Infrastructure

Common interest community (CIC) infrastructure,  replacement reserve planning and reserve funding go hand-in-hand.  These references have you covered!

Structural integrity, safety and habitability:

What do YOU think?

Given the recent condominium collapse tragedy in Surfside, Florida and the results of a poll indicating that over 1/3 of reserve studies fail to include all components that require maintenance, repair and replacement not otherwise accounted for in operating budgets, what are the solutions?  Infrastructure inspections are one piece of the puzzle.  Squabbles over spending, decisions to willingly exclude components from reserve studies and underfunded reserves all play a role.  Huge special assessments and owner frustration all appear to have contributed to the catastrophe in Surfside.   

...One solution might be legislation.  The Common Interest Community Association Safety Act (CICASA) would, as an example from WA State, supersede RCWs 64.30.070, 64.34.382 and 64.90.550 (Reserve Study Contents), 64.34.388 (Reserve Study Decision-Making), RCW 64.38.085, 64.34.390 and 64.90.560 (Reserve Account & Reserve Study Disclosure & Liability) and RCW 64.38.090 and 64.34.392 (Reserve Study Exceptions) by requiring that all reserve studies include all components that impact the structural integrity, safety and/or habitability of a property that are not otherwise accounted for in the annual operating budget of an association.  The Act would:

• empower and require professional reserve study companies to include components that that impact the structural integrity, safety and/or habitability of a property

• require independent third-party consultation about the aforementioned components every 10 years

• make both volunteer directors and reserve study companies legally responsible for what's published in a reserve study