Florida Community Association Board Resources
Community association boards oversee significant financial, operational, contractual, and property-related decisions. Board responsibilities may include budgets, reserves, contracts, insurance, maintenance, construction, amenities, personnel, collections, enforcement, and shared property.
The Board Resources Center provides practical information for directors, officers, committee members, and community association managers. These resources are intended to help community leaders ask better questions, follow reliable procedures, document decisions, and recognize when individualized legal advice may be appropriate.
Community association managers: the Manager Resource Center has step-by-step desk guides, condo, HOA and co-op comparison tables and a 2027 compliance calendar written for the manager's side of the job.
Dealing with a difficult owner or a heated meeting? See our guide to dealing with difficult owners and heated meetings, with phrases to say, lines to write and a plan for running a heated board meeting.
Published Guides
All 73 published guides that apply to association boards, officers, committees and managers, grouped by topic. A guide that addresses more than one kind of association appears in every section it applies to; the “Applies to” line on each card shows which.
Start Here: Fundamentals
New Director Orientation
The certification deadline, the documents to read in order, the six briefings a new director needs, and a ninety-minute orientation agenda a board can run.
- Condominiums
- HOAs
- Cooperatives
New Director Questions
Eight questions that surface almost every problem a board is carrying, what a complete answer contains, and what a missing answer tells a new director.
- Condominiums
- HOAs
- Cooperatives
Community Leadership Roles
What directors, officers, committees, managers and the outside professionals each do, whom the attorney represents, and how to route a question correctly.
- Condominiums
- HOAs
- Cooperatives
When a Board Needs an Attorney
The decisions, letters and deadlines that should trigger a call to the association's attorney, the ones that usually do not, and using counsel efficiently.
- Condominiums
- HOAs
- Cooperatives
- Clubs
What Is a Florida Condominium Association?
How a Florida condominium is created, what the association is, what it owns and must do under Chapter 718, and how it differs from an HOA or a co-op.
- Condominiums
What Is a Florida Homeowners Association?
How a Florida homeowners association is defined under Chapter 720, what it owns, what powers and duties it has, who regulates it, and the limits on its rules.
- HOAs
- Master associations
- Sub-associations
HOA vs. Condominium Association
A side-by-side comparison of Florida HOA and condominium law: ownership, regulation, reserves, insurance, meetings, elections, records, fines, collections and more.
- HOAs
- Condominiums
- Master associations
Reading Your Governing Documents
The order of authority among the declaration, articles, bylaws and rules; how Chapter 718 and 720 override them; Kaufman language; and the clauses boards misread.
- Condominiums
- HOAs
- Cooperatives
Governance and Board Operations
Board Legal Authority
The five sources of board authority in order, what a board decides alone, what requires an owner vote, and the real limits on the president's power.
- Condominiums
- HOAs
- Cooperatives
Confidentiality Privilege
Who holds the association's privilege, how directors waive it by accident, the records exemptions, closed sessions, and what a departing director must be told.
- Condominiums
- HOAs
- Cooperatives
Board Disagreements
Telling principled dissent from obstruction, what a recorded no vote does for liability, records access in a split board, and why recall is the only removal.
- Condominiums
- HOAs
- Cooperatives
Committee Authority
Which committee meetings must be open, what a committee may decide rather than recommend, and how Chapters 718, 719 and 720 differ on delegation.
- Condominiums
- HOAs
- Cooperatives
Committee Charters
Clause by clause: what to grant, what to withhold, membership and quorum, records, vendor contact, privilege, conflicts and sunset dates.
- Condominiums
- HOAs
- Cooperatives
Questions Before Signing Contract
A brisk eight-question checklist a board can run on any proposed contract before it signs, covering entity, licensure, insurance, bidding, conflicts and exit.
- Condominiums
- HOAs
- Cooperatives
Vendor Contract Review
What to check in a recurring service agreement for landscaping, pool, janitorial, pest, security or valet work, from scope schedules to escalators and auto-renewal.
