Bipartisan Lawmakers Reintroduce Bill to Expand FHA Financing for Condo Repairs

A bipartisan group of lawmakers has reintroduced the Making Condos Safer and Affordable Act to expand financing options for critical safety and rehabilitation projects in condominium buildings, Newsweek reported. Democratic Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida and Republican Representative María Elvira Salazar introduced the bill.

It aims to amend the National Housing Act to authorize insurance of certain mortgages to finance repairs and improvements to condominium projects.

The legislation would allow individual condo owners to use FHA 203(k) loans to cover special assessments imposed for structural and safety-related repairs. It would also expand federal loan insurance available to private lenders and authorize the FHA to insure condominium association rehabilitation loans under Section 234 of the National Housing Act.

Those association loans could cover repairs, renovations, replacements, and improvements to shared infrastructure and common areas.

Legislation identical to the measure was first introduced in 2023 and referred to the House Financial Services Committee without receiving a vote. The proposal follows the 2021 collapse of the 12-story Champlain Towers South condominium in Surfside, Florida, which claimed 98 lives.

Florida state law now requires older condominium buildings at least three stories tall to undergo milestone structural inspections and maintain larger reserve funds.

"Five years ago, an unimaginable but entirely preventable tragedy rocked our South Florida community with the collapse of Surfside's Champlain Towers, claiming 98 innocent lives," Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz said. " "As we honor those we lost, we must take action to help prevent another disaster," Representative María Elvira Salazar said.