A Florida homeowners association and a Florida condominium association are both not-for-profit corporations run by volunteer boards, and a director moving from one to the other will recognize most of the vocabulary. The law underneath is different in ways that matter every month. Condominium owners co-own a building, so Chapter 718 dictates how the association must reserve for it, insure it, inspect it, and govern it, and a state agency enforces those rules. HOA owners own their homes outright, so Chapter 720 leaves far more to the governing documents and to the members, and no agency supervises the result. The table below sets the two side by side on the questions boards actually face.
The comparison
| Question | Condominium association (Chapter 718) | Homeowners association (Chapter 720) |
|---|---|---|
| What do owners own? | A unit plus an undivided share of the common elements; the association owns nothing | A lot and home in fee simple; the association owns the common areas |
| Who regulates? | The Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes: complaints, investigations, civil penalties, arbitration, annual per-unit fee | No agency, except Division arbitration of election and recall disputes; enforcement through presuit mediation and the courts |
| Structural safety | Milestone inspections at 30 years (25 in some coastal areas) and every 10 years after; structural integrity reserve study every 10 years for buildings 3+ stories | None required by statute |
| Reserves | Required in the budget; structural (SIRS) reserves cannot be waived or reduced for buildings 3+ stories since Dec. 31, 2024; other reserves may be waived by majority of total voting interests | Required only if the documents or a member vote established them; members may waive or reduce annually by majority vote at a meeting |
| Insurance | Association must carry replacement-cost coverage on the building based on an appraisal every 36 months; statute allocates building vs. unit components between association and owner policies | Association insures the common areas as the documents require; owners insure their homes; no statutory allocation |
| Board meetings | Open; 48-hour posted notice; 14 days' notice for special assessments and rules on unit use; at least quarterly for residential associations of more than 10 units; video-conference meetings permitted since 2025 on statutory conditions; owners may speak and record | Open; 48-hour posted notice; 14 days' notice for special assessments and rules on parcel use; owners may speak and record |
| Elections | Statutory procedure: 60/40/14-day notices, secret ballot with double envelopes or electronic voting, no quorum (20% of eligible voters), no nominations from the floor, no proxies for the election | Governed by the bylaws, subject to statutory notice and nomination rules; proxies may be used unless documents prohibit |
| Director terms and limits | 2-year terms if bylaws provide; 8 consecutive years unless 2/3 of votes cast or lack of candidates | Term per bylaws; no statutory term limit |
| Director education | Approved course within 90 days; 1 hour of continuing education annually | Approved course within 90 days; 4 hours annually (8 for 2,500+ parcels) |
| Records access | 10 working days after written request; presumption of willful failure; $50/day minimum damages; criminal penalties since 2024 | 10 business days; same presumption and damages; criminal penalties since 2024 |
| Website posting | Associations with 25+ units, by Jan. 1, 2026 | Associations with 100+ parcels, since Jan. 1, 2025 |
| Financial reporting | Within 90 days after fiscal year end; compilation, review, or audit by revenue tier; to owners within 21 days of completion | Same structure and tiers |
| Amending the declaration | Per declaration; 2/3 of units if silent; unit-share changes require affected owners and lienholders; rental amendments bind only consenting and later owners | Per documents; 2/3 of voting interests if silent; adverse changes to voting or expense shares require consent; rental amendments after 2021 bind only consenting and later owners, with exceptions |
| Rules on use | Board adopts with 14 days' notice; must be reasonable and consistent with declaration | Board adopts under documents' authority; statute forbids rules on interiors and not-visible items (§§ 720.3035(1)(b), 720.3045), driveway parking of personal and work vehicles (§ 720.3075), protected flags and Florida-friendly landscaping, and fines for garbage cans and holiday decorations within statutory windows (§ 720.305(7)) |
| Fines | Up to $100/day, $1,000 aggregate; 14-day notice and independent committee; never a lien | Same amounts unless documents allow more; committee required; fines of $1,000+ may become liens; 2024 notice and timing rules |
| Suspensions for delinquency | Use rights after 90 days' delinquency; voting rights only if delinquency exceeds $1,000 and 90 days, effective 30 days after notice; by board at noticed meeting | Use and voting rights after 90 days' delinquency, by board at noticed meeting |
| Collection notices | 30-day late notice before fees; 45-day lien notice; 45-day foreclosure notice | Same sequence |
| Lien priority vs. first mortgage | Lender safe harbor: lesser of 12 months or 1% of original mortgage debt | Same |
| Owner's stay of foreclosure | No statutory counterpart | Statutory "qualifying offer" (§ 720.3085(6)) stays the case up to 60 days |
| Transfer approval and fees | Approval only if documents authorize; fee capped by statute (currently $150 per applicant, indexed); no fee for lease renewals with same tenant | Approval only if documents authorize; no statutory fee cap |
| Pre-suit dispute resolution | Division arbitration or presuit mediation for defined "disputes"; election and recall disputes to Division arbitration or court | Presuit mediation demand under § 720.311 for covenant, use, amendment, meeting, and records disputes; election and recall disputes to Division arbitration or court |
| Emergency powers after a declared emergency | Detailed list in § 718.1265 | Parallel list in § 720.316 |
| Covenant expiration | Not subject to MRTA extinguishment in the same way | Covenants can lapse 30 years after root of title under Chapter 712 unless preserved or revitalized |
Why the differences exist
Almost every row traces back to ownership. In a condominium, the roof over one owner's unit is the common element of all, so the Legislature requires the association to reserve for it, insure it, and, after 2021, inspect it on a schedule. The owners cannot leave: a unit cannot be separated from the building, so the statute protects each owner from the decisions of the majority with rigid election procedures, records rights, and a regulator to complain to. In an HOA, the association's failures fall on common areas, not on anyone's home, and an owner who dislikes the result at least owns a house that can be sold without the association's consent. Chapter 720 accordingly defers to the documents and the members and relies on private enforcement.