- Condominiums
- HOAs
- Cooperatives
Management Agreement Review
A clause-by-clause guide to the management contract for condominium, HOA and cooperative boards, from licensure and spending limits to records return and termination.
- Condominiums
- HOAs
- Cooperatives
Contract Renewal Termination
Calendaring notice deadlines, the cancellation rights each chapter supplies, cure periods, renewal without rebidding, and running a vendor transition without a gap.
- Condominiums
- HOAs
- Cooperatives
Board Member Certification
Florida director education rules for condo and HOA boards: the 4-hour course within 90 days, the written certification, continuing education and penalties.
- Condominiums
- HOAs
- Cooperatives
Director Fiduciary Responsibilities
Fiduciary duties of Florida association directors under §§ 718.111, 720.303 and 617.0830, the business judgment rule, volunteer immunity and liability.
- Condominiums
- HOAs
- Cooperatives
Director Conflicts of Interest
Florida conflict-of-interest rules for condo and HOA directors: § 718.3027 and § 720.3033 disclosure, leaving the room, recusal, member cancellation and kickbacks.
- Condominiums
- HOAs
- Cooperatives
Board Email and Text Messages
Chapters 718 and 720 on director emails and texts: information yes, votes no, a quorum deliberating is an unnoticed meeting, and messages may be records.
- Condominiums
- HOAs
- Cooperatives
Meetings, Elections and Recalls
Election Calendar
A backward-planning election calendar for condominium, HOA and cooperative boards, with the statutory day counts, who does what, and the deadlines that cannot be moved.
- Condominiums
- HOAs
- Cooperatives
Candidate Eligibility
A practical eligibility screen for board candidates in condominiums, HOAs and cooperatives, including delinquency dates, felony rules and how to deliver a disqualification.
- Condominiums
- HOAs
- Cooperatives
Election Mistakes
The election errors boards actually make, ranked by frequency and severity, with whether each is fatal or curable and the first move when one is discovered.
- Condominiums
- HOAs
- Cooperatives
Post Election Transition
What a new board does in its first two weeks: officers, bank signatures, passwords, the records handover, who to notify, and the deadlines that start on election day.
- Condominiums
- HOAs
- Cooperatives
Board Election Requirements
The Florida condo election calendar (60-, 40- and 14-day notices, 20% turnout, secret ballots), how HOA elections differ, eligibility and disputes.
- Condominiums
- HOAs
- Cooperatives
Ballots, Proxies, Voting Certificates and Electronic Voting
When Florida associations may use general and limited proxies, when secret ballots are required, who signs a voting certificate, and how e-voting is adopted.
- Condominiums
- HOAs
- Cooperatives
Board Recall Procedures
Florida's recall process for condo, co-op and HOA directors: written agreements vs. recall meetings, the board's 5-business-day meeting and arbitration.
- Condominiums
- HOAs
- Cooperatives
Board Meeting Notices and Agendas
Florida condo and HOA board meeting notice rules: 48-hour posting, 14-day notice for assessments and use rules, agendas, owner rights and closed sessions.
- Condominiums
- HOAs
- Cooperatives
Annual Meeting Planning
How to run a compliant Florida condo or HOA annual meeting: the 60/40/14-day notice timeline, quorum, limited and general proxies, owner rights and records.
- Condominiums
- HOAs
- Cooperatives
Meeting Minutes
What condo and HOA minutes must contain under Chapters 718 and 720 (each director's vote), what to omit, closed sessions, committees, retention and access.
- Condominiums
- HOAs
- Cooperatives
Official Records
Official Records Guide
The condominium, cooperative and HOA records rules in one table, plus the custodian, storage and annual review system a board needs to run them.
- Condominiums
- HOAs
- Cooperatives
Electronic Records Management
Scanning standards, portal design, posting thresholds by chapter, personal email exposure, cloud retention, and how to get your data back from a manager.
