Buying a Luxury Condo in Miami in 2026

A Miami condo tower faces two clocks: the Florida milestone inspection at 30 years and Miami-Dade County recertification, which starts at 25 years for coastal condo buildings built in 1998 or later.

Florida Statutes 553.899 covers any building three habitable stories or more held as a residential condominium or cooperative. The first milestone inspection is due by December 31 of the year the building reaches 30 years of age, counted from the certificate of occupancy, and every 10 years after that (Florida Statutes 553.899). The statute also lets a local enforcement agency move the first inspection to 25 years where local conditions such as proximity to salt water require it (Florida Statutes 553.899). Once the owners of a Miami building receive written notice, phase one of the inspection must be completed within 180 days (Florida Statutes 553.899).

Miami-Dade County runs its own recertification program under Section 8-11(f) of the Code of Miami-Dade County, and it starts coastal condo buildings built in 1998 or later at 25 years (Miami-Dade County). The county page also explains that there are 35 municipalities in Miami-Dade County and that each one's building official handles permitting, inspections and recertifications, so a tower inside the City of Miami deals with the city rather than the county (Miami-Dade County).

Within the City of Miami, recertification goes through the Unsafe Structures Section, Recertification Division of the Building Department at the Miami Riverside Center, 444 SW 2nd Ave, reachable at (305) 416-1177 (City of Miami). The city exempts single family homes, duplexes, and structures of 2,000 square feet or less with an occupancy load of ten or less, and owners who think a building is exempt email [email protected] and hear back within four weeks (City of Miami).

For budgets adopted on or after December 31, 2024, owners in a unit-owner-controlled Miami condo association that must obtain a structural integrity reserve study can no longer vote to skip or cut the reserves required for its structural items.

Florida Statutes 718.112 requires a residential condominium association, in Miami as anywhere in Florida, to have a structural integrity reserve study completed at least every 10 years for each building three habitable stories or higher (Florida Statutes 718.112). Associations that existed on or before July 1, 2022 and are controlled by unit owners had to finish that study by December 31, 2025 (Florida Statutes 718.112). The same section bars owners of those associations from voting to use reserve funds for any other purpose for a budget adopted on or after December 31, 2024 (Florida Statutes 718.112).

There is one temporary exception. For a budget adopted on or before December 31, 2028, a Miami condo association that completed a milestone inspection within the previous 2 calendar years may pause or reduce reserve contributions for no more than two consecutive annual budgets, to pay for repairs the milestone inspection recommends, if a majority of the total voting interests approve (Florida Statutes 718.112). The pause is not open to an association controlled by a developer (Florida Statutes 718.112).

A buyer of a new Miami condominium unit from a developer can cancel in writing within 15 days after signing and receiving every document Florida Statutes 718.503 requires, and that right cannot be waived.

The statute spells out the contract language: the agreement is voidable by delivering written notice within 15 days after the buyer signs and receives all of the items the developer must deliver, and any purported waiver of these voidability rights shall be of no effect (Florida Statutes 718.503). The developer may not close for 15 days after the agreement is signed and the documents are delivered (Florida Statutes 718.503). For a preconstruction tower in Edgewater or Brickell, the developer documents must include the inspector-prepared summary of any milestone inspection, or a statement that it is not complete or not required, and the most recent structural integrity reserve study or a matching statement (Florida Statutes 718.503).

A resale in an existing Miami building works differently. The buyer is entitled, at the seller's expense, to the declaration of condominium, the articles and bylaws, an annual financial statement and budget, the milestone inspection summary if applicable, the association's most recent structural integrity reserve study or a statement that none has been completed, and the Frequently Asked Questions and Answers document (Florida Statutes 718.503). Those papers include the building's milestone inspection summary, where one applies, and its reserve study status.

A Miami-Dade deed for a condo unit carries documentary stamp tax of 60 cents per $100 of consideration, and the county's 45 cent surtax is not due when the deed conveys only a single-family residence, which Florida law says may be a condominium unit.

The Florida Department of Revenue states that every Florida county except Miami-Dade pays 70 cents on each $100 of consideration, and that Miami-Dade pays 60 cents on each $100 (Florida Department of Revenue). Miami-Dade County also imposes a surtax of 45 cents on each $100, which is not due on a document that transfers only a single-family dwelling (Florida Department of Revenue). The statute behind that surtax says the single-family residence may be a condominium unit, a qualifying cooperative unit or a detached dwelling (Florida Statutes 201.031), so a deed that conveys only a condo unit as a single-family residence is outside the surtax. The department adds that all parties to the document are liable for the tax regardless of which party agrees to pay it (Florida Department of Revenue).

At those rates, a Miami-Dade condo deed with $1,000,000 of consideration carries $6,000 of state documentary stamp tax when the surtax is not due. The Florida Department of Revenue's own Miami-Dade example, a $500,000 vacant lot, owes $3,000 of documentary stamp tax and $2,250 of surtax, $5,250 in all, because that deed does not transfer a single-family residence (Florida Department of Revenue).

A Miami condo owner who lives in the unit as a permanent residence on January 1 can claim the homestead exemption from the Miami-Dade Property Appraiser by March 1, worth $50,722 of taxable value in tax year 2025.

The Miami-Dade Property Appraiser describes the exemption as up to $50,000 of taxable value: the first $25,000 applies to all taxing authorities and the second $25,000 excludes School Board taxes (Miami-Dade Property Appraiser). Amendment 5, approved by Florida voters in the November 5, 2024 general election, added an annual inflation adjustment to the second $25,000, so new and existing exemptions reflected $50,722 for tax year 2025 (Miami-Dade Property Appraiser). To qualify, an owner needs legal or equitable title and permanent residence on the property as of January 1 (Miami-Dade Property Appraiser).

Timely applications are accepted through March 1, and late filings may still be accepted up to the deadline printed on the TRIM Notice, usually 25 days after it is mailed (Miami-Dade Property Appraiser). The Miami-Dade Property Appraiser warns that an owner who fails to report a change in status can be back taxed for 10 years of exempted taxes, plus 15% interest per year and a penalty of 50% of the taxes exempted (Miami-Dade Property Appraiser). The Property Appraiser also tells owners not to jeopardize the exemption by renting the property (Miami-Dade Property Appraiser). Questions go to 305-375-4712 (Miami-Dade Property Appraiser).

A Miami condo bought with a federally backed mortgage in a Special Flood Hazard Area needs flood insurance, and the Miami-Dade County Flood Zone Hotline at 305-372-6466 confirms a property's zone.

The Miami-Dade County flood zone page states that flood insurance is required for any federally backed mortgage in a Special Flood Hazard Area (Miami-Dade County). The hotline answers Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Miami-Dade County). The FEMA maps in force for Miami-Dade became effective on September 11, 2009 (Miami-Dade County). Preliminary maps were published on February 25, 2021, but the county notes they may still change and are not currently effective (Miami-Dade County). As of October 15, 2026, the county page still lists the 2009 maps as the current ones. The county also notes that a flood policy does not go into effect until 30 days after purchase (Miami-Dade County).

Other guides in the Miami real estate section go further: the Brickell condos guide covers the Biscayne Bay high-rise district itself, and the Miami neighborhoods guide explains how the City of Miami divides its neighborhoods and how to check a property's zoning and historic status.

Last verified: October 15, 2026, on the Florida Department of Revenue, Florida Senate, Miami-Dade County, City of Miami and Miami-Dade Property Appraiser websites.