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Miami – (December 15, 2021) – State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle commentated that: “After listening to numerous building construction experts, evaluative panels and involved individuals, the Grand Jury came to a strong conclusion: save lives, not just money. I hope this report provides an effective pathway to do that.
The Grand Jury concluded that over the 40-year lifespan of the Champlain Towers South building, steps could have and should have been taken in a timely manner to ensure the structural integrity of the building. The deaths of 98 people are too high a price to pay to learn 4 very serious lessons:
• that the statute overseeing condominiums, the Florida Condominium Act, desperately needs serious revision;
• that state and local governments need to focus more attention on preventing Florida’s 1.5 million condominium units from structural deterioration that may endanger lives;
• that Florida’s condominium boards recognize the very serious responsibilities they have in preserving the structural life of their buildings and the lives of individual residents;
• and that the Florida Department of Business and Regulation (DBPR), which supervises condominium associations, be seriously restructured so that it may finally play a seriously constructive role in overseeing condominium governance.
Three and a half million Floridians live in condominiums, but only in South Florida have steps been taken to help safeguard the structural integrity of condominium buildings, and those procedures are undergoing intensive revamping. All Floridians, everywhere in the state, deserve to know that their condominium homes are, and will remain, safe.
Below is a link to the Miami-Dade Grand Jury 2021 Spring Term Report entitled “Surfside Condo Collapse: Recommendations to Make Buildings Safer”: https://bit.ly/SAOGrandJuryReports.
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For further information, please contact Ed Griffith, Public Information Officer, at (305) 547-0535 or EdGriffith@MiamiSAO.com.