BIFF Email Checklist for HOA Managers

Jason Hamilton Mikes, JD, MBA
Founder & Managing Shareholder

Checklist
Published October 3, 2026
Reviewed by Jason Hamilton Mikes, JD, MBA, October 3, 2026
Florida Statutes as of July 1, 2026
Applies to: Condominiums · HOAs · Cooperatives
Written for: Community association managers and board members

Before you send a reply to a difficult owner, run it through this checklist. The core is BIFF: brief, informative, friendly and firm, a method developed by Bill Eddy of the High Conflict Institute for writing to high-conflict people. The rest is specific to Florida community associations. Association emails may be official records (§ 718.111(12)(a); § 720.303(4); § 719.104(2)(a), Fla. Stat.), so assume the owner's lawyer, the Division or the whole community may read every word.

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The checklist

Brief

A few short paragraphs, not a page.
One message, one purpose. Unrelated issues get their own email.
No history lesson. Link or attach the document instead.

Informative

It answers the question the owner actually asked.
Facts, dates and the source: the declaration section, the rule, the board's decision and its date.
One clear next step, with a date if the board has set one.
No opinions about the owner, their motives or their tone.

Friendly

A courteous opening and closing, even if the owner's wasn't.
One sentence that acknowledges the concern ("I understand you're frustrated about the delay").
No sarcasm, capital letters, bold or exclamation points.

Firm

The answer is clear. No "maybe" if the answer is no.
It doesn't invite more debate ("Let me know your thoughts" can go).
Insults and accusations are ignored, not answered.

Association checks

No admissions. Sympathy, yes. Fault, no ("I'm sorry you're dealing with this," not "we should have fixed it").
No promises the board hasn't approved.
No legal conclusions. Interpreting a statute or the documents is counsel's job.
No other owner's private information: balances, violations, health or contact details.
The board approved the substance of any decision you're reporting.
It isn't a statutory notice. Fining-hearing, collection, meeting and election notices have required content. This is not the statutory notice. Use counsel's approved form for that.
You waited before sending, and someone calm read it.
Reply-all checked. Don't copy the whole board into a fight. Directors may use e-mail to communicate but may not vote by e-mail (§ 718.112(2)(c); § 720.303(2)(a); § 719.106(1)(c)). See directors deciding by email.
Counsel is involved if the owner mentions a lawyer, a lawsuit, discrimination, an accommodation or a threat.

A quick example

Before:

As I've explained THREE times, the board doesn't have to repave
your section first. Maybe if you read the reserve study instead of
posting on Facebook you'd understand. The other owners on your
street aren't complaining. We'll get to it when we get to it.

After:

Dear [OWNER NAME],
Thank you for your email. I understand the condition of [STREET] is
frustrating.
The board approved the paving schedule at its [DATE] meeting, based
on the reserve study. [STREET] is scheduled for [MONTH/YEAR]. The
schedule is attached.
If you'd like to raise the timing with the board, the next meeting
is [DATE], and owners may speak on agenda items.
Sincerely,
[MANAGER NAME], CAM
On behalf of the Board of Directors

Frequently asked questions

What does BIFF stand for?

Brief, informative, friendly, firm. It's a method developed by Bill Eddy of the High Conflict Institute for responding to hostile or high-conflict messages.

Should I answer every point in an angry email?

No. Answer the actual question and give the next step. Responding to each accusation gives the owner more to argue with.

Can I use AI to draft a BIFF reply?

Yes, as a first draft. Remove names, unit numbers, balances and anything from counsel before pasting, then check the result against this list. Our AI prompt card has fill-in prompts.

Talk to association counsel

If a reply needs to say what the law or the documents require, have counsel review it before it goes out. Call Hamilton Mikes, P.A. at 239-594-7227 or reach us through our contact page.

Statutes and authorities referenced

§ 718.111(12)(a), Fla. Stat. (condominium official records)
§ 720.303(4), Fla. Stat. (HOA official records)
§ 719.104(2)(a), Fla. Stat. (cooperative official records)
§ 718.112(2)(c), § 720.303(2)(a), § 719.106(1)(c), Fla. Stat. (directors may communicate by e-mail but may not vote by e-mail)

About this article. This article is published by Hamilton Mikes, P.A. for general educational purposes. It is not legal advice, it is not a legal opinion, and it is not a substitute for advice from a lawyer who has reviewed your association's governing documents and the facts of your situation. Reading it, downloading it, or corresponding with the firm about it does not create an attorney-client relationship. No such relationship arises until the firm and the client have signed a written engagement agreement. Please do not send confidential or time-sensitive information to the firm until a conflicts check has been completed and an engagement is confirmed in writing; information sent before that point may not be treated as privileged.

