Florida Condominium Board Member Conflict of Interest Disclosure Rules

Florida condo board conflict of interest rules require any director, officer, or close relative who wants to do business with the association to disclose the deal in advance, put it on the meeting agenda with the contract attached, step out of the room for discussion and the vote, and get approval from two-thirds of the other directors. Skip those steps and the contract can be voided, the director can be removed automatically, and the state can fine both the individual and the association. The rules live in Section 718.3027 of the Florida Condominium Act.¹

What Counts as a Conflict

A conflict is presumed whenever a board member, officer, or one of their relatives enters into a contract for goods or services with the association, or holds an ownership interest in a business that contracts with the association or wants to. The presumption is rebuttable, meaning the transaction can still go forward, but only if the disclosure and approval process is followed. Skip the process and the presumption stands.¹

“Relative” is defined broadly. It covers anyone within the third degree of consanguinity by blood or marriage: parents, children, siblings, grandparents, grandchildren, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and first cousins. If a director’s brother-in-law owns the landscaping company bidding on the maintenance contract, the conflict rules apply.¹

The reason the statute is this specific is that Florida law imposes a fiduciary duty on directors and officers. They are legally obligated to act in the association’s interest, not their own, and the conflict rules are the guardrails around self-dealing that would otherwise breach that duty.²

The Steps the Board Must Follow

Getting any step of the approval sequence wrong makes the contract voidable. The statute requires all of the following:

The proposed transaction is listed on the board meeting agenda, and every related contract and transactional document is attached to that agenda before the meeting.
The association complies with the written disclosure requirements of Section 617.0832 (Florida’s nonprofit conflict-of-interest statute), and those disclosures are recorded in the meeting minutes.
The conflicted director or relative may attend the meeting and present the proposal, then must leave the room during the discussion and the vote.
The conflicted director formally recuses. Their attendance still counts toward a quorum so the remaining directors can act.
Approval requires an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the other directors present.

What Happens If the Board Says No

If the board rejects the proposed transaction, the conflicted director or officer (or their relative) has to notify the board in writing that they will not pursue the activity, or that they are withdrawing from office. There is no third option. If the board later finds that a director or officer violated this requirement, that person is automatically deemed removed from office and the vacancy is filled under general law. No further vote is needed to remove them.¹

How Unit Owners Can Cancel a Conflicted Contract

Even after the board properly approves a conflicted transaction, unit owners get a second look. At the next regular or special membership meeting, the board must disclose that the contract exists. Any member can move to bring it up for a vote, and a simple majority of members present can cancel it.¹

If members cancel, the association owes the vendor only the reasonable value of goods and services delivered up to the cancellation date. No termination fee, no liquidated damages, no penalty, even if the contract itself says otherwise.³

A different remedy applies when the disclosure process was never followed at all. In that situation, unit owners representing at least 20 percent of the voting interests can file a written notice with the board terminating the contract outright. The same cap on the association’s liability applies: reasonable value of what was already delivered, no penalties.⁴

Kickbacks Are a Separate, Criminal Matter

The conflict-of-interest process handles legitimate business transactions that happen to involve insiders. Kickbacks are different. Florida law flatly prohibits board members, officers, and managers from soliciting or accepting kickbacks. Doing so knowingly is a third-degree felony, punishable by up to five years in prison, and the person must be removed from office with the seat declared vacant.²

There is a narrow exception for services or items received in connection with trade fairs or education programs. Anything resembling a payment for steering association business to a particular vendor falls under the prohibition.²

State Penalties and Enforcement

The Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes, part of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, investigates complaints and enforces the conflict provisions. It has authority under both Section 718.3027 and the broader fiduciary provisions of Section 718.111.⁵

The Division can impose civil penalties against the association or against an individual director who willfully and knowingly violates the statute. Penalties can accrue per day for continuing violations, capped at $5,000 per offense. Through circuit court, the Division can seek additional civil penalties of $500 to $5,000 per violation. It can also order an individual removed from the board and bar them from serving on any community association board for a set period.⁵

Unit owners can pursue civil litigation independently, seeking removal of a board member or damages the association suffered from the conflicted transaction.

Where the Paperwork Has to Live

Owners do not have to file a records request to check whether a conflicted transaction exists. Florida law requires associations to post on their website or digital application every contract or transaction between the association and any director, officer, or business entity in which a director has a financial interest, along with any documents related to a conflict of interest or possible conflict under Section 718.3027.⁶

If a suspected conflict is not showing up in the online records, that itself is a signal that the disclosure process may not have been followed, which opens the door to the 20-percent petition remedy and to a complaint with the Division.

1
Florida Senate. Florida Code 718.3027 – Conflicts of Interest
2
Florida Senate. Florida Code 718.111 – The Condominium
3
Florida Senate. Florida Code 718.3027 – Conflicts of Interest
4
Florida Senate. Florida Code 718.3027 – Conflicts of Interest
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Florida Senate. Florida Code 718.501 – Authority, Responsibility, and Duties of Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes
6
Florida Senate. Florida Code 718.111 – The Condominium