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The actual law · Florida
Florida Homeowners' Association Act (Chapter 720) & Condominium Act (Chapter 718), full text. This is the law your board answers to — read it yourself, then use the owner guides to see what it means in practice.
Florida building safety statutes including milestone inspections for condominiums and cooperatives (§ 553.899), local enforcement, and coordination with Chapters 718 and 719.
Definitions.
Rules; inspections; and insignia.
The translation
The statute is the authority; the guides are the translation. Each one walks a real owner problem through the Florida sections that control it.
Browse Florida associations to see homeowner reviews, public records, and how communities near you measure up.
Recertification of manufactured buildings.
Application and scope.
Manufacturer certification.
Placement of certain housing.
Injunctive relief.
Factory-built school buildings.
Intent.
Adoption of federal standards.
Exceptions to applicability of the federal standards.
Parking spaces for persons who have disabilities.
Applicability.
Vertical accessibility.
Parking facilities; minimum height clearance requirement.
Modifications and waivers; advisory council.
Enforcement.
Americans with Disabilities Act Standards for Accessible Design.
Certifications of conformity and remediation plans.
Trench excavations in excess of 5 feet deep; required information.
Definitions.
Intent.
Surcharge.
Florida Building Code.
Florida Building Commission.
Organization of commission; rules and regulations; meetings; staff; fiscal affairs; public comment.
General powers of the commission.
Specific powers of the commission.
Interpretations.
Licensee accountability.
Permits; applications; issuance; inspections.
Alternative plans review and inspection.
Building permit application to local government.
Fire alarm permit application to local enforcement agency.
Local government-expedited approval of certain permits.
Streamlined low-voltage alarm system installation permitting.
Alarm system registrations.
Simplified permitting processes.
Local government residential master building permit program.
Enforcement.
Injunctive relief.
Implied warranties.
Mandatory builder warranty.
Statutory civil action.
Building code compliance and mitigation program.
Product evaluation and approval.
Local product approval.
Windstorm loss mitigation; requirements for roofs and opening protection.
Public restrooms; ratio of facilities for men and women; application; incorporation into the Florida Building Code.
Private spaces.
Adoption of electrical and alarm standards.
Smoke alarms in one-family and two-family dwellings and townhomes.
Carbon monoxide alarm required.
Firesafety.
Mitigation grant program guideline.
Preemption; certain special acts concerning general purpose local government repealed.
Mandatory structural inspections for condominium and cooperative buildings.
Resiliency and Safe Structures Act.
Purpose of thermal efficiency code.
Definitions.
Applicability.
Thermal efficiency standards for new nonresidential buildings.
Thermal efficiency standards for new residential buildings.
Thermal efficiency standards for renovated buildings.
Thermal efficiency standards for unvented attic and unvented enclosed rafter assemblies.
Inspection.
Florida Building Code; required amendments.
Energy performance disclosure for residential buildings.
Setting requirements for appliances; exceptions.
Air conditioners.
Purpose.
Definitions.
Products covered by this part.
Applicability.
Test methods.
Energy conservation standards.
Exemptions.
Revisions of standards.
Certification statements.
Enforcement and penalties.
Development of building codes for radon-resistant buildings; funding; rules for radon-resistant passive construction standards; ordinances.
Definitions.
Energy-efficiency ratings for buildings.
Energy-efficiency information provided by building energy-efficiency rating systems providers.
Public buildings.
Compliance.
Florida's general nonprofit corporation statute. Every Florida HOA and COA is organized as a nonprofit corporation under Chapter 617 (in addition to the substantive HOA/COA chapter that governs it). When Chapter 718, 719, or 720 is silent on a corporate governance question — how to call a members' meeting, how to take action without a meeting, what records members can inspect — Chapter 617 fills the gap. Boards that ignore 617 because they think only 718 or 720 matters are routinely surprised in litigation.
DBPR rules governing condominium association budgets, financial reporting, records, and related accounting practices. Administrative code — read alongside Chapter 718.
