Florida Statute 718.111(12): Condo Official Records and How to Request Them

Section 718.111(12) of the Florida Statutes is the condo records law. It lists the official records every condominium association must keep, sets how long it must keep them, and gives every unit owner the right to inspect and copy them. Since a 2024 law (ch. 2024-244), it has also carried criminal penalties for directors and managers who block access.

This guide covers condominiums under Chapter 718. If you live in an HOA instead, the rules are in Chapter 720 and work differently. See How to Request HOA Records in Florida.

What counts as an official record

Under §718.111(12)(a), the association must keep these records from its inception:

• Governing documents: the recorded declaration of condominium, the bylaws, the articles of incorporation and every amendment to each, and the current rules.
• Developer turnover documents: the plans, permits and warranties the developer handed over.
• Minutes of all board, committee, association and unit owner meetings, plus recordings of meetings held by video conference.
• The owner roster: each owner's name, mailing address, unit and voting certificate.
• Insurance policies for the association and each condominium it operates.
• Contracts: the management agreement, leases and every other contract the association is a party to, plus all contracts for work to be performed.
• Bids for work, materials, equipment and services.
• Accounting records: itemized receipts and expenditures, bank statements and ledgers, invoices, a statement of account for each unit, and all audits, reviews, financial reports and structural integrity reserve studies (SIRS).
• Voting records: ballots, sign-in sheets and proxies.
• Inspection reports: milestone inspections and any other structural or life-safety inspection of the condominium property.
• Building permits, board members' education certificates, required affidavits, and the question and answer sheet the association must update every year.
• Everything else in writing that relates to running the association.

That last item matters. Emails and other written records about association business can be official records even if they aren't on the list.

How long records must be kept

If records are lost or destroyed, the association has a good-faith duty to recover them as far as it reasonably can.

Your right to inspect

Any unit owner, or a representative the owner authorizes in writing, can inspect and copy the official records "at all reasonable times" (§718.111(12)(c)). The rules are:

• You don't have to give a reason. The association can set reasonable rules on when, where and how often inspections happen, but it can't make you explain why you want to see something.
• 10 working days. Records must be made available within 10 working days after the association receives your written request, within 45 miles of the condominium or in the same county.
• You can photograph or scan records for free. The association must let you use a phone, tablet or portable scanner to make your own copies, and it can't charge for that. If the association makes the copies, it can charge reasonable costs.
• You get a checklist. With its response, the association must give you a checklist of every record it made available and every record it didn't. It must keep that checklist for 7 years.
• The website can count. If the records you asked for are posted on the association's website or app, the association can satisfy your request by pointing you there.

Renters have a narrower right. A tenant can inspect and copy only the declaration, the bylaws and rules, and the milestone and other inspection reports.

What the association can withhold

Section 718.111(12)(c)5. lists the records owners can't see:

• Records protected by attorney-client privilege, and attorney work product prepared for litigation, until the litigation ends.
• Information gathered to approve a sale, lease or transfer of a unit.
• Personnel records of association and management company employees. Employment contracts and records showing what employees are paid are not protected and remain open.
• Owners' medical records.
• Personal identifying information: Social Security numbers, driver license and credit card numbers, phone numbers, emergency contacts, and email addresses and fax numbers unless the owner consented to electronic notice or to sharing them. Names, unit numbers and mailing addresses stay open.
• Passwords and other electronic security measures, and the association's software. The data itself remains an official record.

Everything not on that list is open to owners.

Penalties if the association refuses

The law sets several layers of consequences:

• A presumption against the association. Missing the 10-working-day deadline creates a rebuttable presumption that the association willfully failed to comply.
• Damages. An owner denied access can recover actual damages or minimum damages of $50 per calendar day for up to 10 days, starting on the 11th working day after the association received the request. That's up to $500.
• Attorney fees. An owner who wins an enforcement action can recover reasonable attorney fees from whoever knowingly denied access.
• Crimes and removal. A director, board member or community association manager who willfully and knowingly or intentionally blocks access commits a second-degree misdemeanor and must be removed from office. Intentionally destroying, defacing or failing to keep accounting records to harm the association or its members is a first-degree misdemeanor, also with removal and a civil penalty. Refusing to produce records to hide a crime is a third-degree felony.
• Outgoing directors. A board or committee member who leaves office must hand over all official records within 5 days after the election, or face a civil penalty from the state.