- Condominiums
- HOAs
- Cooperatives
Community Communications
Electronic notice consent, website content limits, unofficial social media, rumor control, litigation and claim messaging, and a communication policy that lasts.
- Condominiums
- HOAs
- Cooperatives
Responding to Official Records Requests
Florida condo, co-op and HOA records requests: the 10-day deadlines, what owners may inspect, what may be withheld, the $50-a-day penalty and a checklist.
- Condominiums
- HOAs
- Cooperatives
Records Retention Requirements
How long Florida condo, co-op and HOA associations must keep each category of records, which are permanent, the one-year election rule and board emails.
- Condominiums
- HOAs
- Cooperatives
Budgets, Reserves and Structural Safety
Budget Finance Committee
Charter, open-meeting rules by chapter, statement and reserve review, the audit engagement, internal controls, and what the committee must escalate.
- Condominiums
- HOAs
- Cooperatives
Special Assessment Planning
Setting the amount, giving the right notice, taking the vote, offering instalments, and handling surplus without having to rescind and start over.
- Condominiums
- HOAs
- Cooperatives
Major Expenditure Questions
A diligence sequence for large association spending: authority, funding, statutory bidding, scope verification, contract terms, payment control and the minutes.
- Condominiums
- HOAs
- Cooperatives
Reviewing Financial Reports
Which report your association owes, when it is due under each chapter, how to read it, and the red flags a director should raise with the accountant.
- Condominiums
- HOAs
- Cooperatives
Structural Integrity Reserve Studies (SIRS)
What a SIRS must cover, which Florida condo and co-op buildings need one, who may prepare it, the deadlines, and what happens if the board does not comply.
- Condominiums
- Cooperatives
- Multi-condominiums
Milestone Inspections
Which Florida condo and co-op buildings need a milestone inspection, when Phase 1 and Phase 2 are due, what owners must receive, and the repair deadline.
- Condominiums
- Cooperatives
- Hotel condominiums
Reserve Funding Requirements
Which reserves Florida condo and HOA budgets must include, how they are calculated, what owners may still waive, and the 2024 cutoff for structural reserves.
- Condominiums
- HOAs
- Cooperatives
Special Assessments
When a Florida association board may levy a special assessment, the 14-day notice and its required contents, when owners must vote, and how funds may be used.
- Condominiums
- HOAs
- Cooperatives
- Master associations
Annual Budget Adoption
How to adopt a Florida condo or HOA budget: the planning calendar, required contents, the 14-day notice with a copy of the budget and the 115 percent rule.
- Condominiums
- HOAs
- Cooperatives
- Master associations
Assessments, Collections and Liens
Collection Policy
A written, uniform collection policy: the notice sequence in each chapter, fees and interest, referral triggers, payment plans, suspensions and settlement authority.
- Condominiums
- HOAs
- Cooperatives
Assessment Collection Timeline and Notices
The statutory sequence for collecting delinquent Florida condo and HOA assessments: 30-day late notice, 45-day lien notice, claim of lien and foreclosure.
- Condominiums
- HOAs
- Cooperatives
Claims of Lien and Foreclosure
The Florida condo and HOA lien foreclosure timeline: 30- and 45-day notices, the claim of lien, the complaint, HOA qualifying offers, sale and redemption.
- Condominiums
- HOAs
- Cooperatives
Payment Plans and Owner Bankruptcy
How Florida associations structure payment plans that preserve the lien, apply payments in statutory order, and respond to Chapter 7 or 13 bankruptcies.
- Condominiums
- HOAs
- Cooperatives
Rules, Enforcement and Owner Conduct
Fining Committee
Composition, the 14-day notice, the hearing, the caps and lien rules by chapter, and the procedural errors that leave a fine uncollectible.
