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FLORIDA RESERVE COMPLIANCE CHECKLIST

For HOA and Condo Boards — Annual Review

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This checklist is general information, not legal advice. It reflects Florida law (Chapters 718 and 720 and §553.899, Florida Statutes) as of October 2026. Reserve and structural-safety law has changed nearly every legislative session since 2022. Confirm any statute at flsenate.gov before relying on it.

Before waiving reserves, pausing contributions, or taking on a line of credit or loan, consult your association's attorney and a qualified reserve professional. Your declaration and bylaws may add requirements beyond what's listed here.

HOA Guide Florida is not a law firm. No attorney-client relationship is created by using this document.

Association name: ______________________________

Chapter: ☐ 720 (HOA) ☐ 718 (condo) Fiscal year: ______________

Completed by: ______________________________ Date: ______________

Use Part A if your association is an HOA, Part B if it's a condominium. They don't overlap. Then complete Part C for every budget.

Part A — HOA (Chapter 720)

A1. Do you have statutory reserves?

  • ☐ Find the owner approval that established reserves, if any: a vote of a majority of the total voting interests, at a meeting or by written consent. (§720.303(6)(d))
  • ☐ Confirm the approval names the components the reserves cover. List them: ______________________________ (§720.303(6)(d))
  • ☐ Check the declaration and bylaws for any separate reserve requirement of their own.

If there's no approval on record, reserves are optional. Go to A2. If there is, skip to A3.

A2. No statutory reserves

  • ☐ Does the association repair or maintain capital improvements that could lead to a special assessment? If yes, the annual financial report must include the statutory disclosure in conspicuous type. Confirm it's in last year's report. (§720.303(6)(c)1.)
  • ☐ If the budget funds voluntary capital or deferred-maintenance accounts anyway, confirm the report carries the second statutory statement for those accounts instead. (§720.303(6)(c)2.)
  • ☐ Any reserve-like funding stays within the limits your documents place on assessment increases. (§720.303(6)(b))

A3. Statutory reserves are established

  • ☐ Every approved component appears as a reserve account in this year's budget. (§720.303(6)(d))
  • ☐ Each amount is calculated by formula from remaining useful life and replacement cost or deferred maintenance expense, with this year's estimates. (§720.303(6)(e))
  • ☐ Pooled accounts, if used, are funded so projected cash covers projected spending over the pool's remaining life, with no balloon payments. (§720.303(6)(g))
  • ☐ Waiver or reduction: if owners want one this year, it needs a majority vote at a meeting with a quorum. Record the vote: ______________ It covers this budget year only. If the vote fails or there's no quorum, the budgeted reserves take effect. (§720.303(6)(f))
  • ☐ Other uses of reserve money were approved in advance by majority vote at a meeting with a quorum. No vote, no spending outside reserve items. (§720.303(6)(h))
  • ☐ Ending a reserve account was approved by a majority of the total voting interests, and the account was removed from the budget. (§720.303(6)(b))

Part B — Condominium (Chapter 718)

B1. Required reserves

  • ☐ The budget has reserve accounts for roof replacement, building painting, and pavement resurfacing, whatever their cost. (§718.112(2)(f)2.a.)
  • ☐ It also reserves for every other item with a deferred maintenance or replacement cost over $25,675 (2026 threshold; check DBPR's posted figure after February 1 each year). (§718.112(2)(f)2.a., (f)6.)
  • ☐ Each amount is calculated from remaining useful life and replacement cost or deferred maintenance expense. (§718.112(2)(f)2.a.)
  • ☐ If the association must have a SIRS, reserves for the SIRS items follow the most recent SIRS findings and recommendations. (§718.112(2)(f)2.a.)
  • ☐ Pooled reserves, if used, pool SIRS components only with other SIRS components. (§718.112(2)(f)4.)