Scope and currency. This article addresses Florida law as applied to Florida community associations, and the firm is licensed to practice in Florida only. Nothing here should be taken as a statement of the law of any other jurisdiction. Florida's community association statutes have been amended in every regular session since 2021, and subsection numbering has moved more than once in that period. Each article states the edition of the Florida Statutes it was written against. The law may have changed after that date, an appellate court may have construed a provision differently, and an administrative rule or a local ordinance may impose requirements this article does not address.

Your governing documents control. Much of what governs a Florida association is not in the statutes at all. Declarations, articles of incorporation, bylaws, rules, plats and recorded amendments differ from community to community, and on many questions they set the rule while the statute sets only a floor or a default. A procedure that is correct in one association may be a breach of the documents in the association next door. No general article can tell you which is which for your community.

Why general information is not advice. Legal questions are resolved by applying the law to particular facts as a judge, jury, arbitrator or hearing officer finds them. An outcome that appears clear in the abstract frequently turns on the documents, the chronology, the board's own prior conduct, and the procedural posture, none of which an article can anticipate. A lawyer supplies what information cannot: the judgment to identify which facts matter, the experience to know how a court or the Division is likely to treat them, the ability to choose among the courses of action actually available, and the advocacy to carry the association's position through negotiation, hearing or trial.

For community association managers. A community association manager may not give legal advice to the association. When a question requires interpreting a statute or the governing documents, the board should consult association counsel.

The standard of care, and the protection the statute attaches to counsel. A director of a Florida community association is held to the standard in section 617.0830, Florida Statutes: to act in good faith, in a manner the director reasonably believes to be in the best interests of the corporation, and to discharge the duties of the office with the care an ordinary prudent person in a like position would reasonably believe appropriate under similar circumstances. That standard is measured against the decision the board actually faced, on the record actually before it. The same statute supplies the protection that goes with the duty. Under section 617.0830(4) and (5)(b), a director who has no knowledge making reliance unwarranted is entitled to rely on information, opinions, reports and statements prepared or presented by legal counsel retained by the association as to matters the director reasonably believes are within counsel's professional competence. The Legislature has written the prudent course into the statute. A board that obtains advice on its own documents and its own facts, and acts on that advice, is standing on ground the statute expressly protects. Nothing on this website confers that protection. General information, however carefully prepared, is not advice on your declaration, your amendments, your board's history or your dispute, and a director who relies on it in place of counsel forgoes a statutory protection that was available for the asking.

Personal exposure is real. Service on an association board is usually uncompensated, but volunteer status is not itself immunity. Under section 617.0834, Florida Statutes, a director or an officer is not personally liable in monetary damages for a statement, vote, decision, or failure to act in that role unless two things are both true: the director or officer breached or failed to perform the duties of the office, and that breach was a violation of the criminal law, a transaction from which the director or officer derived an improper personal benefit, conscious disregard or willful misconduct in a proceeding brought by or in the right of the corporation, or recklessness or bad faith in a proceeding brought by anyone else. That protection turns on how the director acted, not on whether the director was paid. Chapters 718, 719 and 720 add consequences of their own, including removal from office, civil penalties assessed against the individual for certain willful and knowing violations, and in defined circumstances criminal liability. Whether any of that reaches a particular director depends entirely on the facts and on the director's conduct. The practical point is narrower and more useful: the decisions that generate this exposure — levying an assessment, enforcing a covenant, denying a transfer, withholding a record, entering a unit, terminating a contract, signing for construction work — are precisely the decisions on which general information is least adequate, and on which counsel costs least relative to what is at stake.

No guarantee; prior results. The firm makes no representation or warranty that the information in this article is complete, current or applicable to any particular matter, and disclaims liability to any person for any action taken or not taken in reliance on it. Any description of prior results does not guarantee or predict a similar outcome in any other matter; every case turns on its own facts, documents and record.

Do not act on this article alone. If your association faces a decision of consequence, obtain advice from a Florida-licensed attorney who has read your governing documents and the relevant record before the board votes, signs, sends or forecloses. Hamilton Mikes, P.A. represents community associations throughout Southwest Florida and can be reached at 239-594-7227.

Before you hit send: a one-page BIFF checklist for replying to a difficult owner

The checklist

A quick example

Frequently asked questions

What does BIFF stand for?

Should I answer every point in an angry email?

Can I use AI to draft a BIFF reply?

Talk to association counsel

Statutes and authorities referenced

Speak with a Florida community association attorney

Before you hit send: a one-page BIFF checklist for replying to a difficult owner

The checklist

A quick example

Frequently asked questions

What does BIFF stand for?

Should I answer every point in an angry email?

Can I use AI to draft a BIFF reply?

Related resources

Talk to association counsel

Statutes and authorities referenced

Speak with a Florida community association attorney