Cost per owner
What will the ERRCS work cost each owner?
Start from a reported high-rise figure or your own written quote, enter how many owners share it, and see the per-owner amount next to the math a retired fire chief did for the Sun Sentinel. It is arithmetic, not a price: the real number comes from a signal test and written bids.
Estimate only
What will it cost each owner?
Pick a reported figure or type your own quote, then the number of owners. It runs in your browser; nothing is sent or saved.
Project cost to start from
Low, middle and high are the three high-rise figures reported in Fort Lauderdale (South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Susannah Bryan), republished by Firehouse, Nov. 7, 2025). They are one city's data points, not a typical price range. We have not found a verifiable published figure for smaller buildings. Get at least three written quotes.
| What was reported | Amount |
|---|---|
| Reported high-rise system cost | $250,000 or more |
| Figure a condo association president was given | $275,000 |
| A city commissioner's example | $200,000 |
| Per owner at $250,000 with 250 owners (a retired fire chief quoted in the article) | $1,000 |
| Per owner at $250,000 with 25 owners (a retired fire chief quoted in the article) | $10,000 |
Source: Fort Lauderdale cites 69 high-rises with weak radio signals, South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Susannah Bryan), republished by Firehouse, Nov. 7, 2025. To split your own quote, divide it by the number of owners.
Estimate only. An equal split is arithmetic, not advice. How an association shares a cost (equal shares, by unit size, special assessment or a loan) depends on its declaration and state law; ask the association's attorney. The real number comes from a signal test and written bids on the same scope.
Quotes go to up to 3 vetted installers who serve your area. No texts, no cold calls. Owners never pay us.
How the calculator works
It does three things, in this order:
- Adds any fire department fees you enter to the project cost.
- Takes off any money the board has decided to pay from reserves.
- Divides what is left equally by the number of owners.
Nothing is sent or saved. The comparison line uses the per-owner math a retired fire chief gave the Sun Sentinel: at $250,000, about $1,000 each for 250 owners and about $10,000 each for 25 owners (Sun Sentinel via Firehouse, November 2025).
Where the starting figures come from
| Figure | Amount | Who said it |
|---|---|---|
| What systems "can cost" | $250,000 or more | The article |
| Figure given to one condo association president | $275,000 | A condo association president |
| A city commissioner's example, a building that failed after new high-impact windows | $200,000 | A Fort Lauderdale city commissioner |
These are one city's high-rise data points, not a typical price, and not a range for your building. A smaller building, or one that needs coverage only in a garage or a stairwell, may cost far less. We have not found a verifiable published figure for that case.
Fire department fees
Fees are set by each fire department. We list only fee schedules we have read: Miami-Dade County (Implementing Order 04-123, effective 10/01/2025) and the Fort Myers Beach Fire District (effective 9/1/2023). The estimator below adds them up for your project and can drop the total into the per-owner split above. If your fire department is not listed, its fees are not on file here; ask it for its current schedule.
Published fees only
Fire department fee estimator
Official fees a fire department charges for permits, tests and re-inspections of an in-building radio system, from its own fee schedule. They are not installer prices. Each line names the schedule item and the date it took effect.
in published fees for these items
| Fee | Rate | Amount | Source |
|---|
Fee schedules on file: Miami-Dade County (effective Oct 1, 2025) and Fort Myers Beach Fire District (effective Sep 1, 2023). Every other fire department: not published in a schedule we have read. The full table of fees, with the schedule item for each, is on BDACheck.
Estimate only. These are the fees as published, applied to the numbers you enter. The fire department decides what it charges for your building; fees change, so check the current schedule before you budget. Miami-Dade lists "no contractor or unable to gain access on inspector's arrival" among the reasons a re-inspection is charged: keys and staff ready on test day save money.
Quotes go to up to 3 vetted installers who serve your area. No texts, no cold calls.
What else the owners will pay for
The installation is the biggest line, not the only one. After the system goes in, the model code requires a test every year and after structural changes (IFC 2021 510.6.1), and the owner pays to modify the system when the radio frequencies change (IFC 2021 510.6.2). The full budget, year by year lists every cost the rules create. Planning a building recertification or milestone inspection too? Plan them together.
From an estimate to a real number
- Get a signal test, so you know whether a system is needed and how big.
- Get written bids on the same scope. You can request up to 3 quotes; your request goes to up to 3 vetted installers who serve your area. We send no texts and make no cold calls, and owners never pay us.
- Take the numbers to the board on one page with the Board Brief.
The whole sequence, with who does each step, is in the ERRCS project, step by step.
This is an estimate, not financial, legal or engineering advice. Confirm requirements with your fire marshal (AHJ) and cost sharing with your association's attorney.
Next step
Take the board a plan, not just a problem
Ask for up to 3 quotes from vetted installers who serve your area, or start with a one-page brief the board can read before the next meeting. Free for owners, boards and managers. No texts, no cold calls.
Questions people ask
Is an equal split how our association has to share the cost?
Not necessarily. The calculator divides equally because that is the simplest arithmetic. How a condominium shares a common expense depends on its declaration and state condo law, which this site does not cover. Ask the association's attorney before you assess owners.
Why do the figures only come from Fort Lauderdale?
They are the only installation prices we could trace to a published record: one news report on Fort Lauderdale's citations of 69 high-rises (Sun Sentinel via Firehouse, November 2025). We have not found a verifiable published figure for smaller buildings, so the calculator lets you type your own quote.
Are fire department fees a big part of the cost?
Usually not, next to the installation, but they add up when a test fails and has to be repeated. Miami-Dade, for example, charges $281.48 per inspector per hour for the signal strength verification and acceptance test, and $98.46 for a first or second re-inspection (Implementing Order 04-123, effective 10/01/2025).
Sources
Primary documents we read for this page. Rules change; confirm with your fire marshal (AHJ).
- Fort Lauderdale cites 69 high-rises with weak radio signals (South Florida Sun Sentinel, republished by Firehouse, November 7, 2025), Firehouse
- Implementing Order 04-123: Miami-Dade County Fire Prevention Fee Schedule (effective 10/01/2025), Miami-Dade County
- Fort Myers Beach Fire District Schedule of Fees (effective 9/1/2023), Fort Myers Beach Fire District
- International Fire Code 2021, Section 510 (text as published by the City of Eaton), City of Eaton, reproducing the ICC International Fire Code
Related
Your building got an ERRCS notice. Here is what it means.
ERRCS in plain English for condo owners and boards: why firefighters need it, the Florida deadlines, reported costs, and what to bring to your next board meeting.
What ERRCS compliance costs an owner over time
The full cost of ERRCS compliance for a building owner, from the first signal test through installation, annual testing, repairs and frequency changes, with sources.
Recertification and ERRCS: plan them together
Miami-Dade and Broward recertification and the Florida milestone inspection do not test firefighter radio coverage. Why ERRCS is separate, and how to plan both.
The ERRCS project, step by step
The five steps of an ERRCS project, from checking the rule to the annual test: who does each one, what it produces, how long it takes and what goes wrong.