The differences are narrowing. Since 2021 the two chapters have converged on records access and posting, collection notices, fining procedures, director education, emergency powers, and criminal penalties. They remain far apart on reserves, insurance, structural safety, elections, and regulatory oversight, and there is no indication the Legislature intends to change that.
Communities that are both
Southwest Florida is full of layered communities: a condominium building or a cluster of villa condominiums inside a gated master community governed by a homeowners association. The condominium association operates the buildings under Chapter 718; the master association maintains the gates, roads, and lakes under Chapter 720; and each owner pays assessments to both. The two associations may have different fiscal years, different notice rules, different election procedures, and different records obligations, and a director who serves on both boards must keep them straight. Our pages on master associations and sub-associations address the questions of authority and cost allocation that arise between them.
Practical consequences for boards
- Budgeting. A condominium board preparing its budget starts with the structural integrity reserve study and cannot waive what it shows; an HOA board decides whether to propose reserves at all and whether to let the members waive them. Our reserve funding guide and annual budget planning guide cover each.
- Insurance. A condominium board must know the statutory line between what the association insures and what owners insure; an HOA board mostly insures its own property.
- Elections. A condominium election run like an HOA election, with nominations from the floor or general proxies, is void. An HOA election run like a condominium election is merely more formal than required. Our election guide sets out both.
- Enforcement. Both use the same fining procedure, but an HOA board must also check the 2024 list of things it may no longer regulate, and it may lien for large fines while a condominium board may not.
- Disputes. A condominium board facing a records or election dispute may end up before a Division arbitrator; an HOA board will receive a mediation demand and, if it fails, a lawsuit.
- Old documents. An HOA board should confirm every few years that its covenants have not lapsed under the Marketable Record Title Act; a condominium board should confirm whether its declaration adopts Chapter 718 "as amended from time to time."
Frequently Asked Questions About HOAs and Condominium Associations
Which one is my community?
Check your deed. If it conveys a unit and an undivided interest in common elements, you are in a condominium governed by Chapter 718. If it conveys a lot by lot and block or metes and bounds subject to a recorded declaration of covenants, you are in a homeowners association governed by Chapter 720. If you pay two associations, you are probably in both.
Do HOAs have to follow the Condominium Act?
No. Chapter 718 applies only to condominiums, and Chapter 720 applies only to homeowners associations. The chapters share many concepts, and courts sometimes look to one when interpreting the other, but an HOA board that follows condominium election or reserve rules is doing more than the law requires, and a condominium board that follows HOA practice is violating Chapter 718.
Are HOA reserves really optional?
Under Chapter 720, reserves are required only if the governing documents establish them or the members vote to create them, and the members may vote annually to waive or reduce them. Optional under the statute does not mean wise: an HOA with roads, gates, and lakes to replace and no reserves will face special assessments or loans when the time comes.
Why are condominium rules so much stricter?
Because condominium owners cannot separate their property from their neighbors'. The Legislature's response, intensified after the 2021 Champlain Towers South collapse, is to require the association to inspect, reserve for, and insure the shared structure whether or not the current owners want to pay for it, and to give owners strong procedural protections and a regulator.
Can an HOA become a condominium, or the reverse?
Not without a fundamental restructuring of title. Converting a subdivision to a condominium requires every owner to convey their lot into the condominium regime, and terminating a condominium under section 718.117 requires a supermajority vote and a plan of termination. Neither is common; boards facing a poor fit between their structure and their documents usually amend the documents instead.
Which is more expensive to run?
Per home, condominiums generally cost more because the association carries the building's insurance, structural reserves, inspections, and professional reporting. HOAs shift those costs to individual owners. Comparing assessment amounts across the two types without accounting for what they cover misleads buyers and boards alike.
Contact Hamilton Mikes
Hamilton Mikes represents condominium and homeowners associations throughout Southwest Florida, including layered communities governed by both chapters. Call 239-594-7227 or visit our Regulatory Compliance page.
Statutes and authorities referenced
- Chapter 718, Fla. Stat. (Condominium Act), especially §§ 718.103, 718.111, 718.112, 718.116, 718.303, 718.1255, 718.501
- Chapter 720, Fla. Stat. (Homeowners' Association Act), especially §§ 720.301, 720.303, 720.305, 720.306, 720.3085, 720.311
- § 553.899, Fla. Stat. (milestone inspections; condominiums and cooperatives only)
- Chapter 712, Fla. Stat. (Marketable Record Title Act; principally affects HOA covenants)
- Chapter 617, Fla. Stat. (not-for-profit corporations; both)