Current through the 2026 regular session, this page tracks the two statutes that govern HOA architectural review: section 720.3035, which is nearly twenty years old, and section 720.3045, which is three. The 2026 session produced one change and it lands here, on the sequencing of permits and review. The older layers matter too, because most of what limits a committee today was written in 2023 and 2024 and most architectural guidelines in Southwest Florida predate all of it.
2026: no permit as a precondition to review
Chapter 2026-63, CS/CS/HB 803, the building permits and inspections act, added section 720.3035(1)(c) at s. 11, effective July 1, 2026. It provides that an association or any architectural, construction improvement or other similar committee of an association may not require a building permit to be issued by a governmental authority to a parcel owner as a prerequisite for review by the association or committee of proposed construction of structures or improvements on the parcel.
This reverses a sequencing practice many committees adopted for sensible reasons. Requiring the permit first meant the committee reviewed a design the county had already blessed, which reduced revisions. The Legislature has decided the owner should not have to spend permit money before learning whether the association will approve the design at all.
What the paragraph does not do is worth stating with equal care. It does not require the association to approve anything. It does not disturb section 720.3035(1)(a), which is the source of the committee's authority. And it speaks to review, not to commencement of work. Whether the association may still condition the start of construction on a permit depends on the declaration and the published guidelines, and that distinction is worth confirming with counsel before a form is reissued.
2025: nothing
No 2025 act amended section 720.3035 or section 720.3045. HB 913, Ch. 2025-175, reached Chapters 468, 553, 718, 719 and 721 and did not amend Chapter 720 at all. The history lines confirm it: section 720.3035 runs s. 11, ch. 2007-173; s. 1, ch. 2024-205; s. 5, ch. 2024-221; s. 11, ch. 2026-63, and section 720.3045 runs s. 3, ch. 2023-64; s. 6, ch. 2024-221. Neither carries a 2025 citation.
A committee whose guidelines were reviewed after July 1, 2024 and have not been touched since needs exactly one change for 2026, the permit sequencing change described above.
2024: two acts, one on hurricane protection
Ch. 2024-205, CS/HB 293, effective May 28, 2024, amended section 720.3035 at s. 1 and is the source of the hurricane protection specifications requirement. Under section 720.3035(6), the board must adopt hurricane protection specifications for each structure or other improvement on a parcel governed by the association, and those specifications may include the color and style of hurricane protection products and other factors deemed relevant by the board, and must comply with the applicable building code. The association may not deny an application for the installation, enhancement or replacement of hurricane protection that conforms to the specifications adopted by the board, though it may require adherence to an existing unified building scheme as to the external appearance.
Ch. 2024-221, CS/CS/HB 1203, effective July 1, 2024, amended section 720.3035 at s. 5 and section 720.3045 at s. 6. That is the session that produced most of the current limits on what a committee may reach.
Section 720.3045 is titled installation, display and storage of items. It bars an association from restricting a parcel owner or tenant from installing, displaying or storing items that are not visible from the parcel's frontage, an adjacent parcel, an adjacent common area or a community golf course. The items named include artificial turf, boats, flags, vegetable gardens, clotheslines and recreational vehicles, where the item is not otherwise prohibited by state or local law.
That section is where a surprising number of violation letters now fail. The question is no longer only whether the declaration prohibits the item. It is whether the item is visible from one of the four listed vantage points. Our page on unapproved owner improvements covers how to run that check before a letter goes out.
2023 and 2007: where the two sections came from
Section 720.3045 was created in 2023, not 2024. It came in at s. 3, ch. 2023-64, from HB 437, and was amended the following year. Boards and even some published summaries date it to HB 1203, which loses a year of history and the original scope of the section.
Section 720.3035 is older. It was created at s. 11, ch. 2007-173, in the 2007 HOA act. For seventeen years it sat essentially unchanged, which is why the architectural guidelines in many Southwest Florida communities, drafted in the years after 2007, still track the statute reasonably well on authority and badly on everything added since.
One more 2026 act is worth noting even though it is not an architectural statute. Ch. 2026-168 rewrote Chapter 617, the Not For Profit Corporation Act, which supplies corporate rules Chapter 720 does not, including how a committee of the board may be constituted. A committee charter written against the old Chapter 617 is worth a look.
What section 720.3035 says now, subsection by subsection
The section is short and every paragraph does work.
