Florida Condo Rules and Regulations: Assessments, Insurance, and Boards

Florida condo rules and regulations are set by Chapter 718 of the Florida Statutes, known as the Condominium Act, layered over each community’s own declaration, bylaws, and board-adopted rules. When any of those documents conflict with the statute, the statute wins. The rules cover how much you pay, what your association must insure, how the board can discipline you, what you’re entitled to see, and what has to happen before anyone sues.

Which Document Controls

Every Florida condominium runs on a stack of legal authority, and knowing the order saves owners a lot of arguing. Chapter 718 sits at the top. Below it is the Declaration of Condominium, the recorded document that describes the property, defines unit boundaries, sets each owner’s share of common expenses, and lays out the core restrictions. Every buyer takes title subject to it.

Below the declaration are the Articles of Incorporation, which create the association as a legal entity, and the Bylaws, which control how the association is actually run: meeting notice, board elections, vote counting. At the bottom sit the Rules and Regulations the board adopts for day-to-day matters like pool hours, parking, and noise.

A board-adopted rule cannot be more restrictive than the declaration. If the declaration allows dogs, a board rule banning them or capping their weight is likely unenforceable. Every rule must also be reasonable and applied uniformly.

Assessments and Reserves

Owners pay regular assessments, often called dues or maintenance fees, to fund maintenance and repair of common areas, insurance premiums, management fees, and shared utilities. Each owner’s share is set by the declaration and typically tracks that owner’s proportional interest in the common elements.¹

When something falls outside the budget, the board can levy a special assessment. Any board meeting where a special assessment is on the table requires written notice to all owners at least 14 days in advance, stating the estimated cost and purpose.²

Structural Integrity Reserve Studies

After the 2021 Surfside collapse, Florida rewrote its reserve funding rules. Associations with buildings three stories or higher must now complete a Structural Integrity Reserve Study (SIRS) at least every 10 years. The study evaluates the remaining useful life and replacement cost of the roof, structural systems, fire protection, plumbing, electrical, waterproofing, exterior painting, and windows.²

Associations that existed before July 1, 2022, were required to complete their first SIRS by December 31, 2024, with a final statutory deadline no later than December 31, 2026. The bigger change: owners can no longer vote to waive or reduce reserve funding for the structural and life-safety components identified in the study. Boards that underfund those reserves face personal liability.²

Unpaid Assessments and Foreclosure

Not paying is one of the fastest ways to lose a Florida condo. The association holds a lien on every unit, and that lien relates back to the recording of the original declaration. If you fall behind, the association can record a claim of lien and foreclose in the same manner as a mortgage foreclosure, after giving at least 45 days’ written notice of intent to foreclose.³

A recorded lien expires one year after filing unless the association starts foreclosure within that window. If a first mortgagee eventually takes the unit through its own foreclosure, its liability for the previous owner’s unpaid assessments is capped at the lesser of 12 months of past-due assessments or one percent of the original mortgage amount.³

Estoppel Certificates at Sale

When a unit sells or refinances, the buyer or lender needs an estoppel certificate stating exactly what the seller owes. The association has 10 business days to deliver it. The maximum fee is $250 when the account is current, plus an additional $150 if the owner is delinquent. Expedited delivery inside three business days adds a $100 surcharge. Miss the 10-business-day deadline and the association forfeits any fee at all.³

Who Insures What

Florida draws a hard line between association-insured property and owner-insured property. Getting this wrong is one of the most expensive mistakes a condo owner can make.

The association must carry adequate property insurance covering the condominium as originally built: the structure, the common areas, and any additions the association itself has made. Replacement cost has to be reappraised by an independent appraisal at least every three years. The association also has to maintain fidelity bonding for anyone handling association funds, in an amount equal to the maximum funds in its custody at any time.⁴

What the association’s policy specifically does not cover: personal property inside a unit, flooring, wall and ceiling coverings, appliances, water heaters, built-in cabinets, countertops, electrical fixtures, and window treatments. Those are all on the owner. If the association ends up rebuilding portions the owner should have insured, it can bill the cost back as an assessment.⁴

That gap is why unit owners carry their own HO-6 policy. Florida law doesn’t require every owner to have one, but declarations often do, and going without is a gamble. An HO-6 covers personal belongings, interior finishes, personal liability if someone is injured in your unit, and loss assessment coverage for special assessments tied to a loss that exceeds the master policy.

