so we know which requirements and deadlines apply to your building.
Scope memoEvery elevation, balcony, roof and garage slab walked and photographed by a licensed inspector — not a technician, not a subcontractor.
Photo recordObservation, evidence, recommendation, next step — signed by the engineer responsible for the work.
Signed reportWe stand in front of your board, translate every technical term on first use, and answer owners directly.
Board packetRestoration design, contractor selection support and construction administration through close-out.
Construction admin
The reporting of what was observed, unaltered by budget or preference.
Scope anchored to statute; evidence anchored to measurement.
Language a non-engineer can act on without a translator.
The willingness to be first on site and last to leave.
Consistency between what is promised and what is delivered.
A commercial relationship shaped by the other side's constraints.
Four active recertifications and milestone inspections across South Florida. Click any building to open the case record.
Selected active projects. Full portfolio linked below.
Selected project records. Fortis BuildSafe Solutions · Broward & Miami-Dade.
See the full project list →Founder
Founder and author of the Fortis Standard — the documented method every Fortis engineer works to, so the answer does not depend on which engineer shows up.
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Send the property details and Fortis will confirm which requirement applies and the scope of work involved. Prefer to talk? Call 954-756-6876.
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