Most enforcement files that fall apart fall apart at the front. The board fines for something the documents do not actually prohibit, or fines an owner for a condition three other owners have had for years, or fines before the committee has met. Work down this tree in order. Every branch that says stop is a branch where continuing costs the association money.
Download the PDFThe PDF is a designed, printable copy for the board packet, the bulletin board or your meeting portfolio. On screen, you can tick the boxes below; nothing you tick is saved or sent anywhere.
The three chapters share a structure and diverge on the details that matter: the caps, whether a fine can become a lien, what the notice must say, and when the money is due. The table at the end of this sheet sets the differences side by side. Where a node applies to one chapter only, it says so.
Part one: is there anything here to enforce?
Does a specific provision of the declaration, the bylaws, or a rule the board actually adopted prohibit what this owner is doing?
Yes — write the article and section number on the file now, before anything goes out. Go to the next node.
No, but the board thinks it should be prohibited — this is a rulemaking or amendment question, not an enforcement question. Close the enforcement file and take the rule to the board.
If the provision is a board-adopted rule rather than a recorded covenant, was it adopted at a properly noticed meeting, and, where it regulates the use of a unit or parcel, on 14 days' mailed and posted notice?
Yes — proceed. Keep the notice and the minutes adopting the rule with the enforcement file.
No, or nobody can find the adoption record — stop. Re-adopt the rule correctly before you enforce it. A rule you cannot prove was adopted is a rule you cannot defend.
Have other owners done the same thing without consequence, or is there any period when this provision went unenforced?
No, the file shows consistent enforcement — proceed.
Yes, or we do not know — stop and complete the selective enforcement review worksheet before the first letter goes out. Enforcing against one owner what the association tolerated in others is the defense that wins.
Is what the owner is asking for, or what the owner has already done, connected to a disability, a service or support animal, a family with children, or a religious observance?
Yes, or it might be — stop the enforcement track. Process it as a request for a reasonable accommodation or modification and take it to counsel. Fining an owner while an accommodation request is open is how associations end up in a HUD complaint.
No — continue on the enforcement track.
Is the violation curable by the owner, or has it already been completed, for example an unapproved structure already built or a material alteration already made?
Curable — a courtesy notice with a stated cure date is the right first step.
Already completed — fines will not undo it. The remedy you want is injunctive relief, and the file should be built for a court, not for a fining committee.
Part two: notice, hearing and remedy
Has a courtesy notice gone out identifying the provision, describing the condition, and giving a specific date by which the owner must cure?
Yes, and the date has passed without a cure — move to the formal notice of hearing.
Yes, and the owner cured — close the file in writing and keep it. The letter that closes a file is the record that the association enforces evenhandedly.
No — send it. The statutes do not require a courtesy notice, but boards that skip it lose the argument that the owner was given a chance.
Which remedy is the board actually pursuing: a fine, a suspension of the right to use common elements or common areas, or an action in court for injunctive relief?
Fine or suspension for a violation — the 14-day notice and committee hearing track applies. Continue.
Suspension for a monetary delinquency — different track. Those suspensions do not go through the fining committee; they are approved at a properly noticed board meeting and noticed to the owner.
Injunctive relief — go to counsel now. For an HOA, presuit mediation almost certainly comes first.
Has the owner been given at least 14 days' written notice and an opportunity for a hearing before a committee of at least three members appointed by the board, none of whom is an officer, director or employee of the association or the spouse, parent, child, brother or sister of one?
Yes — hold the hearing.
The committee includes a director's spouse, the manager, or a board member — stop. Reconstitute the committee and re-notice. A defective committee makes the fine unenforceable, and the defect is visible on the face of the record.
There are not three eligible people willing to serve — stop. The association cannot fine at all until it has a committee. Recruit before the next violation, not after.
Did the committee confirm the fine or suspension the board levied, by majority vote?
Confirmed — the fine or suspension may be imposed. Document the vote.
Rejected — stop. The fine or suspension may not be imposed. The committee cannot be overruled by the board, and it cannot be asked to vote again on the same notice.
Has the payment date your chapter sets passed with the fine unpaid?
Condominium or cooperative — the fine may never become a lien. Collection is a money action, and for a single $100 fine it is usually worth less than it costs. Consider whether continuing daily fines or an injunction is the better tool.
HOA, fine under $1,000 — no lien is available for that fine either. Same analysis.
HOA, fine of $1,000 or more and the documents authorize an aggregate above $1,000 — a lien may be available. Take it to counsel before recording anything.
Is this the point to send the file to the association attorney?
Yes — send it if the owner has counsel, if fair housing is anywhere in the facts, if the violation is structural or safety related, if you are about to record a lien, or if the board is about to sue. Send the whole file, not a summary.
Not yet — calendar a review date so the file does not go quiet. A violation the board stops pursuing becomes evidence of abandonment in the next case.
Before the first letter goes out
- Describe what you see. Do not characterize the owner.
- Boards routinely cite a rule that was superseded by an amendment nobody recorded.
- A notice to the wrong address restarts the clock and, in an HOA, restarts the 14 days.
- § 718.303(3); § 719.303(3); § 720.305(2)
- "Bring the property into compliance" is not a cure instruction. "Remove the trailer from the driveway" is.
What the file has to contain by the time the hearing is held
- § 718.303(3); § 719.303(3); § 720.305(2)(b)
- Write the confirmation at the time. Reconstructing it two years later is worth nothing.
- § 720.305(2)(d)
| Condominium § 718.303(3) | Cooperative § 719.303(3) | HOA § 720.305(2) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Per-violation cap | $100, no override | $100, no override | $100, unless the governing documents provide otherwise |
| Aggregate cap | $1,000, no override | $1,000, no override | $1,000, unless the governing documents provide otherwise |
| Can a fine become a lien? | Never | Never | Only a fine of $1,000 or more |
| Notice contents set by statute? | No | No | Yes: the alleged violation, the specific action required to cure, and the hearing date, location and electronic access information |
| Written findings after the hearing | Not required by statute | Not required by statute | Within 7 days after the hearing |
| When the fine is due | 5 days after notice of the approved fine is provided | 5 days after the date of the committee meeting at which the fine is approved | A date set by the committee, at least 30 days after delivery of the findings notice |
| Cure before the hearing bars the fine? | No statutory bar | No statutory bar | Yes |
| Presuit step before a covenant suit | Presuit mediation or nonbinding arbitration with the Division | Comparable Division track | Statutory Offer to Participate in Presuit Mediation |
Statutes and authorities referenced
- § 718.303(3), Fla. Stat. (condominium fines and suspensions, committee hearing, payment)
- § 718.303(4)-(6), Fla. Stat. (condominium suspensions for delinquency and board approval)
- § 719.303(3), Fla. Stat. (cooperative fines and suspensions)
- § 720.305(2), Fla. Stat. (HOA fines and suspensions, notice, committee, findings, payment)
- § 720.305(1), Fla. Stat. (HOA actions to enforce the governing documents and attorney fees)
- § 720.311(2)(a), Fla. Stat. (HOA presuit mediation)
- § 718.1255, Fla. Stat. (condominium dispute resolution)
- § 760.23, § 760.27, Fla. Stat.; 42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(3) (reasonable accommodations and modifications)
Contact Hamilton Mikes
Hamilton Mikes builds and reviews enforcement files for Southwest Florida boards and managers, from the first notice through the committee hearing and, where it is needed, the injunction. We also train fining committees so the hearing itself is not the weak point. Call 239-594-7227 or visit our Covenant Enforcement page.