Condo & HOA Construction Attorneys, Florida

Reviewed by Jason Hamilton Mikes, JD, MBA · September 23, 2026 · Florida Statutes as of July 1, 2026

Florida Community Association Construction Attorneys

Construction projects often represent some of the largest financial commitments made by a community association. Whether the project involves major repairs, renovations, restoration, infrastructure improvements, amenity upgrades, or hurricane reconstruction, legal guidance can help reduce risk and improve project outcomes.

In Southwest Florida, construction has also become a compliance issue. Milestone inspections and Structural Integrity Reserve Studies now identify repairs that condominium boards must fund and complete. Post-storm reconstruction runs through permitting rules, flood-zone limitations, and insurance timelines. And the contractor market that follows every hurricane brings its own hazards. Hamilton Mikes advises community associations throughout every phase of the construction process, from the first engineering report to the final release of lien.

Before the Contract Is Signed

The most expensive construction mistakes are made before work begins. We help boards:

Confirm authority. Whether a project is maintenance, repair, replacement, or a "material alteration" determines who must approve it. Under Chapter 718, material alterations or substantial additions to the common elements require the approval of 75 percent of the total voting interests unless the declaration provides otherwise. Homeowners association declarations impose their own thresholds. We review the governing documents and document the board's authority before money is committed.
Follow competitive bidding rules. Chapter 718 requires competitive bids for contracts that exceed five percent of the association's total annual budget, including reserves, with limited exceptions for emergencies and licensed professionals; Chapter 720 sets a ten-percent threshold for homeowners associations. A contract signed in violation of these rules invites owner challenges.
Verify the contractor. Florida licenses contractors through the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, and a contract with an unlicensed contractor is generally unenforceable by the contractor. We verify licensure, insurance, bonding capacity, and litigation history.
Negotiate the contract. Scope, drawings and specifications, price and allowances, payment schedule and retainage, schedule and liquidated damages, change-order procedure, insurance and indemnity, warranties, lien releases, termination rights, and dispute resolution: each term allocates risk. Associations routinely sign contractor-drafted forms that allocate all of it to the community. We rewrite them.
Coordinate with the engineer. For SIRS- and milestone-driven work, the engineer's report defines the scope and the funding plan. We help boards align the construction contract, the reserve schedule, and any special assessment or loan so the project can be completed as designed.

During Construction

Once work begins, we help boards manage the project rather than react to it: reviewing pay applications against lien releases and the schedule of values, documenting delays and change orders, addressing defective or nonconforming work, handling permitting and inspection issues with the county or municipality, and communicating with owners about access, assessments, and timelines. Florida's Construction Lien Law (Chapter 713) allows subcontractors and suppliers who are not paid to lien the property, so the association's payment procedures must protect against paying twice.

Construction Defects and Turnover Claims

When the work is defective, Florida law prescribes the path. Chapter 558 requires an association to serve a detailed written notice of the claimed defects before filing suit, at least 60 days before filing (120 days for an association representing more than 20 parcels), and gives the contractor an opportunity to inspect and offer to repair or settle. The time to sue is limited: the statute of limitations for construction defect claims is four years and the statute of repose, shortened in 2023, is seven years from the applicable trigger date.

For newer communities, developer turnover raises additional claims. Chapter 718 imposes implied warranties on developers, contractors, and suppliers for condominium buildings, and the turnover process entitles the association to plans, permits, warranties, financial records, and a turnover audit. Hamilton Mikes represents associations in evaluating construction and turnover claims, preserving evidence, engaging engineers, pursuing pre-suit resolution, and litigating when necessary.

Hurricane Reconstruction

Reconstruction after a storm compresses every construction issue into a few weeks. Boards operating under statutory emergency powers must still contract carefully. Assignments of insurance benefits to contractors are no longer permitted for policies issued after January 1, 2023, roofing contractors are barred from certain solicitation practices such as offering to pay deductibles, and price-gouging statutes apply during a declared emergency. Two separate matters the firm handled for Windsor West Condominium Association after Hurricane Ian, against two different contractors, illustrate why boards should have counsel review restoration agreements before signing.