- Condominiums
- HOAs
- Cooperatives
Enforcement Fair Housing
Where enforcement collides with fair housing: accommodation requests, assistance animals, modifications, occupancy limits, harassment claims and personal exposure for directors.
- Condominiums
- HOAs
- Cooperatives
Fines, Hearings and Suspensions
Florida condo and HOA fining rules: $100-a-day limits, the 14-day notice, the independent hearing committee, when fines become liens, and suspensions.
- Condominiums
- HOAs
- Cooperatives
Leasing and Rental Restrictions
How Florida condos and HOAs may restrict leasing and short-term rentals, which owners a new amendment binds, lease-approval fee limits and tenant enforcement.
- Condominiums
- HOAs
- Cooperatives
Pet Restrictions and Emotional Support Animals
How Florida condo and HOA boards should handle emotional support animal requests under § 760.27: what may be asked, what may be denied, enforceable pet rules.
- Condominiums
- HOAs
- Cooperatives
Covenant Enforcement Guide
Step-by-step covenant enforcement for Florida condo and HOA boards: authority, violation notices, cure periods, the fining committee, selective enforcement.
- Condominiums
- HOAs
- Cooperatives
Enforcing Old Restrictions and MRTA
How Florida's Marketable Record Title Act extinguishes HOA covenants 30 years after the root of title, how to preserve them, and how to revitalize them.
- HOAs
- Master associations
- Sub-associations
Architectural Review, Alterations and Maintenance
Engineering Construction Contracts
How boards should read the two contracts behind a capital project, the design professional's agreement and the construction contract, and where each one hides risk.
- Condominiums
- HOAs
- Cooperatives
Major Project Oversight
Project committee charters, the decision log, who certifies work before payment, change order limits, the lien calendar, and what a complete closeout package contains.
- Condominiums
- HOAs
- Cooperatives
Material Alterations
What counts as a material alteration under § 718.113(2), the Sterling Village test, the 75 percent default vote, maintenance exceptions and owner alterations.
- Condominiums
- Cooperatives
Maintenance Responsibilities and Limited Common Elements
How Florida allocates condo repairs between association and owner: § 718.113 maintenance, limited common elements, the § 718.111(11) casualty rule and leaks.
- Condominiums
- Cooperatives
HOA Stormwater Responsibilities
An HOA's duties as operation and maintenance entity under a Florida Environmental Resource Permit: lakes, control structures, drainage easements, erosion.
- HOAs
- Master associations
- Clubs
Architectural Review Procedures
Section 720.3035 rules: authority in the declaration or published guidelines, open committee meetings, specific written denials, solar, hurricane protection.
- HOAs
- Condominiums
- Master associations
Insurance, Hurricane and Disaster Recovery
Emergency Board Decisions
What triggers statutory emergency powers, the condominium, cooperative and HOA provisions side by side, the limits, and how to document necessity as it happens.
- Condominiums
- HOAs
- Cooperatives
Insurance Indemnification Contracts
Required coverages by vendor type, additional insured versus certificate holder, workers' compensation exemptions, and the limits section 725.06 places on indemnity.
- Condominiums
- HOAs
- Cooperatives
Post Storm Communications
A cross-chapter communication plan for the days and months after a storm: the channel, the voice, the language to avoid, and the file that gets requested later.
- Condominiums
- HOAs
- Cooperatives
Post Storm Special Assessments
Levying after a storm: emergency assessment and borrowing powers, sizing against an open claim, deductibles, collection, surplus and disclosure to buyers and lenders.
- Condominiums
- HOAs
- Cooperatives
Hurricane Preparation Checklist for Boards
A pre-season legal checklist for Florida association boards: emergency-powers resolution, insurance review, contractor pre-qualification and records backup.
- Condominiums
- HOAs
- Clubs
- Marinas
Emergency Powers After a Hurricane
The emergency powers Florida condo, co-op and HOA boards hold during a declared state of emergency, their limits, how long they last, and documentation.