The website requirement

An association that manages a condominium with 25 or more units (not a timeshare) must post a long list of records online, on its own website or app or on a portal from a provider, within 30 days after it creates or receives them (§718.111(12)(g)). The posted documents must sit in a password-protected owners' section, and the association must give any owner a username and password on written request.

The required documents include:

• The declaration, bylaws, articles and rules, with all amendments.
• Approved minutes of board meetings for the past 12 months, and recordings of meetings held by video conference.
• A list of the association's contracts, and a list of bids received in the past year. Summaries of bids over $500 must stay posted for a year.
• The annual budget, any proposed budget, the annual financial report and any monthly income or expense statements to be considered at a meeting.
• Each director's certification.
• Contracts that involve a director's conflict of interest.
• Notices and agendas for owner meetings at least 14 days before the meeting, on the front page or a page labeled "Notices", plus any document to be voted on at least 7 days before.
• Board meeting notices and agendas.
• Milestone and other structural inspection reports, the latest SIRS, and building permits for current or planned work.

A missing posting doesn't by itself invalidate a board decision, but it is still a violation.

How to request condo records

1. Write it down. The deadline runs only from a written request. Certified mail gives you proof of delivery, which you'll need if you later go to the state.
2. Address it to the board or its designee, usually the management company.
3. Be specific. List the records and date ranges you want, such as "all invoices paid to [vendor] from January to June 2026."
4. Cite the law. Say you are requesting inspection and copying of official records under §718.111(12), Florida Statutes.
5. Ask for the checklist the association must provide with its response.
6. Say you'll make your own copies with a phone or scanner, which the association can't charge for.
7. Keep a copy and note the date of delivery. Count 10 working days from that date.

If the board doesn't respond

• Send a second certified request. If the association still fails to provide access more than 10 days after a second certified-mail request, sent at least 10 days after the first, the Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes must subpoena the records (§718.501(1)). File the complaint with proof of both requests.
• Petition for arbitration. A board's failure to allow inspection of books and records is a dispute that generally must go to the Division's nonbinding arbitration program before a lawsuit (§718.1255).
• Talk to a lawyer about damages. The $50-a-day minimum damages and attorney fees are recovered in an enforcement action.

Frequently asked questions

What is Florida Statute 718.111(12)? It's the part of the Florida Condominium Act that defines a condo association's official records, how long they must be kept, and owners' rights to inspect them. It also sets the website posting requirement for associations with 25 or more units.

How long does a Florida condo association have to provide records? 10 working days after it receives a written request. Missing that deadline creates a presumption that the failure was willful.

Can a condo association charge me for copies? It can charge reasonable costs for copies it makes. It can't charge you for making your own copies with a phone, tablet or scanner.

Can renters see condo records? Only the declaration, the bylaws and rules, and the structural inspection reports.

Are condo board emails official records? Written records related to running the association are official records, so emails about association business generally are, unless they fall into a protected category such as attorney-client privilege.

What happens if a condo board refuses to show records? The owner can recover at least $50 a day for up to 10 days plus attorney fees, the Division can subpoena the records, and a director or manager who knowingly blocks access commits a misdemeanor and must be removed from office.

Learn more

• Florida Condo Laws: A Plain-Language Guide to Chapter 718
• Florida Statutes §718.111 — the condominium association, including official records
• Florida Statutes §718.1255 — arbitration of condo disputes
• How to Request HOA Records in Florida — for homeowners' associations under Chapter 720
• Florida Condo Insurance: What the Association Covers and What Your HO-6 Must Cover
• Florida Condo Milestone Inspections & Reserves
• Chapter 718 vs. Chapter 720: How Condo and HOA Board Duties Differ

Statutory content on this page was last verified against the 2026 Florida Statutes on 2026-10-14. Confirm current statute text at flsenate.gov before relying on it.