Florida Condominium Bylaws: Section 718.112, Elections, and Reserves

Florida condominium bylaws are the internal rulebook every condo association runs on, and Chapter 718 of the Florida Statutes dictates what those bylaws must contain, how they can be changed, and where they lose force. The statute always wins over a conflicting bylaw, the recorded declaration outranks the bylaws, and any rules the board adopts sit at the bottom of the stack. If you own a unit, sit on a board, or are trying to figure out whether something your association is doing is actually legal, the answer almost always comes from reading the bylaws against Section 718.112 and the declaration together.

Where the Bylaws Sit in the Governing Documents

Four documents govern a Florida condominium, and they rank in a fixed order. Chapter 718 comes first. The declaration of condominium, recorded in the county’s public records, comes next and creates the community itself. The bylaws sit third and cover internal governance: how the board runs, how meetings work, how owners vote. Board-adopted rules and regulations sit last and cannot contradict anything above them.

The bylaws are physically attached as an exhibit to the declaration when the condominium is recorded, so they become part of the public record at creation.¹ Any later amendment should be recorded as well so future purchasers have notice. When an owner challenges a restriction, the first question is which document contains it and whether a higher-ranking document says something different.

What Section 718.112 Requires the Bylaws to Cover

Florida does not leave bylaw content to the developer’s discretion. Section 718.112 lists provisions the bylaws “shall provide for,” and if the bylaws are silent on any of them, the statute fills the gap by default.² The mandatory subjects include:

The form of administration, the titles of officers and directors, their powers and duties, how they are selected and removed, and any compensation.
The percentage of voting interests needed for a quorum at membership meetings. The default is a majority unless the bylaws set a lower number.
Notice requirements for board meetings, including conspicuous posting of the agenda on the property at least 48 continuous hours in advance.
Written notice of the annual owners’ meeting, with agenda, delivered and posted at least 14 days in advance.
The budget process, including distribution of the proposed budget with a detailed breakdown of estimated revenues and expenses at least 14 days before the budget meeting.
The method for amending the bylaws. If none is stated, the default is approval by at least two-thirds of the voting interests.

If your bylaws are silent on any item above, do not assume there is no rule. Section 718.112 supplies one automatically.

Board Elections and Who Can Serve

Condominium elections run on a statutory calendar that the bylaws cannot shorten or override. The association must send a first notice of the election date to every eligible owner at least 60 days before the election. Anyone who wants to run must submit written notice of candidacy at least 40 days before the election. A second notice with a ballot listing all qualified candidates must go out no fewer than 14 days before election day.³ Elections must be conducted by written ballot or voting machine, and general proxies cannot be used for board elections. If the number of candidates does not exceed the number of open seats, no election is required.

Eligibility is strict. A person who has been suspended or removed by the state division, who is delinquent on any assessment, or who has a felony conviction (subject to statutory rights restoration rules) is barred from serving.³

Newly elected or appointed directors must complete a four-hour state-approved educational course within 90 days of taking office, or sign a written certification confirming they have read the governing documents and will uphold their fiduciary duties. Officers and directors owe that fiduciary duty to the members: they must act in good faith, with reasonable care, and in the association’s best interests rather than their own.⁴ Courts protect good-faith board decisions under the business judgment rule, but that protection dissolves on a showing of gross negligence, bad faith, or a conflict of interest.⁵

Meetings, Notice, Quorum, and Proxies

A majority of the total voting interests is the default quorum for a membership meeting unless the bylaws set a lower number.² Most large-community bylaws set a lower percentage because hitting 50% attendance is unrealistic. Read your bylaws to find out where yours sits.

Proxies are restricted. Owners can use a limited proxy that specifies how their vote should be cast on a particular question, but general proxies giving someone blanket voting authority are prohibited. A proxy is valid only for the specific meeting it was given for and expires after 90 days.²

Board meetings require at least 48 hours of conspicuously posted notice identifying every agenda item. If the board plans to consider a special assessment or a rule change affecting how owners can use their units, that notice period jumps to 14 days and must go out in writing to every owner.² These rules exist because boards sometimes try to push unpopular measures through on short notice. Watch for them.

Amending the Bylaws

The board alone cannot change the bylaws. Amendments require a vote of the membership at the threshold stated in the bylaws themselves. If the bylaws do not state a threshold, the statutory default is approval by at least two-thirds of the total voting interests.⁶

Before the vote, the association must give the entire membership advance written notice of the proposed amendment’s text. Every proposed change must also be checked against the declaration and Chapter 718. A bylaw amendment that conflicts with either is unenforceable no matter how many owners voted for it. Once approved and executed, record the amendment in the county public records so it binds future purchasers.

Fines, Hearings, and the Fining Committee

A condominium board can fine owners for violations of the declaration, bylaws, or reasonable board-adopted rules, but the process has real guardrails. A fine cannot exceed $100 per violation, and for a continuing violation the total cannot exceed $1,000 in the aggregate.⁷

Before a fine takes effect, the board must give at least 14 days’ written notice to the owner and hold a hearing before a fining committee. That committee must consist of at least three association members who are not officers, directors, or employees of the association, and not the spouse, parent, child, brother, or sister of any officer, director, or employee.⁷ The committee’s role is limited to confirming or rejecting the fine. If the committee votes against it, the fine cannot be imposed. Boards that skip this step expose the association to liability.

