Florida Condo Laws: A Plain-Language Guide to Chapter 718

Chapter 718 of the Florida Statutes, the Florida Condominium Act, governs every residential condominium in the state. It sets out how a condominium is created, what the association must do, what owners can demand, and what happens when either side doesn't follow the rules. Your condominium's own documents, mainly the declaration of condominium and the bylaws, fill in the details, but where they conflict with Chapter 718, the statute generally controls.

The Act has been rewritten heavily since the 2021 Surfside collapse, with major changes in 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025. This guide summarizes the rules as they stand in the 2026 Statutes.

Does Chapter 718 apply to you?

Chapter 718 applies if you own a unit in a condominium: you own your unit outright and share ownership of the common elements, such as the land, the building structure, hallways and amenities, with the other owners. The association that runs it is usually a Florida nonprofit corporation.

If you own your lot and house and belong to an association that owns the common areas, you're in a homeowners' association under Chapter 720 instead. Townhomes and villas can be either, depending on how they were created. The declaration will say which chapter applies. See Florida HOA Laws for Chapter 720, and Chapter 718 vs. Chapter 720 for a side-by-side comparison of board duties.

The key sections

Owner rights

Inspecting records

Owners can inspect and copy the association's official records with a written request. The association has 10 working days to make them available, owners can photograph them for free, and a board that refuses faces minimum damages of $50 a day for up to 10 days, attorney fees and, since 2024, criminal penalties and removal from office. Associations with 25 or more units must also post key documents online. Full details are in Florida Statute 718.111(12): Condo Official Records.

Attending and speaking at board meetings

Board meetings are open to owners, except meetings with the association's attorney about litigation and meetings about personnel matters (§718.112(2)(c)).

• Notice: the agenda must be posted conspicuously on the condominium property at least 48 continuous hours before a board meeting, except in an emergency.
• 14-day notice: a board meeting where a nonemergency special assessment or a change to rules about unit use will be considered needs 14 days' notice, mailed or delivered to owners and posted.
• Speaking: owners have the right to speak on every agenda item and to ask about construction and repair projects, revenues and expenses, and other issues affecting the condominium. The board can set reasonable rules on how long and how often.
• Recording: owners can record or video the meetings.
• No email voting: directors can communicate by email but can't vote on association business by email.
• Video meetings: a board meeting held by video conference must be recorded, and the recording becomes an official record.

Voting and running for the board

There's an annual meeting of the owners, and board elections follow a fixed timeline (§718.112(2)(d)):

• The association sends a first notice of the election at least 60 days before it.
• Anyone who wants to run must give written notice at least 40 days before the election.
• The association sends a second notice with the ballot between 14 and 34 days before the election.
• Proxies can't be used to elect directors in a residential condominium.
• If there are no more candidates than open seats, the candidates take office without an election.

Term limits: a director can't serve more than 8 consecutive years, counting from July 1, 2018, unless two-thirds of the votes cast approve or there aren't enough other candidates.

Board duties

Director certification and education

Within 90 days of being elected or appointed (or up to a year before), every director must give the association's secretary a written certification that they've read the declaration, articles, bylaws and current written policies, and a certificate of completing a 4-hour course approved by the state condo division. The course covers milestone inspections, SIRS, elections, recordkeeping, financial literacy, fines and meeting notice. After that, directors need 1 hour of continuing education each year. A director who doesn't file is suspended from the board until they do.

Contracts and bids

Contracts for goods and services must be in writing. If a contract will cost more than 5 percent of the association's total annual budget, including reserves, the association must get competitive bids, though it doesn't have to take the lowest one (§718.3026). Associations with 10 or fewer units can opt out by a two-thirds vote.

Money: budgets, reserves and financial reports

The annual budget

The board adopts an annual budget at a meeting noticed to owners at least 14 days ahead. If the proposed budget would raise assessments above 115 percent of the prior year's, the board must also propose a substitute budget without discretionary spending, and the owners vote on it at the budget meeting. Required reserves, irregular SIRS-component costs and insurance premiums don't count toward the 115 percent.

Reserves

The budget must include reserves for roof replacement, building painting, pavement resurfacing and any other item with a deferred maintenance or replacement cost over $25,000, adjusted for inflation (§718.112(2)(f)).

Owners of an association that doesn't need a SIRS can still vote, by a majority of all voting interests, to provide no reserves or less than the full amount. For buildings that need a SIRS, that's no longer allowed for the structural components the study covers, for budgets adopted on or after December 31, 2024. Those reserves can be funded through regular assessments, special assessments, a line of credit or a loan.

Structural integrity reserve studies (SIRS)

Every residential condominium building three habitable stories or higher needs a structural integrity reserve study at least every 10 years. It covers the roof, structure, fireproofing and fire protection, plumbing, electrical, waterproofing and exterior painting, windows and exterior doors, and any other item costing over $25,000 whose failure would affect those. Associations that existed on July 1, 2022, had to complete their first study by December 31, 2025. See Florida Reserve Requirements for HOA and Condo Boards.

Milestone inspections

Condominium buildings three habitable stories or taller need a structural milestone inspection by December 31 of the year the building turns 30, and every 10 years after (§553.899). Local building officials can require it at 25 years where conditions such as proximity to salt water call for it. See Florida Condo Milestone Inspections & Reserves.

