What Changed in 2025 and What Every Realtor® Needs to Know

Picture this. Your buyer falls in love with a condo. Great view, perfect location, beautiful lobby. Everyone is excited. Then, two weeks before closing, you learn the building is staring at a massive concrete restoration project and a special assessment that feels like the price of a car.

In today’s Florida condominium world, that story is not rare. It is exactly the kind of surprise the updated Condominium Rider in the FAR/BAR real estate contract tries to bring out into the open.

In 2025, the Condominium Rider was revised as part of the FAR/BAR contract update, effective for transactions in mid-2025. The contract and its riders are jointly developed and published by the Florida Realtors® and The Florida Bar associations. The refreshed Rider is designed to better reflect recent changes to the Florida Condominium Act, especially rules dealing with structural inspections, reserves, and association transparency.

In simple terms, the new version shines a brighter light on three questions:

• How safe is this building?
• How healthy are the finances?
• How clearly is that information being shared with buyers?

The Big Picture: What Is New in the 2025 Condominium Rider

The updated Condominium Rider, CR-7revised in 2025, is not a light clean up. Many parts of the form were adjusted. The focus is to give buyers clearer information and give sellers a cleaner structure to follow when complying with disclosure rules.

Here is the high-level overview of the main changes:

• Stronger emphasis on structural and safety related reports, including milestone inspections and structural integrity reserve studies.
• More detailed treatment of special and additional assessments and who pays what.
• Clearer handling of what counts as a pending assessment.
• Sharpened rules for delivery of condominium documents and the buyer cancellation period.
• A new document request option that lets buyers formally request records from the association.
• More complete association information at the top of the Rider, including management contacts and website.

Now let us walk through each area in plain language with a bit of story-telling so it sticks.

One: Structural Reports and Safety Are Now Front and Center

The most obvious influence behind these updates is the increased focus on building safety after the high profile structural failure of the Champlain Tower South Condominium building in Surfside, Florida, that killed 98 people. New statutes require milestone inspections and structural integrity reserve studies for many condominium buildings. The Rider now reflects that reality.

The revised Rider calls out several types of reports, for example:

• Milestone inspections every 10 years for buildings that have 3 or more stories and are 30 years old (25 years old if they are within 3 miles of the coast). For such buildings, the first inspection was required December 31, 2024. These inspections require mandatory repairs to any unsafe structural building components.
• Structural integrity reserve studies every 10 years for critical components of buildings with 3 or more stories regardless of their age. For such buildings, the first inspection was required December 31, 2026. These studies establish mandatory reserves to replace building components after their useful life ends.
• Turnover inspection reports when developers hand control of associations over to owners.

The form gives sellers and their agents a series of check boxes to show which reports exist and whether copies will be provided to the buyer. These reports are no longer background noise. They are part of the main script of the transaction.

Practical picture

Your buyer is not just buying a unit with a fresh coat of paint. They are buying a share of the condominium’s “common elements,” i.e., the garage, the pool deck, the roof, the plumbing stacks, the balconies, etc., and the long-term cost to keep all of that safe. The new Rider nudges everyone to admit what the engineers have already said about those structures.

Two: Special Assessments Have Much Sharper Edges

The updated Rider spends serious time on assessments. In many buildings, the real cost of ownership lives in the future work that has to be done.

The revised language now:

• Requires the seller to disclose special or additional assessments that have already been approved.
• Defines when an assessment is considered pending, often when it appears on agendas or in recent meeting minutes.
• Lets parties choose who pays unpaid assessments that already exist as of the effective date of the contract.
• Clarifies treatment of assessments that can be paid in installments before and after closing.
• Confirms that association assets and liabilities, including reserves, are not prorated at closing.

There is also a framework for what happens if the association imposes a brand new special assessment after the effective date. Usually, amounts that come due before closing are the seller’s responsibility and amounts that come due after closing are the buyer’s responsibility, unless the parties clearly agree otherwise.

Mini story

Your buyer signs a contract in January. In February, the association votes to approve a large structural assessment. Under the updated Rider, the timing of that vote and the language in your contract matter a lot. The form now gives everyone a clearer starting point and choice for sorting out who should be responsible for each slice of that assessment.

Three: Better Association Information Up Front

At the top of the Rider, there is now a dedicated section for association information. It asks for the association name, the management company, contact people, phone numbers, email addresses, and the association website. The Rider also reminds everyone that if there are multiple associations involved, separate Riders may be required.

This might seem simple, but it is powerful. Having accurate association information makes it easier to:

• Request questionnaires and records.
• Confirm current assessments and fees.
• Submit approval packages.
• Move quickly when deadlines are tight.

A well-run association often has a clear point of contact, a functional website, and a habit of answering emails. A disorganized association feels very different. The Rider now forces that reality into the contract paperwork early in the process.

Four: Buyer Cancellation Rights and Document Delivery

The Rider lines up with statutory language that gives buyers a short, 7-day window to cancel after they receive a complete condo document package. That package must include the declaration, articles, bylaws, rules, budget, year-end financials, and the frequently asked questions document, if the buyer requests it in writing.

In broad strokes:

• Buyers are entitled to receive certain condo documents.
• Buyers have a limited cancellation period once they have those documents and a signed contract.
• Attempts to waive those statutory rights are generally ineffective.

The risk for agents is simple. If the required documents are not delivered correctly, a buyer may later claim that the cancellation clock never started. That can invite last minute surprises and arguments about whether the contract is still cancelable (it is). Ensure that the buyer receives all these documents.

All of these documents should be read by the buyer, but at the very least, they should find and review the sections that govern and/or restrict the buyer’s use and occupancy of the condo and the common elements.

Easy memory trick

No documents, no clock. Until the buyer has the package that the law and the Rider describe, you cannot safely rely on the idea that the cancellation window has closed.

