Florida Condo Association Laws: Board Duties, Elections, and Inspections

Florida condominium associations are governed primarily by Chapter 718 of the Florida Statutes, known as the Condominium Act. Florida condo association laws set the rules for how associations are organized, how boards must act, how elections are run, how buildings must be inspected and reserved for, and how assessments, fines, and disputes are handled. Several federal rules also apply on top of the state framework, and recent amendments passed after the 2021 Surfside collapse have tightened structural safety and reserve requirements in ways that are already reshaping association budgets.

Which Documents Control an Association

Every association runs on a stack of governing documents, and each carries a different legal weight. From highest to lowest authority: the declaration of condominium, the articles of incorporation, the bylaws, and the association’s rules and regulations. When these documents conflict with each other, the higher-ranking document wins. When any of them conflict with Chapter 718, the statute wins.

The declaration is the foundational document. Recorded with the county, it defines property boundaries, identifies common elements, and sets each unit owner’s rights and obligations. Amendments must follow the procedures in the declaration and in Florida law, and they cannot be made by cross-referencing a section number or title. The full text of every change has to be included.¹

The articles of incorporation, filed with the Florida Department of State, create the association as a legal entity that can sign contracts and sue.² The bylaws govern internal operations: meeting procedures, vote counting, and board powers. Rules and regulations sit at the bottom and cover day-to-day matters like pet policies, noise, and common area use. Courts have struck down rules that are arbitrary or that contradict higher governing documents.

What Board Members Legally Owe the Association

Board members owe a fiduciary duty to the association, meaning they must act with care, loyalty, and good faith. That duty gets real when a board member steers a contract to a relative’s company, ignores structural warning signs, or mishandles reserves; personal liability can follow.

Conflicts of Interest

Florida law presumes a conflict whenever a board member, officer, or their relative enters into a contract with the association or holds an interest in a company doing business with it. The proposed transaction must be listed on the meeting agenda with all related documents attached, disclosures must comply with Section 617.0832 of the Florida Statutes, and the disclosure goes into the meeting minutes. At the next regular or special meeting, the contract is disclosed to the full membership, and a majority of members present can cancel it.³

If the board votes against a proposed transaction that involves a member’s conflict, that member must either abandon the deal or resign. A member found to have violated these rules is automatically removed from office.

Certification for New Directors

Directors elected or appointed on or after July 1, 2024, must complete a four-hour certification course within 90 days of taking office. It covers milestone inspections, structural integrity reserve studies, elections, recordkeeping, financial transparency, fines, and meetings. The certification is valid for seven years of continuous service, and directors must also take a one-hour annual continuing education course covering changes to Chapter 718 and its administrative rules.⁴

Financial Reporting Thresholds

The board is responsible for budgeting, collecting assessments, and managing reserves. Annual financial reporting is required, and the level of scrutiny scales with revenue:

$150,000 to under $300,000 in annual revenue: compiled financial statements.
$300,000 to under $500,000: reviewed financial statements.
$500,000 or more: audited financial statements prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.

The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) has authority to investigate financial mismanagement and impose penalties.⁵

How Board Elections Must Be Run

Board elections follow a fixed timeline. At least 60 days before the election, the association sends a first notice of the election date to every eligible voter. Owners who want to run must submit written notice of intent at least 40 days before the election. The association then sends a second notice with ballots listing all candidates no fewer than 14 days and no more than 34 days before election day.⁶

Elections use secret ballots. Proxies are not allowed. There is no quorum requirement, but at least 20 percent of eligible voters must cast ballots for the results to be valid. Ballots are counted publicly, and election materials must be kept for at least one year.⁶

Who Can Actually Run

Not everyone qualifies. An owner delinquent on any assessment cannot run and cannot appear on the ballot. Delinquency is measured by the due date in the governing documents; if no date is specified, it defaults to the first day of the assessment period. Anyone suspended or removed by the DBPR is also ineligible.⁶

Felony convictions are disqualifying. A person convicted of any felony in Florida, in a U.S. District or Territorial Court, or of an offense in another state that would be a felony in Florida cannot serve unless their civil rights have been restored for at least five years before seeking election.⁶

Milestone Inspections and Structural Integrity Reserve Studies

The Surfside collapse drove sweeping changes to Florida’s structural safety rules. Two related but distinct obligations now apply to buildings three habitable stories or higher: milestone inspections and structural integrity reserve studies.