Governs the formation, management, powers, and operation of condominium associations in Florida. Sections cover creation of condominiums, association powers and duties, financial reporting, common-element responsibility, milestone inspections, structural integrity reserve studies (SIRS), member meeting rules, and developer-to-owner control transfer.
Definitions.
Creation of condominiums; contents of declaration.
Recording of declaration.
Condominium parcels; appurtenances; possession and enjoyment.
Restraint upon separation and partition of common elements.
Common elements.
Certain regulations not to be retroactively applied.
Legal description of condominium parcels.
Amendment of declaration; correction of error or omission in declaration by circuit court.
The association.
Covered in an owner guide
Bylaws.
Failure to fill vacancies on board of administration sufficient to constitute a quorum; appointment of receiver upon petition of unit owner.
Maintenance; limitation upon improvement; display of flag; hurricane protection; display of religious decorations.
Association powers.
Common expenses and common surplus.
Assessments; liability; lien and priority; interest; collection.
Covered in an owner guide
Termination of condominium.
Limitation of liability.
Separate taxation of condominium parcels; survival of declaration after tax sale; assessment of timeshare estates.
Liens.
Unconscionability of certain leases; rebuttable presumption.
Prohibition against SLAPP suits; other prohibited actions.
Right of owners to peaceably assemble.
Cable television service; resident’s right to access without extra charge.
Attorney’s fees.
Alternative dispute resolution; mediation; nonbinding arbitration; applicability.
Association emergency powers.
Receivership notification.
Electronic voting.
Sales or reservation deposits prior to closing.
Warranties.
Transfer of association control; claims of defect by association.
Agreements entered into by the association.
Agreements for operation, maintenance, or management of condominiums; specific requirements.
Contracts for products and services; in writing; bids; exceptions.
Conflicts of interest.
Obligations of owners and occupants; remedies.
Covered in an owner guide
Leaseholds.
Condominium leases; escalation clauses.
Phase condominiums.
Mixed-use condominiums.
Multicondominiums; multicondominium associations.
Condominiums created within condominium parcels.
Condominiums created within a portion of a building or within a multiple parcel building.
Authority, responsibility, and duties of Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes.
Ombudsman; appointment; administration.
Ombudsman; powers and duties.
Service of process.
Filing prior to sale or lease.
Developer disclosure prior to sale; nondeveloper unit owner disclosure prior to sale; voidability.
Prospectus or offering circular.
Publication of false and misleading information.
Zoning and building laws, ordinances, and regulations.
Regulation by Division of Hotels and Restaurants.
Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes Trust Fund.
Conversion of existing improvements to condominium; rental agreements.
Notice of intended conversion; time of delivery; content.
Notices.
Right of first refusal.
Economic information to be provided.
Disclosure of condition of building and estimated replacement costs and notification of municipalities.
Converter reserve accounts; warranties.
Prohibition of discrimination against nonpurchasing tenants.
Saving clause.
Legislative intent.
Definitions.
Assignment and assumption of developer rights by bulk assignee; bulk buyer.
Board of administration; transfer of control.
Specific provisions pertaining to offering of units by a bulk assignee or bulk buyer.
Time limitation for classification as bulk assignee or bulk buyer.
Liability of developers and others.
Governs cooperative associations (co-ops) in Florida — residential housing where members own shares in a corporation that owns the real property, rather than units in fee simple. Parallel structure to Chapter 718 but with co-op-specific provisions around share transfers, proprietary leases, and member voting.
Definitions.
Creation of cooperatives.
Cooperatives; access to units; records; financial reports; assessments; purchase of leases.
Cooperative parcels; appurtenances; possession and enjoyment.
Amendment of cooperative documents; alteration and acquisition of property.
Bylaws; cooperative ownership.
Failure to fill vacancies on board of administration; appointment of receiver upon petition of unit owner.
Common expenses; assessment.
Rents and assessments; liability; lien and priority; interest; collection; cooperative ownership.
Right of owners to peaceably assemble.
Attorney’s fees.
Unconscionability of certain leases; rebuttable presumption.
Failure to fill vacancies on board of administration sufficient to constitute a quorum; appointment of receiver upon petition of unit owner.
Separate taxation of cooperative parcels; survival of contractual provisions after tax sale.
