Miami-Dade is the highest-regulation, highest-insurance, highest-stakes multifamily market in the country. Post-Surfside, the structural recertification environment has tightened. Insurance premiums are running 3-5x what they were in 2018. Foreign capital flows distort cap rates in specific submarkets. The metro also has the most operationally complex tenant base of any US multifamily market: bilingual, mobile, internationally connected.
If you're buying multifamily in Miami-Dade, four locally specific items should drive your underwriting before any general checklist.
The post-Surfside recertification rules
Miami-Dade and Broward have had a long-standing 40-year recertification requirement on most buildings other than single-family and duplexes, with recertifications every 10 years after the first. Post-Surfside (the Champlain Towers South collapse in June 2021), Florida's SB 4-D (signed May 2022) significantly tightened the framework.
Current requirements in Miami-Dade and Broward:
- Milestone Structural Inspection: required when the building reaches 30 years from original certificate of occupancy, or 25 years if the building is within 3 miles of the coast. Then every 10 years after. This is the SB 4-D standard, which is more aggressive than the pre-Surfside 40-year rule.
- Structural Integrity Reserve Study (SIRS): a separate inspection of major structural components, building systems, and capital reserves. Required for condominium and cooperative buildings 3 stories or more. Multifamily rental buildings (not condominium-form) have somewhat different requirements but are still subject to the milestone inspection rules.
- Inspections must be performed by a licensed Florida professional engineer or architect. The reports become public records.
The pre-Surfside 40-year rule for Miami-Dade and Broward is still referenced in older articles, but the operative standard now is the 25/30-year milestone framework.
For multifamily buyers, the implications:
Building age matters more here than anywhere else. A 1990 building is now subject to milestone inspection. A 1995 building is approaching it. A 2005 building has time. Recertification can require $50,000-$500,000+ in structural repairs (concrete restoration, balcony rebuilds, pool deck waterproofing, expansion joint replacement, roofing).
Ask for the most recent milestone inspection report. Any property approaching or past the 25-year (coastal) or 30-year (inland) threshold should have an engineering report on file. If the seller can't produce one, that's a flag. The inspection is a state requirement, not a buyer choice.
Concrete restoration is the dominant capex item. Coastal concrete deteriorates from salt-air exposure. Spalling, rebar exposure, structural cracking are routine on older buildings. Budgeting $5,000-$15,000 per unit for concrete restoration over a 10-year hold is realistic for buildings 25+ years old in coastal areas.
Insurance: the most expensive market in the country
Miami-Dade and Broward together represent the most expensive insurance market for multifamily in the US. Premiums for older Class B/C multifamily can run $3,000-$8,000 per door per year. For older buildings without modern wind mitigation in surge zones, $5,000-$12,000 per door.
The Florida 2022-2024 market shift has hit hardest here. Many commercial carriers have non-renewed entire South Florida portfolios. Citizens (state-backed) is depopulating into private carriers that don't always offer comparable terms.
Rules:
Real quote, not a template number. Mandatory before bidding. Build 20% annual insurance escalation into your underwriting. Through at least 2026, this is realistic. Plan for windstorm + flood separately. Both are excluded from standard property coverage and need their own policies. Windstorm and flood combined can exceed the property tax line on coastal Class B/C.
The Save Our Homes confusion
Florida's Save Our Homes amendment caps homestead-property assessment growth at 3% per year. This does NOT apply to investment property. Investment property is subject to the 10% non-homestead cap, which is much weaker protection.
When you close, Miami-Dade reassesses toward your purchase price up to 10% per year. The catch-up runs across multiple years. Full tax modeling guide.
Combined millage in Miami-Dade for 2025 ranges from approximately 1.69% (unincorporated UMSA) to 2.00% (City of Miami / Miami Beach / Hialeah for typical multifamily parcels). A few outlier cities run higher (Opa-Locka, North Miami Gardens approach 2.2-2.4%). In Broward, combined runs roughly 1.79% (unincorporated south) to 2.21% (Hollywood north hospital district), with Fort Lauderdale around 1.85% and Pompano Beach around 2.03%. Both counties are higher than Tampa or Orlando, which compounds with the insurance premium to make all-in operating costs the highest in Florida.
Permits through Miami-Dade and Broward portals
Miami-Dade permits run through Miami-Dade EPSPortal. Broward permits through Broward County Building. Each major municipality (City of Miami, City of Miami Beach, City of Fort Lauderdale, City of Hollywood, City of Hialeah) also has its own permit overlay.
Cross-reference broker renovation claims, and specifically check whether the milestone structural inspection has been completed or is pending. See the full guide to checking permit history.
FEMA flood zones: assume Zone AE unless proven otherwise
Significant portions of Miami-Dade and almost all of coastal Broward sit in FEMA SFHAs. The maps were redrawn after Wilma and again after Irma; another revision is in progress now. Premium flood insurance can add $3,000-$10,000 per building.
Full guide to FEMA flood zone checks.
The foreign capital effect
Miami-Dade has historically seen meaningful foreign capital inflows, especially from Latin America. This compresses cap rates in certain submarkets (Miami Beach, parts of Brickell, parts of Doral) below what local cash-flow math would support. It also makes pricing more sensitive to global macro than local fundamentals.
Practical implication for cash-flow-focused buyers: the markets where foreign capital is heaviest are the markets where you're least likely to find positive leverage on Class B/C deals. Look at submarkets less exposed to foreign capital (Little Havana, Allapattah, parts of Liberty City, parts of West Kendall) for cash-flow opportunities.
The standard checklist still applies
The Miami-specific items above sit on top of the general pre-offer due diligence checklist. Permit history, code violations, demographics trajectory, debt service stress test, all still matter.
40-year recertification, insurance pricing, and FEMA flood zone are the dominant local risk items. Underwrite them carefully and the rest follows.
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