Milestone Inspections

A building’s initial milestone inspection must be completed by December 31 of the year it turns 30 years old, measured from the certificate of occupancy date. Local enforcement agencies can require the inspection earlier, at 25 years, when local conditions like proximity to salt water warrant it. After the initial inspection, follow-ups are required every 10 years.⁷

Inspections are performed by a licensed engineer or architect, or by a team with a registered design professional in responsible charge. The purpose is to assess structural integrity, not to check Florida Building Code compliance. If the initial phase shows signs of substantial structural deterioration, a more detailed second-phase inspection is required.⁷

Structural Integrity Reserve Studies

Separately, associations must complete a structural integrity reserve study (SIRS) at least every 10 years for each building three stories or higher. The study must cover the roof, load-bearing walls and primary structural systems, fireproofing, plumbing, electrical systems, waterproofing and exterior painting, windows and exterior doors, and any other item with a deferred maintenance or replacement cost exceeding $25,000 that affects those components.⁸

Associations that existed on or before July 1, 2022, and were already under unit-owner control had to complete their first SIRS by December 31, 2025. The study must include a reserve funding schedule that keeps the cash balance above zero for every budget year. This is a hard requirement. Associations can no longer vote to waive or reduce reserve contributions for the structural components covered by the SIRS.⁸ Associations that deferred maintenance for years are now facing large special assessments to bring reserves into compliance.

Assessments, Liens, and Foreclosure

Every unit owner is obligated to pay assessments, and the consequences of falling behind escalate quickly. Unpaid assessments accrue interest at the rate specified in the declaration, up to 18 percent per year if the declaration is silent. The association can also charge an administrative late fee of up to the greater of $25 or 5 percent of each delinquent installment.⁹

The association holds a statutory lien on every unit to secure payment. When an owner becomes delinquent, the association can record a claim of lien in the public records. Any payment received is applied in a fixed order: first to accrued interest, then to late fees, then to collection costs and attorney fees, and finally to the delinquent assessment itself.⁹

Before the association can obtain a foreclosure judgment, it must give the owner written notice of its intent to foreclose and allow at least 45 days to pay. If the owner doesn’t pay within that window, the association can proceed.⁹

A new owner who buys a unit is jointly liable with the previous owner for all assessments that accrued before the transfer, and has 30 days after closing to pay the outstanding balance. Buyers should request an estoppel certificate before purchase to confirm what is owed.⁹

Fines and Rule Enforcement

Associations can fine owners, tenants, and guests for violating the declaration, bylaws, or rules. The process requires written notice and a hearing before a committee of unit owners who are not on the board. Fines cannot exceed $100 per violation. For continuing violations, the board can levy $100 per day with a single notice and hearing, but the total cannot exceed $1,000 in the aggregate.¹⁰

Fines do not become a lien against the unit, which distinguishes them from assessments. The association cannot foreclose over an unpaid fine. It can, however, suspend voting rights and access to common areas and amenities for nonpayment of assessments or for repeated rule violations. Enforcement must be consistent and must comply with federal laws, including the Fair Housing Act.

Records Access and Financial Transparency

Associations must maintain official records and make them available to owners. Financial statements, meeting minutes, contracts, insurance policies, and voting records must be kept for at least seven years. The recorded declaration, bylaws, articles of incorporation, and developer-provided plans must be kept permanently.⁵

Records must be available for inspection within 45 miles of the property, or within the same county, within 10 business days of a written request. Associations managing 150 or more units must also post digital copies of key documents on their website or through a downloadable mobile application.⁵ Board meetings must be open to owners with proper advance notice. Owners who are denied access to records may recover attorney fees if they prevail in enforcement proceedings.