Limitation of liability.
Receivership notification.
Association emergency powers.
Electronic voting.
Sales or reservation deposits prior to closing.
Warranties.
Transfer of association control.
Agreements entered into by the association.
Contracts for products and services; in writing; bids; exceptions.
Obligations of owners.
Association’s right to amend cooperative documents.
Leaseholds.
Cooperative leases; escalation clauses.
Phase cooperatives.
Powers and duties of Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes.
Filing prior to sale or lease.
Disclosure prior to sale.
Prospectus or offering circular.
Publication of false and misleading information.
Zoning and building laws, ordinances, and regulations.
Regulation by Division of Hotels and Restaurants.
Conversion of existing improvements to cooperative; rental agreements.
Notice of intended conversion; time of delivery; content.
Notices.
Right of first refusal.
Economic information to be provided.
Disclosure of condition of building and estimated replacement costs.
Converter reserve accounts; warranties.
Prohibition of discrimination against nonpurchasing tenants.
Saving clause.
Governs Florida homeowners' associations (HOAs) for residential planned developments. Covers association powers and duties, recording of governing documents, board member duties, member rights, meeting and election procedures, financial obligations, and the Department of Business and Professional Regulation's oversight role.
Definitions.
Purposes, scope, and application.
Association powers and duties; meetings of board; official records; budgets; financial reporting; association funds; recalls.
Covered in an owner guide
Notice of association information; preservation from Marketable Record Title Act.
Officers and directors.
Architectural control covenants; parcel owner improvements; rights and privileges.
Covered in an owner guide
Right of owners to peaceably assemble; display of flags; SLAPP suits prohibited.
Covered in an owner guide
Installation, display, and storage of items.
Obligations of members; remedies at law or in equity; levy of fines and suspension of use rights.
Covered in an owner guide
Failure to fill vacancies on board of directors sufficient to constitute a quorum; appointment of receiver upon petition of member.
Contracts for products and services; in writing; bids; exceptions.
Meetings of members; voting and election procedures; amendments.
Covered in an owner guide
Fraudulent voting activities relating to association elections; penalties.
Transition of association control in a community.
Prohibited clauses in association documents.
Assessments and charges.
Payment for assessments; lien claims.
Covered in an owner guide
Estoppel certificates.
Financial report.
Agreements entered into by the association.
Recreational leaseholds; right to acquire; escalation clauses.
Dispute resolution.
Declaration of covenants; survival after tax deed or foreclosure.
Receivership notification.
Association emergency powers.
Electronic voting.
Prospective purchasers subject to association membership requirement; disclosure required; covenants; assessments; contract cancellation.
Publication of false and misleading information.
Preservation of communities; revival of declaration of covenants.
Eligible communities; requirements for revival of declaration.
Organizing committee; parcel owner approval.
Department of Commerce; submission; review and determination.
Recording; notice of recording; applicability and effective date.
Florida's mobile-home-park statute. Governs the landlord-tenant relationship between a park owner (who owns the land) and a mobile-home owner (who owns the home but rents the lot). Covers rent increases, mandatory disclosures via the prospectus, the homeowners' association's right of first refusal when the park is sold, fair-housing rules, and the limited fiduciary duties of officers and directors of mobile-home-park homeowners' associations. Distinct from Chapter 718 (condominium) and Chapter 720 (HOA) — mobile-home-park communities are a separate regulatory regime.
Florida's general negligence and premises-liability statute. Sets the comparative-fault framework, the three-tier premises-liability classification (invitee, licensee, trespasser), contribution among tortfeasors, the alcohol-or-drug defense, and the Good Samaritan Act. For HOA and COA boards this chapter is the substrate under almost every tort claim filed against the association — slip-and-fall, swimming-pool injury, common-element defect, gate-related auto loss. Officer-and-director immunity for community associations lives in the chapter-specific statutes (718.111(1)(d) for COAs, 720.303(1) for HOAs), referenced from this chapter rather than duplicated here.
Reading the statute is the first step; it isn't advice about your own dispute. Tell us what's going on and we'll pass your request on to an independent HOA or condo attorney.
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