Two buyers can sign contracts in Boca Bay the same week, on properties two streets apart, and walk into entirely different disclosure obligations. One is closing on a townhome governed by a homeowners association under Chapter 720 of the Florida Statutes, a chapter that has never required a structural integrity reserve study or a milestone inspection. The other is closing on a condominium unit governed by Chapter 718, the chapter that Florida rewrote after the Champlain Towers South collapse and rewrote again with House Bill 913, effective July 1, 2025. Same community. Same closing table format. Completely different rulebook.
That difference rarely makes it into the generic "Florida condo reserve crisis" coverage that has dominated real estate headlines statewide. Most of that coverage treats every Florida condo purchase as if it now carries the same structural-inspection risk. In a community as varied as Boca Bay, where the Onbocagrande neighborhood guide describes housing that runs from beachfront villas and bayfront estates to Beach Village townhomes, that assumption breaks down fast. The right question for a buyer here isn't "does the new condo law apply." It's "which association governs this specific address, and does the building itself even trigger the stricter regime."
The Word That Decides Everything
Florida's milestone inspection and structural integrity reserve study requirements attach to buildings three or more stories in height, under Florida Statute 553.899. But the 2025 legislative session added a single word to that threshold: habitable. The requirement now counts habitable stories only, which excludes things like a ground-level open parking garage from the story count. A two-story building over an open carport reads differently under the statute than a three-story building of fully occupied floors, even if both look similar from the street.
That distinction matters directly for a community where condo product has historically been marketed as low-rise, single-level residences rather than mid-rise towers. It does not mean every condo building in Boca Bay falls under or outside the threshold automatically. It means the story count, and the certificate of occupancy date that anchors the age calculation, is a fact to confirm for the specific building in question rather than an assumption to carry over from statewide news coverage. A buyer who skips that confirmation is guessing at which set of obligations, and which set of costs, actually apply to the unit they're about to own.
Boca Bay Isn't One Rulebook, It's Several
Part of what makes this confirmation necessary is that Boca Bay is not managed by a single association. The Boca Bay Master Association, based at 801 Gulf Blvd in Boca Grande, oversees the community's shared infrastructure, including the private pier and the amenities tied to the Boca Bay Beach Club. Beneath that master structure sit separate sub-associations for different product types: Beach View at Boca Bay Homeowners Association and South Bay at Boca Bay Homeowners Association govern villa and townhome parcels under Chapter 720, while condo entities such as Harborside at Boca Bay operate under Chapter 718.
That layering is normal for a large planned community, but it means a buyer's due diligence has to happen at two levels rather than one. The master association's reserve health tells you about the shared amenities and common infrastructure. The specific sub-association's governing documents and reserve position, whether that's a Chapter 720 HOA or a Chapter 718 condo association, tell you about the obligations attached to the actual unit or lot you're buying. Asking only one association the right questions and assuming it covers the whole picture is how buyers get surprised at the closing table.
Here is the practical difference between the two tracks, side by side:
| Chapter 718 Condominium | Chapter 720 HOA (villas, townhomes) | |
|---|---|---|
| Milestone inspection required | Yes, if building has 3+ habitable stories | No |
| Structural Integrity Reserve Study (SIRS) required | Yes, if building has 3+ habitable stories | No |
| Reserve waiver allowed for structural items | No, since budgets adopted after December 31, 2024 | Governed by association bylaws, not the SIRS statute |
| Insurance replacement-cost appraisal | Required every 36 months under HB 913 | Not mandated by the same statute |
Two Deadlines Are Converging Within the Same Four Months
For associations that do fall under Chapter 718's stricter track, the timeline has already tightened once and is about to tighten again. The baseline deadline for existing owner-controlled associations to complete a Structural Integrity Reserve Study was December 31, 2025, a deadline that has now passed. A narrower extension still applies to buildings with a milestone inspection due on or before December 31, 2026: those associations may complete the SIRS alongside the milestone inspection, but only if both are finished by that same date. December 31, 2026 is now roughly four months out.