- (1)(a) The authority of an association or architectural, construction improvement or other similar committee to review and approve plans and specifications, or to demand compliance with external appearance standards, is permitted only to the extent that the authority is specifically stated or reasonably inferred as to location, size, type or appearance in the declaration or other published guidelines and standards authorized by the declaration. The association must reasonably and equitably apply and enforce the standards.
- (1)(b) Restricts enforcement as to interior structures not visible from the frontage or adjacent areas, and as to an air conditioning or similar system that is not visible and is substantially similar to systems already approved.
- (1)(c) New in 2026. No building permit as a prerequisite for review.
- (2) Where the declaration provides options for materials, structure size, design or location, the association may not restrict the owner's right to select from among those options.
- (3) Each parcel has one front for setback purposes, and where the declaration does not provide setbacks, the applicable county or municipal setback limitations apply and the association may not enforce standards inconsistent with them.
- (4)(a) A denial must be in writing and must state with specificity the rule or covenant relied on and the specific aspect or part of the proposed improvement that does not conform.
- (4)(b) An owner may recover damages, costs and attorney fees where the association unreasonably, knowingly and willfully infringes on the rights and privileges the declaration grants.
- (5) An association may not enforce a policy inconsistent with the rights and privileges in the declaration, whether or not the policy is uniformly applied, and may not rely on such a policy as a defense.
- (6) Hurricane protection specifications, as described above.
Paragraph (4)(a) is the one that changes a committee's paperwork the most. A denial that recites community standards, or that says the design is not in keeping with the neighborhood, does not state a rule or covenant with specificity and does not identify the nonconforming aspect. Our guide to HOA architectural review procedures includes what a compliant denial actually looks like.
The silences, and why they matter more than the changes
Three things boards expect to find in section 720.3035 are not there.
| Expected rule | Chapter 720 | Condominium comparison |
|---|---|---|
| Deadline for the committee to decide | No statutory deadline | No general deadline either; deadlines come from the documents |
| Deemed approval if the association does not respond | No deemed approval provision | No general provision |
| Owner vote for a material alteration | No requirement in Chapter 720 | 75 percent of total voting interests by default, § 718.113(2) |
| Statutory limit on the committee's reach | Declaration and published guidelines, § 720.3035(1)(a) | Declaration and § 718.113 |
| Written denial with specificity | Required, § 720.3035(4)(a) | Not a statutory requirement |
The absence of a decision deadline is the one owners complain about and the one boards should fix themselves. Nothing in Chapter 720 stops an association from adopting a response deadline in its guidelines, and a committee that commits to acting within, say, 30 days of a complete application is in a far better position in a dispute than one that relies on the statute's silence. Section 720.3035(1)(a) will be read against an association that lets an application sit.
The absence of a deemed approval provision cuts the other way and should not be over-read. A declaration that itself provides for deemed approval after a set period is enforceable on its own terms, and a number of Southwest Florida declarations do exactly that. Check the document before assuming an application cannot lapse into approval.
The absence of a material alteration vote is the cleanest difference from condominium practice. Section 718.113(2) requires 75 percent of total voting interests for a material alteration of the common elements unless the declaration says otherwise, and section 719.1055 sets two-thirds for cooperatives. Chapter 720 has no analogue at all. What the HOA board may do to the common areas is a question of the declaration and of the board's general authority, not of a statutory percentage. See HOA board authority.
What to change in the next 60 days
- Remove any requirement that a building permit accompany an application before the committee will review it, and decide deliberately whether to keep a permit condition at commencement.
- Rewrite the standard denial letter so it identifies the specific rule or covenant and the specific nonconforming aspect of the proposal.
- Confirm the board has adopted hurricane protection specifications under section 720.3035(6), and that they address color and style and comply with the building code.
- Screen the enforcement list against section 720.3045 for items that are not visible from the frontage, an adjacent parcel, an adjacent common area or a golf course.
- Check whether the guidelines state a response deadline. If not, consider adopting one.
- Confirm the guidelines are authorized by the declaration. Under section 720.3035(1)(a) a guideline that floats free of the declaration is not a source of authority.
Two related pages go deeper on the application itself: fence applications and roofing and exterior modifications. The statute text is published free by the Legislature at leg.state.fl.us, and flsenate.gov carries each annual edition alongside the history lines cited here.
