A special assessment is the bill nobody mentions at the sales gallery. Here is how it works at a building like The Ritz-Carlton Residences, South Beach, and what to check so it stays unlikely.
This page is a framework. Whether the building suits you is a separate conversation. Contact the desk at Miami Dossier for the current position on any building we cover.
A special assessment is a one-off charge to every owner, levied by the association board when the budget and the reserves cannot cover a cost: a roof, a facade, an insurance jump, a defect the warranty will not. The declaration sets who votes it and whether owners must approve above a threshold; the bylaws set the notice. Since 2022 Florida requires structural integrity reserve studies and funded reserves for buildings of three storeys or more, which is the law’s way of making the surprise less likely.
The Ritz-Carlton Residences, South Beach: 30 residences over 15 storeys, one to five bedrooms, including two duplex penthouses with private rooftop terraces, pools and kitchens; sales launched February 2025; delivery planned 2027.. The number of homes is the denominator of every assessment; a building of forty shares a roof forty ways.
Read it against the Kempinski Residences Miami Design District dossier for the nearest comparison.
The first budget is the developer’s estimate. The lines to read: reserves (funded, and the reserve study scheduled), insurance (windstorm and flood, quoted or assumed), staffing against the amenity list, and any brand or management fee with its escalator.
The Ritz-Carlton Residences, South Beach: More than 50,000 square feet: a private double height lobby, 24 hour doorman, concierge and valet, a Level 7 amenity floor with a private lap pool and four semi private cabanas, a Technogym fitness centre, a residents’ beach club with cabana service; restaurant and beach club programming by Jose Andres; à la carte in residence dining, personal chef, trainer, spa, childcare and pet care.. The Ritz-Carlton name under licence to Sobe Sky Development LLC; not owned, developed or sold by The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company; direct access to the Sagamore, the all suite addition to The Ritz-Carlton, South Beach; owner benefits at more than 700 Marriott International luxury hotels, subject to availability.. Every one of those is a line, and the first year is when the estimate becomes an invoice.
Until turnover the developer controls the board and the budget. After turnover the owners elect the board that can levy an assessment. The turnover schedule is in the declaration and tied to sales; ask what the developer hands over and when.
The declaration (assessment and voting provisions). The estimated first budget with its reserve schedule. The developer’s disclosure of any known defects or pending litigation. The desk reads them with you; where the question is legal, it introduces counsel rather than answering.
An assessment is a budget that was wrong. Read the budget first.
Developer materials for The Ritz-Carlton Residences, South Beach as carried on the live dossier, verified September 2026. Compiled by the desk at Miami Dossier; figures are approximate and the developer’s.
Contact the desk at Miami Dossier for the documents behind this note, read one to one with you and your advisers.
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We hold no listings and we are not the developer. Contact the desk at Miami Dossier and we will tell you what applies to your situation, what does not, and where we would not proceed. On this topic that means the document before the opinion. Where a question is legal, tax or structuring, we introduce you to advisers who handle that properly rather than answering it ourselves.
Samuel Strauch is the owner of Metrik Real Estate. His team of agents represents buyers in Miami pre-construction.
A person replies within 24 hours, usually much sooner. On weekends, back on Monday morning.