Layered on top of that is a lending-side change that has nothing to do with the Florida legislature. In March 2026, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, working with the Federal Housing Finance Agency, raised the required reserve allocation for condo and HOA projects from 10 percent to 15 percent of total annual budgeted assessment income, effective January 4, 2027. An association can still qualify below that threshold if it has a reserve study completed or updated within the preceding three years by a qualified professional, with the budget funding that study's highest recommended allocation. For a buyer financing a purchase in a Chapter 718 building, that lender-side requirement can affect loan approval independent of what the state statute already requires.
Separately, as of January 1, 2026, House Bill 1021 lowered the threshold for mandatory online record posting from 150 units to 25 units. Any condo association of that size covering a Boca Bay building must now maintain a website or member portal posting governing documents, budgets, the SIRS, and milestone reports. That's a meaningful practical shift: a buyer or their agent can often review those documents before ever picking up the phone.
The Contract Now Puts the Burden on the Seller
The paperwork side of a Boca Bay condo purchase changed materially on July 1, 2025, when the revised Condominium Rider, known as Addendum A to the Florida Realtors and Florida Bar residential contract, took effect statewide. Previous versions left it to the buyer to check a box requesting condo documents. The revised rider flips that: Paragraph 6(b) now places an affirmative obligation on the seller, at the seller's expense, to provide any of a defined list of documents the buyer selects, covering the 12 months preceding the contract's effective date. That list includes completed milestone inspection reports, turnover inspection reports, and reserve study reports, along with up to three additional documents the buyer specifies.
Once those documents are delivered, the buyer gets an automatic review period, mirroring the same voidability protection already built into Florida's non-developer disclosure statute, during which they can cancel the contract in writing. For a buyer evaluating a Boca Bay condo unit under Chapter 718, that means the seller can no longer sit on a concerning SIRS finding or a pending special assessment and hope it doesn't come up before closing. For a buyer under a Chapter 720 HOA, the same rider mechanism doesn't automatically apply in the same form, which is one more reason to confirm early which governing structure applies to the specific property.
What to Actually Ask, and Who to Ask It Of
Before writing an offer on a property in Boca Bay, a buyer working through this with their agent should be asking for:
- The certificate of occupancy date and habitable story count for the specific building, not the community as a whole
- Confirmation of which chapter governs the property: Chapter 718 for condo units, Chapter 720 for HOA-governed villas and townhomes
- If Chapter 718 applies, the current SIRS status and whether the building's milestone inspection has already been completed or is still pending against the December 31, 2026 deadline
- The Boca Bay Master Association's most recent reserve study for shared amenities, separate from any building-specific reserve study
- Whether the seller has agreed to the Paragraph 6(b) document requests under the revised Condominium Rider, and what documents were actually delivered
- Current insurance replacement-cost figures, given the 36-month appraisal cycle now required under HB 913 for qualifying associations
A Few Direct Questions
Does the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac reserve change affect financing on a Boca Bay purchase today? Not yet in most cases. The 15 percent threshold takes effect January 4, 2027, so a purchase closing before then is evaluated under the prior standard, though lenders may already be underwriting toward the coming requirement.
If a villa is governed by an HOA under Chapter 720, does it ever face a SIRS? No. The Structural Integrity Reserve Study requirement is specific to Chapter 718 condominium and cooperative associations with buildings of three or more habitable stories. A Chapter 720 HOA's reserve obligations are set by its own bylaws and by general HOA statute, not by the SIRS mandate.
Is a one-level condo building automatically exempt from the milestone inspection? Not automatically. The habitable-story count is what matters, and that has to be confirmed against the specific building's certificate of occupancy rather than assumed from how the units are marketed.
Boca Bay's range of housing types is part of what makes it one of the island's most established communities, but that range is exactly why a buyer's due diligence here has to be building-specific rather than community-wide. Onbocagrande, led by Rich Taylor, has worked this market since 1995 and can help you identify which governing structure, which reserve position, and which disclosure timeline actually applies to the address you're considering. Request a private consultation before you write an offer, not after.