A $21 million special assessment fee has outraged residents of two 16-year-old buildings at 1060 Brickell in Miami, Florida, with some apartment owners facing individual bills of more than $40,000.

“I think it’s overkill,” resident Nima Mahdjour told CBS News. “I feel like I’m being milked.”

Condominium owners pay a special appraisal fee in addition to their usual monthly maintenance fees. According to the report, the condo board approved the special assessment fee based on the results of a Structural Integrity Reserve study that found most systems were “generally operational” but some required immediate repairs, maintenance and replacement.

However, residents of the building claim the process was rushed, needed more transparency and that the apartment owner’s formal vote was bypassed. They question both the necessity and the speed of the decision.

When asked about it, the association’s general counsel, Marc Halpern, pointed to Florida laws enacted after the 2021 collapse of the Surfside Champlain Towers, which killed 98 people.

The $21 million special assessment fee for the Brickell buildings stems from the results of a Structural Integrity Reserve Study (SIRS). The law defines it as a study of the reserve funds required for future major repairs and replacement of the common elements based on a visual inspection of the common elements. A new state law passed in 2023 requires homeowners’ associations to conduct such a study every ten years for every condominium association building that is three stories or more high.

The SIRS study identified several repair needs at 1060 Brickell, including the facade of Tower 2, roof replacement and pool deck restoration.

“First and foremost, Florida law is the vindication,” Halpern told CBS News when asked why residents didn’t have a say in the matter. “The board is responsible for adequately maintaining and repairing the common elements. If the owners voted against it, they would be putting the building and the owners at risk.”

According to CBS News, at least one resident is now considering selling his apartment due to the financial strain.

The story continues