Frequently Asked Questions About HOA Architectural Review Changes
What changed for architectural review in 2026?
One paragraph. Section 720.3035(1)(c), added by Ch. 2026-63 and effective July 1, 2026, provides that an association or its architectural, construction improvement or other similar committee may not require a building permit to be issued to a parcel owner as a prerequisite for the association's or committee's review of proposed construction or improvements on the parcel.
Can we still require a permit before work starts?
The statute addresses review, not commencement. Section 720.3035(1)(c) prohibits requiring a permit as a prerequisite to review. Whether the association may condition the start of work on a permit depends on the declaration and the published guidelines, which are what section 720.3035(1)(a) measures the committee's authority against. Confirm the language with counsel before reissuing the form.
How long does the committee have to decide?
Chapter 720 sets no deadline and provides no deemed approval if the association does not respond. That silence is not a benefit to the association. A committee that lets an application sit is exposed under section 720.3035(1)(a) and (4)(a), and many declarations supply their own deadline or their own deemed approval clause, so read the document first.
What does a compliant denial letter have to say?
Section 720.3035(4)(a) requires written notice stating with specificity the rule or covenant on which the association or committee relied and the specific aspect or part of the proposed improvement that does not conform to that rule or covenant. A letter that cites community standards or general aesthetics without identifying the covenant and the nonconforming element does not meet the requirement.
Do our owners get to vote on changes to the common areas?
Not because a statute says so. The 75 percent material alteration vote is section 718.113(2), a condominium provision, and section 719.1055 sets two-thirds for cooperatives. Chapter 720 has no material alteration vote at all. Whether an owner vote is required in your community depends on the declaration and on the scope of the board's authority under it.
Can we restrict a vegetable garden or a clothesline?
Only where it is visible. Section 720.3045 bars an association from restricting installation, display or storage of listed items, including artificial turf, boats, flags, vegetable gardens, clotheslines and recreational vehicles, that are not visible from the parcel's frontage, an adjacent parcel, an adjacent common area or a community golf course. Visibility is now the first question, not the covenant.
Contact Hamilton Mikes
Hamilton Mikes rewrites architectural guidelines, application forms and denial letters for homeowners and master association boards in Lee, Collier and Charlotte Counties, and defends committee decisions when an owner challenges one. Call 239-594-7227 or visit our Architectural Review page.
Statutes and authorities referenced
- § 720.3035(1)(a), Fla. Stat. (scope of review authority; specifically stated or reasonably inferred in the declaration or authorized guidelines; reasonable and equitable enforcement)
- § 720.3035(1)(b), Fla. Stat. (interior structures and air conditioning systems not visible from the frontage or adjacent areas)
- § 720.3035(1)(c), Fla. Stat. (no building permit as a prerequisite for review; added by Ch. 2026-63, effective July 1, 2026)
- § 720.3035(2), Fla. Stat. (owner's right to select among options provided in the declaration)
- § 720.3035(3), Fla. Stat. (one front per parcel for setback purposes; county or municipal setbacks apply where the declaration is silent)
- § 720.3035(4)(a), Fla. Stat. (written denial stating with specificity the rule or covenant and the nonconforming aspect)
- § 720.3035(4)(b), Fla. Stat. (damages, costs and attorney fees for unreasonable, knowing and willful infringement)
- § 720.3035(5), Fla. Stat. (policies inconsistent with the declaration unenforceable and unavailable as a defense)
- § 720.3035(6), Fla. Stat. (hurricane protection specifications; conforming applications may not be denied; unified building scheme)
- § 720.3045, Fla. Stat. (installation, display and storage of items not visible from the frontage, an adjacent parcel, an adjacent common area or a community golf course)
- § 718.113(2), Fla. Stat. (condominium material alteration; 75 percent default)
- § 719.1055, Fla. Stat. (cooperative material alteration; two-thirds)
- Session laws: Ch. 2007-173 (s. 11, creating § 720.3035); Ch. 2023-64 (HB 437, s. 3, creating § 720.3045); Ch. 2024-205 (CS/HB 293, s. 1, eff. May 28, 2024); Ch. 2024-221 (CS/CS/HB 1203, ss. 5 and 6); Ch. 2026-63 (CS/CS/HB 803, s. 11, eff. July 1, 2026); Ch. 2026-168 (CS/CS/HB 797, Ch. 617 rewrite)