Florida HOA Laws

Florida homeowners associations are chapter 720. If your building is a condominium, stop and open chapter 718 instead. The rest of this page is 720.

The 2024 amendments, including changes associated with HB 1203, rewrote pieces of enforcement, records, and board conduct. Use the current official chapter. A summary from 2022 will miss the hearing rules below.

Fines and suspensions

Section 720.305 is the section to print. A fine may not exceed $100 per violation unless the governing documents say otherwise. A fine for a continuing violation may be levied for each day, with one notice and one hearing, but it may not exceed $1,000 in total unless the documents say otherwise. A fine of less than $1,000 may not become a lien.

The board cannot impose the fine or a use-right suspension unless it gives at least 14 days’ written notice of a hearing. The hearing is before a committee of at least three members appointed by the board who are not officers, directors, or employees of the association, and who are not related to those people in the way the statute describes. If the committee does not approve by a majority, the fine cannot be imposed. If you cure before the hearing, the association cannot impose the fine. Read the current subsection. Those details were the point of the recent amendments.

A member more than 90 days delinquent can lose common-area use rights and, in the circumstances the statute describes, voting rights. That suspension does not let the association block you from getting to your home.

Records and resale

Section 720.303(5) requires the association to make official records available for inspection and copying within 10 business days after a written request. The section lists what counts as a record and what can be withheld. Failure has statutory remedies. Do not accept “the manager is on vacation” as the legal answer. You can be patient and still send a dated request.

Sellers and buyers deal with estoppel certificates under section 720.30851. The certificate states assessments due. The association can charge a fee the statute caps. If you are buying, do not waive the document contingency before you read it. The buying guide explains what you are looking for.