B2. Waivers and other uses

  • ☐ Is the association still developer-controlled? If so, it can't vote to waive or reduce reserves. (§718.112(2)(f)2.f.)
  • ☐ Any waiver or reduction was approved by a majority of the total voting interests. Record the vote: ______________ (§718.112(2)(f)2.b.)
  • ☐ SIRS items were not waived or reduced. For budgets adopted on or after December 31, 2024, a SIRS association can't, unless it's a multicondominium with a Division-approved alternative funding method. (§718.112(2)(f)2.b.)
  • ☐ Only units assessed for the reserves in question voted on waiving them or using them elsewhere. (§718.112(2)(f)5.)
  • ☐ Proxy ballots on those questions carried the statutory warning in capitalized bold type larger than anything else on the ballot. (§718.112(2)(f)5.)
  • ☐ Any other use of reserve money was approved in advance by a majority of all the total voting interests, and no SIRS reserves were redirected. (§718.112(2)(f)3.)

B3. Structural integrity reserve study (SIRS)

  • ☐ List each building three habitable stories or higher: ______________________________ (§718.112(2)(g)1., 5.)
  • ☐ Date of the most recent SIRS for each: ______________ Next due (at least every 10 years): ______________ (§718.112(2)(g)1.)
  • ☐ It covers at least: roof; structure; fireproofing and fire protection; plumbing; electrical; waterproofing and exterior painting; windows and exterior doors; and other items over the threshold that affect those. (§718.112(2)(g)1.)
  • ☐ It was performed or verified by a licensed engineer or architect, a CAI-certified reserve specialist, or an APRA professional reserve analyst. (§718.112(2)(g)3.a.)
  • ☐ Any study bidder that also bid on the repair work disclosed it in writing. (§718.112(2)(g)3.b.)
  • ☐ An officer or director signed the affidavit acknowledging receipt of the completed study. (§718.112(2)(g)10.)
  • ☐ Within 45 days of receipt: each owner got a copy or a notice that it's available. Date: ______________ (§718.112(2)(g)11.)
  • ☐ Within 45 days of receipt: the completion statement was filed with the Division on its form. Date: ______________ (§718.112(2)(g)12.)
  • ☐ If this year's funding (regular or special assessments, credit, or a loan) doesn't match the SIRS funding plan, an updated SIRS was obtained before the budget was adopted. (§718.112(2)(g)4.c.)

B4. Milestone inspection

  • ☐ For each building three habitable stories or higher, the year it turns 30 (or 25 if the local building official requires it): ______________ Inspection due by December 31 of that year, then every 10 years. (§553.899(3))
  • ☐ If a milestone inspection was done in the past 5 years and meets the SIRS requirements, note whether it was used for the SIRS visual inspection. (§718.112(2)(g)8.)
  • ☐ If the SIRS was delayed after a milestone inspection, it's within the two-budget-year limit. New due date: ______________ (§718.112(2)(g)9.)

B5. Relief provisions (only with your attorney and reserve professional)

These aren't available to associations controlled by a developer, associations whose owners have been in control for less than a year, or associations controlled by bulk assignees or bulk buyers. (§718.112(2)(f)2.c.(III), 2.e.)

  • ☐ Milestone-repair pause. Budget adopted on or before December 31, 2028; milestone inspection completed within the previous 2 calendar years; approved by a majority of the total voting interests; no more than two consecutive annual budgets. (§718.112(2)(f)2.e.)
  • ☐ After a pause: a new SIRS was performed before contributions resumed. (§718.112(2)(f)2.e.)
  • ☐ Special assessment, line of credit, or loan for SIRS items: approved by a majority of the total voting interests. (§718.112(2)(f)2.c.(I))
  • ☐ A line of credit or loan covers the cumulative previously waived or unfunded reserves, is available to the board without further owner approval, and is disclosed in the annual financial statement and to prospective buyers. (§718.112(2)(f)2.c.(II))

Part C — Every budget, both chapters

  • ☐ Record every owner vote on establishing, waiving, reducing, or using reserves in the meeting minutes, with the count and whether a quorum was present. Several of the rules above depend on the vote threshold, so the record is your proof.
  • ☐ The reserve section of the budget matches what owners actually approved this year.
  • ☐ Condo: reserve and operating funds are accounted for separately. They may share an account for investment only, and that account must never fall below the reserve balance. (§718.111(14))
  • ☐ HOA: before turnover, reserve and operating funds aren't commingled, except reserves may be jointly invested if accounted for separately. (§720.303(8)(a))
  • ☐ Next review date: ______________

Notes

From HOA Guide Florida — Florida Reserve Requirements for HOA and Condo Boards. Florida law verified October 3, 2026.