In the early morning hours of June 24, 2021, the condominium building known as Champlain Towers South suffered a partial collapse, resulting in nearly 100 deaths and multiple injuries. The 12-story building was situated on the beach in the outer suburbs of Miami and was built in the early 1980’s. While the exact cause of the collapse is still under investigation, it is thought that water intrusion combined with corrosion of the rebar in the concrete led to weakened concrete structural members, which ultimately buckled under the weight they were originally designed to support.
As buildings begin to age, issues can become structural in nature. We have seen water intrusion leading to sheathing and stucco replacement, façade replacement on historic Philadelphia buildings, or even lintel replacements from lack of flashing. All of these projects equal big money.
As the costs for repair can steadily increase, it may get to the point where the HOA board no longer feels the community can afford the repairs and will delay the proposed fix. This “putting off” of necessary structural work is considered deferred maintenance. The work will eventually need to be completed but the question is when and how long can the HOA board wait until safety becomes an issue? While we believe in proactive maintenance on a building, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have created temporary requirements that appear to be aimed at boards who are delaying the inevitable building repairs.