- Condominiums
- HOAs
- Cooperatives
Filing an Association Insurance Claim After a Storm
Step-by-step guide for Florida association boards filing a hurricane insurance claim: notice deadlines, documentation, mitigation, adjusters and appraisal.
- Condominiums
- HOAs
- Cooperatives
- Clubs
Restoration Contracts After a Hurricane
What Florida boards must check before signing post-storm roofing and restoration contracts: license, insurance, no AOB, no advance payments and lien releases.
- Condominiums
- HOAs
- Cooperatives
- Mobile home communities
Condominium Insurance Responsibilities
Section 718.111(11) insurance rules: replacement-cost coverage, 36-month appraisals, deductibles, fidelity and D&O, the owner's HO-6 items, wind and flood.
- Condominiums
- Cooperatives
- Hotel condominiums
Disputes, Mediation and Litigation
Litigation Hold Record Preservation
What triggers a duty to preserve, how to issue a hold that works, what counts as evidence, Florida spoliation consequences, and how to lift a hold.
- Condominiums
- HOAs
- Cooperatives
Arbitration and Presuit Mediation
How § 718.1255 arbitration and § 720.311 presuit mediation work: covered disputes, the demand, deadlines, fees, trial de novo and refusals to participate.
- Condominiums
- HOAs
- Cooperatives
New Board Members
- New Director Orientation
- New Director Questions
- Board Legal Authority
- Board Member Duties
- Community Leadership Roles
- Reading Governing Documents
- Business Judgment Rule
Fiduciary Responsibilities and Ethics
- Director Fiduciary Responsibilities
- Condominium Director Duties
- HOA Director Duties
- Director Conflicts of Interest
- Addressing Personal Interests
- Confidentiality Privilege
- Board Disagreements
Meetings and Decision-Making
- Board Meeting Planning
- Annual Meeting Planning
- Meeting Notices Agendas
- Meeting Minutes
- Owner Participation
- Closed Privileged Meetings
- Emergency Board Decisions
- Outside Meeting Communications
- Documenting Board Decisions
Elections, Recalls, and Transitions
- Election Guide
- Election Calendar
- Candidate Eligibility
- Ballots Proxies Voting Certificates
- Election Mistakes
- Board Recalls
- Post Election Transition
Committees
- Committee Authority
- Architectural Review Committee
- Fining Committee
- Budget Finance Committee
- Committee Charters
- Committee Meetings Records
Records and Communications
- Official Records Guide
- Responding to Records Requests
- Board Email Text Messages
- Electronic Records Management
- Community Communications
- Litigation Hold Record Preservation
Budgets and Financial Decisions
- Annual Budget Planning
- Reserve Funding
- Special Assessment Planning
- Major Expenditure Questions
- Collection Policy
- Reviewing Financial Reports
Contracts and Major Projects
- Questions Before Signing Contract
- Vendor Contract Review
- Management Agreement Review
- Engineering Construction Contracts
- Insurance Indemnification Contracts
- Contract Renewal Termination
- Major Project Oversight
Enforcement Decisions
- Covenant Enforcement Guide
- Evaluating Violations
- Consistent Enforcement
- Fines Hearings Suspensions
- Enforcement Fair Housing
- Resolving Violations
Hurricane and Emergency Planning
- Hurricane Preparation
- Post Hurricane Emergency Powers
- Selecting Restoration Contractors
- Post Storm Communications
- Insurance Claim Documentation
- Post Storm Special Assessments
Board Downloads
- New Director Orientation Guide
- Board Meeting Checklist
- Annual Meeting Checklist
- Association Election Checklist
- Vendor Contract Review Checklist
- Hurricane Preparation Checklist
Stronger Communities Start With Sound Governance
The objective of good governance is not to remove every disagreement. It is to provide an organized, fair, properly documented, and legally informed process through which the community can make decisions and move forward.