What to Do Before Filing a Lawsuit

Florida law requires parties to go through either nonbinding arbitration with the DBPR Division or presuit mediation before filing a lawsuit over most condo disputes. The arbitration petition costs $50 and must include proof that the petitioner gave written notice of the dispute, demanded relief, provided a reasonable opportunity to resolve it, and warned of the intent to file.¹¹

Qualifying disputes include disagreements about the board’s authority over owner actions, alterations to common areas, failure to conduct proper elections or meetings, and denial of access to records. Election and recall disputes skip mediation and go straight to division arbitration or court.¹¹

Some categories are excluded from the mandatory pre-suit process entirely. Disputes primarily involving title to a unit, warranty claims, assessment collection, evictions, breach of fiduciary duty claims, and damage claims based on the association’s failure to maintain common elements can go directly to court. If no one files for a trial within 30 days of the arbitration decision, the decision becomes final and binding.¹¹

Federal Rules That Override the Declaration

State law governs most of what an association does, but several federal rules apply regardless of what the declaration or bylaws say.

Fair Housing and Assistance Animals

The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits housing discrimination based on disability, which directly affects how associations handle pet restrictions. A resident with a disability may request a reasonable accommodation to keep an assistance animal, including an emotional support animal, even if the association bans pets. No pet deposit or fee can be charged for an approved assistance animal.¹²

When the disability or the need for the animal is not obvious, the association may request documentation from a licensed healthcare professional with personal knowledge of the individual. Certificates and registrations purchased from online registries are not considered reliable evidence. An accommodation request can only be denied if it would impose an undue burden, fundamentally alter operations, or if the specific animal poses a direct threat that cannot be reduced through other accommodations.¹³

Satellite Dishes and Antennas

The FCC’s Over-the-Air Reception Devices (OTARD) rule, codified at 47 C.F.R. Section 1.4000, prevents associations from restricting residents’ ability to install satellite dishes or antennas on property within their exclusive use or control, such as a balcony or patio. Dishes must be one meter (about 39 inches) or less in diameter. The association cannot require prior approval, charge installation fees, or impose restrictions that delay installation, increase cost, or interfere with signal quality.¹⁴

OTARD does not give residents the right to install antennas on common elements like the building roof. Associations can also impose reasonable safety-related restrictions as long as those restrictions don’t effectively prevent installation.

Federal Tax Filing

Condo associations are taxable at the federal level. Most file IRS Form 1120-H, which allows the association to exclude exempt function income (primarily regular assessments) from gross income. To qualify, at least 60 percent of gross income must come from exempt function income, and at least 90 percent of expenditures must go toward acquiring, building, managing, or maintaining association property.¹⁵

Any non-exempt income, such as interest on reserve accounts, laundry machine revenue, or fees from non-members, is taxed at a flat rate of 30 percent for condominium management associations. Income from usage-based fees or services provided to members as customers rather than as owner-members does not qualify as exempt function income.¹⁵ Associations with significant non-assessment revenue should compare the 1120-H election against filing a regular corporate return on Form 1120, since the 30 percent flat rate can be less favorable than graduated corporate rates.

1
Justia. Florida Code 718.110 – Amendment of Declaration; Correction of Error or Omission in Declaration by Circuit Court
2
Florida Department of State. Instructions for Articles of Incorporation
3
The Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 718.3027 – Conflicts of Interest
4
Division of Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes. Education – DBPR Condominium Information and Resources
5
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 718.111 – The Association
6
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 718.112 – Bylaws
7
The Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 553.899 – Mandatory Structural Inspections for Condominium and Cooperative Buildings
8
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 718.112 – Bylaws
9
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 718.116 – Assessments; Liability; Lien and Priority; Interest; Collection
10
The Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 718.303 – Obligations of Owners; Remedies
11
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 718.1255 – Alternative Dispute Resolution; Voluntary Mediation; Mandatory Nonbinding Arbitration; Legislative Findings
12
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Assistance Animals
13
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Fact Sheet on HUD’s Assistance Animals Notice
14
Federal Communications Commission. Over-the-Air Reception Devices Rule
15
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 1120-H