SIRS: the structural integrity reserve study, in plain English
What a reserve study is, why lenders ask for it, and what its absence does and doesn't mean.
A structural integrity reserve study — SIRS — prices the building's structural components over their remaining life: roof, load-bearing walls, floor, foundation, fireproofing, plumbing, electrical, waterproofing and windows among them. It tells owners what those elements will cost and when, so reserves can be funded against a real number rather than a hopeful one.
The study has to be retained as part of the association's accounting records for at least fifteen years after it is completed. That long retention is deliberate: a reserve study is a document that stays relevant for the whole of its planning horizon.
When our record shows a reserve study as unconfirmed, it means we did not locate a filing for it in the source we read on the date shown. It does not mean the association failed to commission one, and it is not a finding that a building is underfunded. Associations file in different places and on different schedules; the association itself is the authoritative answer.
| Citation | Requirement | Deadline / retention |
|---|---|---|
| s. 718.111(12), F.S.Structural integrity reserve studies | Must be retained as part of accounting records. | At least 15 years after study completion |
| ss. 553.899 and 718.301(4)(p), F.S.Structural / life safety inspection reports | Copy of inspection report must be retained by the association. | 15 years after receipt |
- Ask for the study itself, not a summary — the funding schedule is the part that matters.
- Ask whether reserves are fully funded, whether they were waived in prior years, and what the current balance is against the plan.
- Read it alongside the milestone report; the two answer different halves of the same question.