Owner Rights to Inspect Records

Official records are open to inspection by any member at all reasonable times, and the association must make them available within 10 working days of receiving a written request. If the association misses that deadline, a rebuttable presumption arises that the failure was willful. An owner denied access is entitled to minimum damages of $50 per calendar day, starting on the 11th working day after the request, for up to 10 days. The association can adopt reasonable rules on the time, place, and manner of inspections, but it cannot require the owner to explain why they want the records.⁸

A director or board member who knowingly and repeatedly violates the records-access requirement commits a second-degree misdemeanor, must be removed from office, and has that seat declared vacant. “Repeatedly” means two or more violations within 12 months.⁸

Dispute Resolution Before Court

You cannot sue your condominium association out of the gate. Owners and associations must either petition the Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes for nonbinding arbitration or initiate presuit mediation before filing a lawsuit. The arbitration petition carries a $50 filing fee. If all parties agree in writing during arbitration, the result becomes binding.⁹ Election and recall disputes follow separate rules and must go through arbitration rather than mediation.

Assessment Liens and Foreclosure

Unpaid assessments carry the harshest consequence in condominium law. The association’s lien for unpaid assessments relates back to the recording of the original declaration, which gives it significant priority. The association may foreclose that lien in the same manner as a mortgage foreclosure. Before filing suit, the association must give the unit owner at least 45 days’ written notice of intent to foreclose. If the association skips that notice and the owner pays before final judgment, the association cannot recover its attorney fees or costs.¹⁰

When a first mortgagee acquires a unit through foreclosure or a deed in lieu, its liability for the previous owner’s unpaid assessments is capped at the lesser of 12 months of unpaid assessments or one percent of the original mortgage debt.¹⁰ Associations often cannot recover the full outstanding balance when a bank takes a unit.

Post-Surfside Inspections and Reserves

The 2021 Champlain Towers South collapse prompted Florida to overhaul structural safety requirements for condominiums. The resulting statute, primarily Section 553.899, imposes obligations that flow directly into how associations budget and how their bylaws on reserves now operate.

Milestone Inspections

Any residential condominium or cooperative building three habitable stories or taller must undergo a milestone structural inspection by December 31 of the year the building turns 30, measured from its certificate of occupancy date. Inspections repeat every 10 years after that. Local enforcement agencies may shorten the trigger to 25 years for buildings near salt water.¹¹ Buildings that reached 30 years of age before July 1, 2022, were required to complete their initial inspection by December 31, 2024. Buildings reaching 30 years between July 1, 2022, and December 31, 2024, had until December 31, 2025.

Phase one of the inspection must be completed within 180 days of the building owner’s receiving written notice from the local enforcement agency. If phase one reveals substantial structural deterioration, a more detailed phase two follows. Repairs must commence within 365 days of a phase two report identifying substantial deterioration.¹¹ Buildings of four or fewer units with three or fewer habitable stories are exempt.

Structural Integrity Reserve Studies

Condominium associations with buildings three stories or taller must also complete a structural integrity reserve study (SIRS), which evaluates the remaining useful life and replacement cost of major building components: the roof, structural systems, fire protection, plumbing, electrical systems, waterproofing and exterior painting, windows, and any other component with deferred maintenance exceeding $10,000 that affects safety.² The SIRS must be updated at least every 10 years.

The pivotal change for bylaws: associations may not waive or reduce reserves for the structural components identified in a SIRS. Before Surfside, Florida condo associations could vote to waive or partially fund reserves, and many did to hold assessments down. That option is gone for structural components. An association may, with a majority vote of the total voting interests, temporarily pause SIRS reserve funding for up to two years if it has received its milestone inspection within the preceding two years, but this pause option applies only to budgets adopted on or before December 31, 2028. Any bylaw language allowing broader reserve waivers is void to the extent it conflicts.

Where Federal Law Overrides the Bylaws

A Florida condominium bylaw cannot override federal law, and three federal rules come up repeatedly.

The Fair Housing Act prohibits housing discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, and disability. Bylaws cannot restrict amenity access on those grounds, ban children from common areas, or be enforced selectively against protected groups. On disability, the association must grant reasonable accommodations, such as waiving a pet restriction for an assistance animal, and must allow reasonable modifications for accessibility. Associations cannot charge pet deposits or fees for service animals or emotional support animals and cannot demand government forms, “ESA registration” certificates, or a resident’s diagnosis. If the disability or need is not obvious, the association may request a letter from a licensed healthcare provider and nothing more.

The FCC’s Over-the-Air Reception Devices (OTARD) rule prohibits associations from banning satellite dishes and certain antennas on property the owner controls, such as a balcony, patio, or yard. A bylaw that unreasonably delays installation, increases cost, or prevents adequate signal reception is unenforceable. Legitimate safety-related restrictions are allowed; aesthetic-only bans are void.

The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act protects active-duty military members from foreclosure without a court order, including assessment lien foreclosures. The protection extends for 90 days after active duty ends for obligations entered into after December 31, 2012. An association that pursues a non-judicial foreclosure against a protected servicemember risks statutory damages and the servicemember’s attorney fees.

1
Online Sunshine. Florida Code 718.104 – Creation of Condominiums; Contents of Declaration
2
Florida Senate. Florida Code 718.112 – Bylaws
3
Florida Senate. Florida Code 718.112 – Bylaws
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Florida Senate. Florida Code 720.303 – Association Powers and Duties
5
Legal Information Institute. Business Judgment Rule
6
Online Sunshine. Florida Code 718.112 – Bylaws
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Florida Senate. Florida Code 718.303 – Obligations of Owners and Occupants; Remedies
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Florida Senate. Florida Code 718.111 – The Association
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Florida Senate. Florida Code 718.1255 – Alternative Dispute Resolution; Voluntary Mediation; Mandatory Nonbinding Arbitration
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Online Sunshine. Florida Code 718.116 – Assessments; Liability; Lien and Priority
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Florida Senate. Florida Code 553.899 – Milestone Inspections