Rentals, Pets, and Modifications

Rental Limits

Rental provisions are among the most contested in Florida condos. The declaration can set minimum lease terms, cap the number of units rented at once, or require board approval of tenants. If the association later amends the declaration to prohibit rentals, shorten the lease term, or limit how often an owner can lease, that change only binds owners who voted for it and anyone who buys in afterward. Owners who voted against are grandfathered under the prior rules.⁵

When a unit is leased, the tenant takes on the right to use common areas, and the association may bar the owner from using those amenities at the same time. If the owner is behind on assessments, the association can demand the tenant pay rent directly to the association until the debt is cleared, with the tenant getting a dollar-for-dollar credit against rent owed to the landlord.³

Pets and Assistance Animals

Pet restrictions on size, breed, type, or number are common, and to be enforceable they must appear in the declaration. Federal fair housing law overrides those restrictions for assistance animals, including emotional support animals, even in buildings that ban pets outright. The association may ask for documentation of a disability-related need, but it cannot demand a specific diagnosis, charge a pet deposit, or require the animal be registered or certified through any service. Denying a valid accommodation request opens the association to a federal complaint.

Changes to Your Unit

Any modification to a unit’s exterior or structural elements, such as enclosing a balcony, changing window styles, or adding a satellite dish, needs board approval. The board reviews the request against the declaration’s architectural guidelines and for effects on structural integrity or uniform appearance. Interior renovations that don’t touch common elements or structural components generally don’t need approval, though some declarations are stricter.

Selling a Unit: Resale Disclosure

Before a resale closes, the seller (any non-developer owner) has to give the buyer a specific document package, at the seller’s expense:

Declaration of condominium
Articles of incorporation
Bylaws and rules
Most recent annual financial statement and budget
Milestone inspection report summary, if applicable
Most recent structural integrity reserve study, or a statement that none has been completed
Turnover inspection report, if one was performed on or after July 1, 2023
The Frequently Asked Questions and Answers document required by the Division

The buyer also gets a governance form summarizing how condo associations work in Florida.⁶

Every resale contract must contain one of two conspicuous clauses: either a confirmation that the buyer got all required documents at least three business days before signing, or a right for the buyer to void the contract within three business days after signing and receiving the documents. A contract with neither clause is voidable at the buyer’s option any time before closing.⁶

How the Board Operates and What Owners Can Do About It

The board handles day-to-day operations: maintaining common areas, collecting assessments, enforcing rules, buying insurance. In associations with more than 10 units, the board must meet at least once per quarter.²

Meetings and Owner Participation

Any board meeting with a quorum must be open to owners. The association has to post notice with an agenda in a conspicuous location on the property at least 48 hours ahead. If the meeting involves a special assessment or a change to rules affecting unit use, notice jumps to 14 days in writing to each owner. Owners can speak on designated agenda items, ask questions about financial reports and construction projects, and record the meeting.²

Elections

Board elections are conducted by written ballot or voting machine. Proxies aren’t allowed. A first notice goes out at least 60 days before the election, candidates declare at least 40 days out, and a second notice with the ballot goes out between 14 and 34 days before election day. There’s no quorum requirement, but at least 20 percent of eligible voters have to cast a ballot for the election to count.²

Mandatory Board Education

Every board member of a residential condominium now has to complete an education program. Within one year before being elected, or within 90 days after, a new director submits two things to the secretary: a written certification that the director has read the declaration, articles, bylaws, and current policies, and a certificate showing completion of at least a four-hour curriculum covering reserve studies, elections, financial transparency, and meeting requirements. Directors serving before July 1, 2024, had until June 30, 2025, to comply.²

After the initial certification, directors have to complete at least one hour of continuing education a year, covering recent changes to the Condominium Act. A director who misses the deadlines is suspended until compliance, and the board can fill the seat during the suspension. The initial certification stays valid for seven years as long as the director serves continuously.²