Caution:

If a seller or buyer ask you questions about the condominium’s budget or financials, it is best to refer them to their CPA.

Five: The New Buyer Document Request Option

The revised Rider also introduces a more structured way for buyers to request additional documents or records about the association. It acknowledges that buyers often want more than the basic set of documents, especially in older buildings or in buildings with complex project histories. If the buyer requests any of these documents, the seller must obtain and provide them. The buyer has 7 days after receipt of these documents in which to cancel.

This section of the Rider helps:

• Frame formal requests for records.
• Clarify the buyer right to ask for certain information.
• Encourage timely responses from sellers.

Realistically, this feature is there to reduce the time spent chasing information in a vague way. It gives buyers and their advisors a clearer path for obtaining answers regarding the association’s activities.

Six: What Realtors® Should Do Now

This section is not legal advice. It is a practical look at how Realtors® can adapt their habits to align with the new Rider.

Ask Better Questions During Listing Intake

• Has the building had a milestone inspection and can we get a copy?
• Has the building completed a structural integrity reserve study?
• Are there special or additional assessments approved or anticipated?
• Have any major repair projects or assessments been discussed in recent meetings?

Get the Condo Packet Early

• Listing agents should request the full condo document package as soon as they take the listing.
• Buyer’s agents should ensure their buyer receives the condo document package at the time the contract is executed.
• Confirm the budget and financials are the most recent versions.
• Ask whether new reports are in progress, but not finished yet.

Track Delivery and Receipt

• Send required documents in a traceable way, such as email with confirmation.
• Note the date the buyer actually receives the documents.
• Record the cancellation deadline tied to those documents.

Avoid Guessing About Reports

If you do not have a copy of a structural report or reserve study, avoid summarizing it by memory or rumor. Request the actual document and encourage the buyer to review it with their own professionals, including engineers, accountants, lenders, and their attorney.

Seven: Simple Scenarios To Make It Real

Scenario One: The Surprise Concrete Project

You list a condo in an older coastal building. The board has been discussing balcony repairs and concrete restoration for a year. Meeting minutes show talk of a large assessment, but no final vote yet.

Under the updated Rider, that situation may still count as a pending assessment if it appears in recent agendas or minutes. Your seller cannot casually ignore it just because the final number is not set. Buyers expect to know that big work is looming, even if the exact cost is still being calculated.

Scenario Two: The Late Document Drop

Buyer and seller sign the contract. Everyone relaxes. Weeks later, someone realizes the buyer never received the bylaws or current budget. Those items are finally delivered just before closing. The buyer reads them, becomes nervous about reserves, and wants out.

If the required documents were not provided sooner, the buyer may have cancellation rights based on the statutes and the Rider’s language. A simple tracking system for when documents go out and when they are received can prevent that entire headache.

Scenario Three: The Financing Surprise

A lender reviews the structural integrity reserve study and decides that the association reserves do not meet their internal underwriting risk guidelines. Your buyer qualifies personally, but the building does not. Now the loan is in danger and the contract is under pressure.

This is why the Rider puts more attention on these reports. In the current lending environment, some buyers treat these documents as almost as important as the unit itself.

How Barnes Walker Supports Realtors® and Their Customers

When a Realtor® chooses Barnes Walker for title and closing services, they gain a team that deals with condominium transactions every day. Our attorneys and staff regularly work with the updated FAR/BAR Condominium Rider and the Florida Statutes that shape it.

In a typical condo closing our team will:

• Obtain approval of the buyer from the condominium association.
• Coordinate with the association or management company to obtain the information needed for a smooth closing.
• Review association documents as part of the title process and identify issues that may affect the transaction.
• If requested by buyers, review assessments, reserve disclosures, and structural related reports that appear in the record.
• Work with lenders and real estate professionals to keep deadlines and requirements in sync.
• Provide clear communication so that buyers and sellers understand what is happening at each stage of the closing.

Realtors® who work with Barnes Walker can expect:

• High reliability and strong attention to detail throughout the closing process.
• Timely title commitments and efficient coordination among all parties.
• Support from a full-service law firm that understands both the legal and practical side of condominium transactions.
• A closing experience that reflects well on the agent in the eyes of their customers.

Barnes Walker serves buyers, sellers, investors, and real estate professionals throughout the region. By staying current on each round of changes to the Condominium Rider and the Florida Condominium Act, our firm is able to guide transactions through an increasingly complex environment while keeping the focus on a successful closing.

What to Know

The updated Condominium Rider is where much of the real story of a condo building lives. For Florida Realtors®, understanding this form is now as essential as knowing how to write a clean offer or price a listing.

It is also important that Realtors® do their investigations and fully complete the Condominium Rider since it includes statutory requirements and a failure to complete the Rider or obtain the information for sellers and buyers could result in professional liability.

As laws continue to evolve, it makes sense to review your checklists, train your team, and partner with professionals who live inside these rules on a daily basis. The better you understand the Rider, the more confidently you can lead your buyers and sellers from contract to closing.

Want to learn more about the Florida FAR/BAR contract and the updated Condominium Rider?

You can dive deeper through our on-demand video course series taught by Garret T. Barnes, one of our founding partners and a long-time instructor with the Realtor® Association of Sarasota and Manatee. Garret teaches the FAR/BAR contract live for local Realtors®, and now you can access that same guidance anytime.

Want to learn more about the Florida FAR/BAR contract and the updated condominium riders?
You can dive deeper through our on-demand video course series taught by Garret T. Barnes, our founding partner and a long-time instructor with the Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee. Garret teaches the FAR/BAR contract live for local realtors, and now you can access that same guidance anytime.

Watch the full series at
Florida FAR/BAR Training