Annual financial reports

Within 90 days after the fiscal year ends, the association must prepare a financial report and deliver it, or a notice of how to get it, to every owner. The type of report depends on total annual revenue (§718.111(13)):

Assessments, late fees and liens

• Owners are liable for assessments that come due while they own the unit, and a buyer is jointly liable with the seller for anything unpaid at the time of transfer (§718.116). A first mortgage lender that takes the unit through foreclosure has limited liability.
• Interest and late fees: unpaid assessments bear interest at the rate in the declaration, or 18 percent a year if it's silent. If the documents allow, the association can also charge a late fee of up to the greater of $25 or 5 percent of each late installment.
• Order of payments: payments go first to interest, then late fees, then collection costs and attorney fees, and only then to the assessment itself.
• Liens and foreclosure: unpaid assessments can become a lien on the unit, and the association can foreclose. It must first give 45 days' written notice of its intent to foreclose, in a form the statute sets out.
• Estoppel certificates: the association must provide a certificate showing what's owed when a unit is sold or refinanced. See Florida HOA Estoppel Certificates.

Fines and suspensions

Under §718.303, an association can fine an owner, tenant or guest for breaking the declaration, bylaws or reasonable rules, but:

• A fine can't exceed $100 per violation, or $1,000 in total for a continuing violation.
• A fine can't become a lien on the unit.
• The board must give at least 14 days' written notice and a chance for a hearing before a committee of at least three owners who aren't directors, officers, employees or their close relatives. If the committee doesn't approve the fine by majority vote, it can't be imposed.
• The association can suspend the use of common facilities for a violation, and for owners more than 90 days delinquent on money owed. It can't cut off access to the unit itself, utilities, parking spaces, elevators or limited common elements that serve only that unit.

Your unit and the building

• Maintenance: the association maintains the common elements, and owners maintain their units and any limited common elements the declaration assigns to them (§718.113).
• Hurricane protection: every board must adopt hurricane protection specifications for each building, and it can't refuse an owner's installation that meets them, though it can require a uniform look.
• Insurance: the law splits coverage between the association's master policy and the owner's HO-6 policy. See Florida Condo Insurance.
• Amendments: if the declaration doesn't say how to amend it, an amendment needs the approval of owners of at least two-thirds of the units (§718.110).
• Termination: an owner-approved plan to end a residential condominium needs the approval of at least 80 percent of the total voting interests, and it fails if 5 percent or more reject it (§718.117).

Turnover from the developer

Once owners other than the developer own 15 percent of the units, they can elect at least a third of the board. They get a majority of the board at the earliest of several events, including three years after half the units are sold, or three months after 90 percent are sold (§718.301). Before turnover, the developer must provide a turnover inspection report for buildings three stories or higher.

Buying and selling a condo

Buying from a developer: the buyer can cancel within 15 days after receiving all the required disclosure documents, and the developer can't close during that period unless the buyer agrees (§718.503(1)).

Buying a resale: the buyer is entitled, at the seller's expense, to the declaration, articles, bylaws and rules, the latest annual financial statement and budget, the "Frequently Asked Questions and Answers" sheet, the milestone inspection summary if there is one, and the latest SIRS or a statement that there isn't one (§718.503(2)). Unless the buyer received them at least 7 business days before signing, the buyer can cancel within 7 business days after signing and receiving them. That right ends at closing.

Resolving disputes

• Arbitration first. Many disputes between owners and the association, including elections, meeting notice, records access and the board's authority over a unit, must go to nonbinding arbitration through the Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes before either side can sue (§718.1255).
• The Division. The Division investigates complaints and can issue civil penalties.
• The condo ombudsman. The state's condominium ombudsman acts as a liaison between owners, boards and the Division. Owners holding 15 percent of the voting interests, or six owners if that's more, can petition the ombudsman to appoint an election monitor for the annual election (§718.5012).
• Court. The prevailing party in a lawsuit under Chapter 718 is generally entitled to attorney fees (§718.303(1)).

Frequently asked questions

What is Florida Statute 718? It's the Florida Condominium Act, the chapter of Florida law that governs condominiums and their associations: how they're created and run, owners' rights, budgets and reserves, inspections, fines, assessments and disputes.

What's the difference between Chapter 718 and Chapter 720? Chapter 718 governs condominiums, where owners own units and share the building and common elements. Chapter 720 governs homeowners' associations, where owners own their lots and the association owns the common areas.

How much can a Florida condo association fine me? Up to $100 per violation and $1,000 in total for a continuing violation, and only after 14 days' notice and a chance for a hearing before an independent committee. A fine can't become a lien on your unit.

Can Florida condo owners vote to waive reserves? Owners in a building that doesn't need a structural integrity reserve study can still vote, by a majority of all voting interests, to waive or reduce reserves. Buildings that need a SIRS can no longer waive reserves for the components the study covers.

How long does a condo board have to give me records? 10 working days after it receives your written request.

How many years can a condo board member serve? No more than 8 consecutive years, counting service from July 1, 2018, unless two-thirds of the votes cast approve or there aren't enough other candidates.

Learn more

• Florida Statutes Chapter 718 — Condominiums (2026)
• Florida Statute 718.111(12): Condo Official Records
• Florida Condo Insurance: What the Association Covers and What Your HO-6 Must Cover
• Florida Condo Milestone Inspections & Reserves
• Florida Reserve Requirements for HOA and Condo Boards
• Chapter 718 vs. Chapter 720: How Condo and HOA Board Duties Differ
• Florida HOA Laws — for homeowners' associations under Chapter 720

Statutory content on this page was last verified against the 2026 Florida Statutes on 2026-10-15. Confirm current statute text at flsenate.gov before relying on it.