Florida HOA Committee Guidelines: Architectural Review and Fining Rules

Florida HOA committee rules live in Chapter 720 of the Florida Statutes, and they scale with what the committee actually does: an advisory group has few obligations, while a committee that spends association money, approves architectural changes, or recommends fines faces specific notice, composition, and hearing requirements. Getting the fining committee and architectural review rules wrong is what most often costs Florida associations money.

Who Creates Committees and Who Can Serve

The board of directors creates committees and appoints their members, typically by resolution or vote at a properly noticed board meeting. Bylaws usually set eligibility, and most limit service to parcel owners in good standing. The board can remove or replace committee members at any time through another formal vote. The one meaningful exception to board discretion over appointments is the fining committee, which has independence requirements described below.

What a Committee Can and Cannot Decide

A committee has only the authority the board delegates to it, and it cannot exercise powers the statutes or governing documents reserve for the board or the membership. Amending the declaration is the clearest example of a power that cannot be handed to a committee.¹ Approving budgets and taking other reserved actions are similarly off-limits. A committee that steps outside its delegated authority produces decisions that can be challenged and overturned.

Architectural Review Committee Rules

Section 720.3035 governs architectural review. A committee’s authority to approve or deny changes to a parcel’s structures or improvements is valid only to the extent it is specifically stated in, or reasonably inferred from, the declaration of covenants or published guidelines authorized by the declaration.² A denial based on a committee member’s preference or on an unwritten standard is a denial without authority.

When the declaration or its published guidelines give the parcel owner options for materials, design, size, or location, the owner picks among those options and the committee cannot override the choice.² Where the declaration is silent on setbacks, the applicable county or municipal setback standards control, and the committee cannot impose stricter ones.

If an architectural committee unreasonably, knowingly, and willfully infringes on an owner’s rights under the declaration, the owner may recover damages. That is where architectural disputes get expensive for associations, and it is why a denial should always point to a specific provision in the declaration or the published guidelines.

Disability-Related Modifications

Federal law overrides design preferences here. Under the Fair Housing Act, an architectural review committee must permit reasonable modifications a resident with a disability needs to fully use and enjoy the dwelling, at the resident’s expense.³ Grab bars, wider doorways, and ramps are typical examples. Denying such a modification because it fails a design guideline is a fair housing violation.

Fining Committee Requirements

This is the committee rule Florida associations most often get wrong. Before the board can impose a fine or suspend a member’s right to use common areas, the matter must go before an independent fining committee. Skip this step, and the fine is unenforceable.⁴

Composition

The board appoints at least three members to the committee. None of them may be an officer, director, or employee of the association, and none may be a spouse, parent, child, brother, or sister of an officer, director, or employee.⁴ The independence rule exists so the hearing is conducted by people who did not initiate the enforcement action.

Notice and Hearing

The board must give the parcel owner at least 14 days’ written notice before the hearing, sent to the owner’s designated mailing or email address in the association’s records. If the violation involves a tenant or guest, they must be notified as well. The notice must include:

a description of the alleged violation and the rule, bylaw, or declaration provision it breaks;
the action required to cure the violation, if a cure is possible; and
the date and location of the hearing, with the parcel owner’s right to attend by telephone or other electronic means.

The committee then votes. If a majority does not approve the proposed fine or suspension, it cannot be imposed.⁴

Fine Amounts and Collection

A fine cannot exceed $100 per violation unless the governing documents authorize more. For a continuing violation, the board may levy $100 per day under a single notice and hearing, but the aggregate cannot exceed $1,000 unless the governing documents say otherwise. Fines under $1,000 cannot become a lien against the parcel. In a lawsuit to collect, the prevailing party recovers reasonable attorney fees and costs.⁴

Suspending Common-Area Use

The board may suspend a member’s right to use common areas and facilities for a reasonable period, subject to the same 14-day notice and independent committee hearing. A suspension can never block vehicular or pedestrian access to the owner’s parcel, including parking, and it cannot cut off common areas that provide access or utility services to the parcel.⁴

When Committee Meetings Must Be Open to Homeowners

Not every committee meeting is open. The open meeting rules apply in two situations: when the committee will make a final decision about spending association funds, and when the committee will approve or disapprove architectural changes to a specific parcel.⁵ A committee that only makes recommendations to the board is not covered.

When the rules do apply, notice must be posted in a conspicuous place in the community at least 48 hours before the meeting, except in an emergency, and it must identify the specific agenda items. Homeowners have the right to attend and to speak on designated agenda items. Committee members subject to these requirements cannot vote by proxy or by secret ballot, and minutes must be kept in written form or in a format that can be converted to written form within a reasonable time.⁵

Committee Records and Homeowner Access

Committee minutes, reports, and correspondence are official records of the association. They must be retained for at least seven years unless the governing documents require longer, and they must be maintained within Florida, either within 45 miles of the community or within the county where the association is located.⁵

Any parcel owner may request to inspect or photocopy official records by written request. The association must make records available within 10 business days. It may charge up to 25 cents per page for copies made on its own photocopier. If it lacks a copier at the records location or the request exceeds 25 pages, it may use an outside duplicating service and charge the actual vendor cost.⁵

If the association willfully fails to provide access, the owner is entitled to actual damages or minimum statutory damages of $50 per calendar day. The minimum damages start running on the 11th business day after the association receives the written request and run for up to 10 calendar days, capping at $500. Actual damages, if proven, are not subject to that cap.⁵

1
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 720.306 – Meetings of Members; Voting and Election Procedures; Amendments
2
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 720.3035 – Architectural Control Covenants; Parcel Owner Improvements; Rights and Privileges
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 U.S. Code 3604 – Discrimination in the Sale or Rental of Housing
4
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 720.305 – Obligations of Members; Remedies at Law or in Equity; Levy of Fines and Suspension of Use Rights
5
Official Internet Site of the Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 720.303 – Association Powers and Duties