The first was the association's own claim against its roofer. In Windsor West Condominium Association, Inc. v. ShieldTech Roofing Solutions, LLC, No. 24-CA-750 (Fla. 20th Cir. Ct. Jan. 25, 2024), the association had executed an assignment of insurance benefits for roof replacement, and ShieldTech then demanded advance payments from the association. The firm sued on the association's behalf, and the court entered a $368,000 judgment against ShieldTech.

The second was a claim brought against the association by a different contractor. In Eco Roof & Solar, Inc. v. Windsor West Condominium Association, Inc., No. 23-CA-13235 (Fla. 20th Cir. Ct. Dec. 7, 2023), a mitigation and roofing contractor sued the association for $1.4 million. The firm defended the claim, and the matter settled for a nominal $25,000.

Both outcomes turned on the facts of those matters, including the contracts the association signed and the insurance in place. Past results do not predict the outcome of any other case.

Buildings in Special Flood Hazard Areas face a further constraint: when repair costs approach half of a structure's value, local floodplain rules may require the building to be brought into compliance with current elevation and construction standards. We coordinate with engineers, adjusters, and local building departments so boards understand these thresholds before committing to a repair scope.

Communities We Serve

Condominium Associations

We assist Condominium Associations with contractor agreements, material alterations, major repairs, reconstruction, turnover issues, engineering reports, construction defects, and project oversight.

Homeowners Associations

We advise Homeowners Associations (HOAs) regarding clubhouse renovations, roadway projects, drainage systems, developer turnover issues, amenity upgrades, and common-area improvements.

Clubs, Marinas, and Master Associations

Clubhouse and golf course renovations, seawall and dock reconstruction, and shared infrastructure projects raise cost-allocation, permitting, and environmental questions that ordinary construction contracts do not address. We structure these projects so that the entity paying for the work has the authority to direct it.

Frequently Asked Questions About Association Construction Projects

Does our condominium board need an owner vote to replace the roof?

Generally no. Replacing a roof with materials of like kind and quality is maintenance and repair, which the board may perform without an owner vote. Changing the design, materials, or appearance of the common elements may be a material alteration requiring 75 percent owner approval unless the declaration sets a different threshold. We review the specific scope before the board commits.

When does Florida law require competitive bids?

Condominium associations must obtain competitive bids for contracts exceeding five percent of the total annual budget, including reserves; homeowners associations must do so above ten percent. Emergencies and contracts with licensed professionals such as attorneys, accountants, architects, and engineers are excepted. The statute does not require the board to accept the lowest bid.

What is a Chapter 558 notice?

It is the written notice of construction defects that an association must serve on the contractor, subcontractor, supplier, or design professional before filing a lawsuit. The notice describes the defects in reasonable detail and starts a pre-suit period during which the recipient may inspect, test, and offer to repair or settle. Missing or deficient notices can delay or defeat a claim.

How long does our association have to sue for construction defects?

The statute of limitations is four years from the trigger dates set by statute, and the statute of repose bars claims not brought within seven years. Because these periods can begin running at completion or turnover rather than at discovery, associations that suspect defects should obtain an engineering evaluation promptly.

Can we sign a contract with a restoration company that offers to work directly with our insurer?

Only with careful review. Assignments of post-loss insurance benefits are prohibited for policies issued after January 1, 2023, and contractors who demand advance payment or offer to absorb deductibles may be violating Florida law. The association, not the contractor, should control its insurance claim.

What should the contract say about payment?

Payments should track actual progress verified by the engineer, be conditioned on partial lien releases from the contractor and its subcontractors, and hold retainage until final completion, a contractor's final payment affidavit, and final releases are delivered. These provisions protect the association from paying for work twice or paying for work never performed.

Contact Hamilton Mikes

Contact Hamilton Mikes, P.A. at 239-594-7227 before your association enters a significant construction or reconstruction project. Related services: Contract Management, Insurance, Disaster Recovery, and Budgeting and Financial Reporting.

About this page. This page 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 page 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 page 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 page 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 a general page 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.

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 on this page 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 page 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.

Construction