Florida Condo 15% Reserve Rule Checker: Will Buyers Still Get a Normal Loan?
Starting with loan applications dated January 4, 2027, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac want a condo budget to put at least 15% of assessment income into reserves, up from 10%. Enter your building's budget and see where it lands, what it would take to pass, and what that means per unit.
Short answer: divide the budget's annual replacement-reserve contribution by its annual assessment income. At 10% or more the building meets today's agency test; at 15% or more it meets the test that applies from January 4, 2027. A building can also pass with a reserve study completed or updated in the last three years, if the budget funds the study's highest recommended level. Your association's treasurer or manager has both numbers on the current budget page.
Your building's budget
Income a lender may leave out (optional)
The agency guides let a lender exclude some income from the denominator. Excluding it raises the percentage. Only the lender decides which lines it takes out.
Where your building lands
How the test works
The lender reads the association's current budget. The top of the fraction is the line that goes to replacement reserves each year. The bottom is the assessment income the budget expects from owners' regular fees. Fannie Mae's Lender Letter LL-2026-03 and Freddie Mac's Bulletin 2026-C, both issued March 18, 2026, raise the minimum from 10% to 15% for loan applications dated on or after January 4, 2027. A building that falls short is not banned from sale; it becomes harder to finance, and buyers who need a conventional loan move to portfolio lenders at higher rates and larger down payments, or to cash.
The math has one trap boards miss. If the association funds the gap by raising dues, the raise itself is new assessment income, so the bottom of the fraction grows too. The calculator shows both versions: moving money inside the existing budget, and raising dues to pay for it.
| Date | Agency condo change | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| March 18, 2026 | LL-2026-03 and Bulletin 2026-C published; 50% investor-concentration limit removed | The rule change was announced nine months ahead |
| July 1, 2026 | Master-policy deductible capped at $50,000 per unit | Owners cover the gap with an HO-6 policy |
| August 3, 2026 | Limited Review retired; full review or waiver only | Most buildings over 10 units get a full budget review |
| January 4, 2027 | Reserve minimum rises from 10% to 15% of assessment income | Budgets adopted this fall decide 2027 financing |
Sources: Community Associations Institute summary of Fannie Mae LL-2026-03 and Freddie Mac Bulletin 2026-C (March 18, 2026); GoverningDocs, "The Fannie Mae 15% Reserve Rule, Explained With the Actual Math" (September 10, 2026). Confirm the current Selling Guide language with your lender.
Why it matters in Florida now: across the 18,614 active condo listings in our Florida MLS map feeds on October 30, 2026, the median listing had been on the market 84 days, against 63 for single-family homes, and 25.4% of condos had been listed 180 days or more (15.8% for houses). Listing data is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. A building that cannot offer buyers a normal loan adds to that wait. Read the full story in Florida's 15% condo reserve rule: what changes January 4, 2027.
Common questions
What is the 15% condo reserve rule?
It is the minimum share of a condo association's annual assessment income that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac want budgeted to replacement reserves before they buy a conventional loan on a unit in that building. It rises from 10% to 15% for loan applications dated on or after January 4, 2027.
Can a building pass without reaching 15%?
Yes. The percentage test is waived when the association has a reserve study completed or updated within the last three years and the budget funds the study's highest recommended level. Baseline funding does not qualify. Ask the lender whether a Florida structural integrity reserve study meets its reserve-study requirement for your building.
Does the 15% rule apply to FHA or VA loans?
No. It is a Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac rule for conventional loans. FHA and VA approve condo projects under their own rules, so check the HUD and VA approved-project lists separately.
What happens if my building fails the test?
Units can still be sold, but buyers who need a conventional loan will have trouble. They can use a portfolio or non-warrantable lender, usually at a higher rate with a larger down payment, or pay cash. The board can raise the reserve line in the next budget or commission a reserve study and fund it at the highest recommended level.
Which income counts in the calculation?
The denominator is the budget's assessment income from owners' regular fees. Lenders may exclude incidental income such as laundry or clubhouse rental, utilities owners would normally pay themselves such as bulk cable and internet, and special assessment income. Excluding those lines raises the percentage, which is why the same budget can pass with one lender and miss with another.
Is this the same as Florida's SIRS requirement?
No. Florida's structural integrity reserve study is a state law requirement for condo buildings three or more habitable stories tall, covering items like the roof, structure, waterproofing and windows. The 15% test is a lender rule about the whole budget. A building can satisfy one and miss the other.
Next steps: read the Florida condo buying guide, check special-assessment exposure with the condo assessment risk checker, compare dues with Florida HOA fees by county, and price the purchase with the buyer closing costs calculator. Selling a unit? Ask a Momentum agent what it would sell for, or search Florida homes for sale. All Florida housing tools.
<a href="https://movewithmomentum.com/tools/florida-condo-reserve-calculator">Florida Condo 15% Reserve Rule Checker (2027) — Momentum Realty</a>Estimates only, for education. This checker applies the published agency percentage test to the numbers you enter; it is not a project review, a loan approval or legal advice, and it does not value any unit. Lenders review the full budget, insurance, litigation, critical repairs and other project standards, and decide which income lines to exclude. Rule details from the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announcements of March 18, 2026, as summarized by the Community Associations Institute; verify current guide language with a lender. Listing statistics from our MLS feeds, deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Last updated October 30, 2026. Equal Housing Opportunity.