Records You Can Inspect

Owners have a broad right to inspect the association’s official records: declaration, bylaws, articles, meeting minutes, current rules, insurance policies, management contracts, accounting records, election ballots, building permits, board education certificates, and more.⁴

Core documents (declaration, bylaws, articles, minutes) have to be kept permanently. Structural integrity reserve studies stay for at least 15 years. Bids are kept at least one year. All other official records must be maintained within Florida for at least seven years. Once an owner submits a written request, the association has 10 working days to make records available.⁷

Changing the Declaration

Amending the declaration takes owner approval, not just a board vote. If the declaration doesn’t set its own procedure, approval from owners holding at least two-thirds of the units is required. For declarations recorded after April 1, 1992, the approval threshold cannot be set higher than four-fifths of the voting interests.⁵

Some amendments carry extra protections. Anything that changes the size or layout of a unit, alters a unit’s share of common expenses, or modifies its appurtenances requires consent from the affected owner and all lien holders on that unit, plus approval from every other owner in the condominium. Amendments that would allow timeshare interests face the same all-owner, all-lienholder bar.⁵

Newer Buildings: Developer Turnover

In newly built condominiums, the developer initially controls the board. Florida law forces turnover to unit owners on the earliest of several triggers, including three years after 50 percent of units have sold, three months after 90 percent have sold, or seven years after the original survey is recorded or the first unit is transferred, whichever comes first. Developer bankruptcy or appointment of a receiver also triggers turnover.⁸

Once a trigger hits, the association must call an election within 75 days, with at least 60 days’ notice to owners. At turnover, the developer delivers all association property: original declaration, articles, bylaws, minute books, financial records, insurance policies, permits, warranties, and any funds held. If you’re buying in a newer building, ask whether turnover has happened and, if so, whether a turnover inspection was completed.⁸

Fines, Suspensions, and Getting to Court

Fines

The board can fine an owner, tenant, or guest up to $100 per violation for breaking the declaration, bylaws, or adopted rules. A continuing violation can draw $100 per day, but total fines for a single matter cannot exceed $1,000 in the aggregate. A fine cannot become a lien against the unit, so the association cannot foreclose over unpaid fines alone.⁹

Before any fine takes effect, the board has to give the owner at least 14 days’ written notice and an opportunity to be heard before an independent committee of at least three unit owners. Nobody on the committee can be a board officer, director, employee, or close family member of one. If the committee doesn’t approve the fine, it can’t be imposed. If it does, payment is due five days after the committee meeting.⁹

Pre-Suit Mediation or Arbitration

Florida does not let condo disputes go straight to court. The party bringing the dispute has to either petition the Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes for nonbinding arbitration or start pre-suit mediation. The petition must show the other side received advance written notice describing the dispute, a demand for relief with a reasonable chance to comply, and notice that arbitration or legal action would follow otherwise. Skip those steps and the petition gets dismissed.¹⁰

Election and recall disputes have to go through arbitration with the Division and can’t be handled by mediation alone. For other covered disputes, parties can pick mediation instead of arbitration. Arbitration becomes binding only if all parties agree in writing during the proceeding.¹⁰

If a dispute between an owner and the association reaches court, the prevailing party is entitled to recover reasonable attorney’s fees. An owner who wins can also recover additional amounts to reimburse their share of the assessments the association levied to fund its own litigation costs.⁹

1
Online Sunshine. Florida Code 718.115 – Common Expenses and Common Surplus
2
Florida Senate. Florida Code 718.112 – Bylaws
3
Florida Senate. Florida Code 718.116 – Assessments, Liability, Lien and Priority, Interest, Collection
4
Justia Law. Florida Statutes 718.111 – The Association
5
Florida Senate. Florida Code 718.110 – Amendment of Declaration, Correction
6
Florida Senate. Florida Code 718.503 – Developer Disclosure Prior to Sale, Nondeveloper Unit Owner Disclosure Prior to Sale
7
Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation. Official Records of Condominium Associations
8
Florida Senate. Florida Code 718.301 – Transfer of Association Control, Developer Obligations
9
Justia Law. Florida Statutes 718.303 – Obligations of Owners and Occupants
10
Florida Senate. Florida Code 718.1255 – Alternative Dispute Resolution, Voluntary Mediation, Mandatory Nonbinding Arbitration