In Florida balcony inspections are required for many businesses and buildings. Performed every three years, these inspections are essential to ensuring the health and safety of any people who might occupy these buildings.

If you are the owner of an apartment building, hotel or other piece of publicly accessible property in Florida, then you are required to comply with a law that dictates occasional balcony inspections. Don’t let this requirement take you by surprise. Enlist the help of the experts at Truview Inspections whenever it’s time to meet the requirements of Florida Administrative Code 61C-1.002.

Why Are Balcony Inspections Important?

The purpose behind the requirement for Florida balcony inspections is simply to prevent injury and death. These inspections are designed to identify structural concerns before they become problems that may result in outcomes such as the collapse of the balcony.

While these inspections can help property owners to avert a disaster, they cannot provide protection against litigation should a failure ever occur that results in injury or death.

Nonetheless, hotel balcony inspections can prevent tragedies and save lives by ensuring that these structures are properly maintained.

Most injuries on balconies are caused by the failure of the safety railing or the structure itself. Sometimes, poor construction techniques or inadequate fastening is the culprit. Wood rot and the deterioration of metal components also can be responsible for injuries. A balcony that is overloaded beyond its weight capacity similarly is subject to failure.

Avoiding these kinds of problems is why condo balcony inspections are required in Florida.

When a Balcony Inspection is Required

Florida law requires that hotel balcony inspections and similar inspections on other properties be performed at certain times or in concurrence with predetermined events.

For instance, condo balcony inspections are required to occur every three years. This requirement is applied to all buildings that are three or more stories tall and are more than 17 feet above grade.

Similarly, balcony inspections are required whenever ownership of the building is transferred.

What Our Inspection Includes

When you choose Truview to perform your balcony inspection, you can rest assured that you will be working with certified inspectors who have considerable experience with performing inspections that are in compliance with Florida State requirement DBPR-HR-7020, otherwise known as the “Division of Hotels and Restaurants Certificate of Balcony Inspection.”

Each balcony receives a thorough visual inspection that includes fasteners, railings, ledger boards, wall attachments and decking. All stairwell railings also are inspected.

At the end of the inspection, the property owner receives a comprehensive report detailing how many units were inspected and how many deficiencies were noted. Each deficiency is described in the report so that the property owner can take steps to have it addressed.

Once repairs and updates are complete, the inspector will return to the property to ensure that all deficiencies have been resolved.

Balcony Inspections and Short-Term Rental Properties

Some property owners are surprised to learn that the building that they list on Air BNB, VRBO or other multi-story vacation rentals are required to have the same balcony inspections as hotels and condos.

Ask Truview Inspections about having the balcony on your short-term rental property inspected today. We can perform the inspection and provide you with the required documentation so that you can comply with Florida’s regulations. If we find deficiencies, we’ll note them for you so that they can be repaired.

With the repairs complete, the inspector will return to finalize the documentation so that your short-term Florida rental remains in compliance.

Inspections for Balconies in Hotels, Apartment Buildings, Condos and Restaurants

Florida balcony inspections are always complete and thorough when they are performed by the professionals at Truview Inspections. Remember that most buildings that have balconies and are three or more stories tall are subject to the requirement of having a balcony inspection every three years.

Our skilled and competent inspectors have significant experience with restaurant balcony inspection, hotel and condo balcony inspection and balcony inspections for multi-housing units.

Make Truview Inspections your trusted partner for all of your balcony inspection needs.

We’ll even inspect the balcony on that home you’re thinking about buying. Call us today to learn about residential balcony inspections too.