Florida Condominium Law,
Guiding Boards with Confidence.

A milestone structural inspection is a two-phase engineering assessment required for condominium and cooperative buildings that are three or more habitable stories tall. The statewide trigger for the first inspection is 30 years from the date the certificate of occupancy was issued. The older automatic 25-year trigger for buildings within three miles of the coast was removed by HB 1021 in 2024; local building departments may still choose to enforce a 25-year timeline by ordinance where salt-water proximity warrants it, so the deadline depends on your jurisdiction. After the initial inspection, the building is reinspected every 10 years. Phase one is a visual inspection by a licensed engineer or architect. If phase one identifies substantial structural deterioration, phase two requires a more detailed assessment, potentially including destructive or nondestructive testing.

Once the report is complete, the association must distribute the inspector's summary to all unit owners within 45 days, and condominiums with 25 or more units must post the report to their secure owner portal within 30 days of receiving it. If the building is found to be unsafe, local authorities may issue an order to remediate or vacate. Associations that have not initiated the inspection process should contact counsel to confirm their deadline and understand their obligations before the report is issued. This is general information about Florida law, not legal advice for a specific association.

For structural components covered by the new structural integrity reserve study (SIRS) requirement, waiver is no longer an option. Florida law now requires associations subject to SIRS to fund reserves for roof, load-bearing walls, fireproofing and fire protection, plumbing in common elements, electrical systems in common elements, windows and exterior doors, waterproofing, and any other item affecting structural integrity with a deferred maintenance or replacement cost exceeding the inflation-adjusted catch-all threshold, which the DBPR set at $25,675 for 2026.

These reserves cannot be waived or reduced by a membership vote. Associations that have historically passed reserve waiver votes need to revise their reserve schedules and communicate the change - and the legal requirement driving it - clearly to unit owners. Associations should have counsel review their current reserve study and budget before the next fiscal year begins. This is general information about Florida law, not legal advice for a specific association.

Yes. Florida law was amended by HB 913, effective July 1, 2025, to expressly authorize condominium associations to fund SIRS reserve obligations through a commercial loan or secured line of credit. The loan or line of credit must be large enough to cover the cumulative amount of any previously waived or unfunded structural reserves plus the requirements identified in the most recent SIRS, and the funds must be immediately available for the board to draw upon - a nominal credit facility the board cannot access does not satisfy the statute.

Once the facility is in place, the board may draw on it for covered repair, maintenance, or replacement work without a membership vote, but the association is required to disclose the loan's existence, terms, and outstanding balance in the annual financial statement delivered to unit owners. This option is not available to associations still under developer control. This is general information about Florida law, not legal advice for a specific association.

Effective January 1, 2026, any condominium association with 25 or more units (excluding timeshare condominiums) is required to maintain an official website or a third-party portal. The platform must include both a public-facing domain and a password-protected section restricted to unit owners and association employees, with login credentials provided to any owner upon written request.

The association must post governing documents, current rules, annual budgets, meeting notices and agendas, at least 12 months of meeting minutes, active contracts, active vendor bids, Structural Integrity Reserve Studies, and Milestone Inspection reports. New records must generally be posted within 30 days after the association creates or receives them. Associations that have not yet built or contracted for a compliant site should act promptly; the DBPR is authorized to request access to the website when investigating compliance. This is general information about Florida law, not legal advice for a specific association.

Yes. Florida law permits condominium associations to adopt an online voting system by board resolution at any properly noticed board meeting - as of July 1, 2025, the prior 14-day advance-notice requirement for that resolution was eliminated. The system must authenticate voter identity, protect ballot secrecy, and provide digital receipts of each vote, and each owner must consent in writing or electronically before voting online. Critically, the association must also provide a paper ballot option to any owner who requests one - electronic voting cannot be the only method available.

Before adopting a system, the board should review the association's governing documents for provisions that conflict with an electronic voting policy. If the declaration or bylaws require paper ballots or impose specific procedural requirements, an amendment may be needed before the system can be used for binding elections. Boards that want to be sure their first electronic election holds up should have counsel review the policy and the governing documents before adopting a system.

Milestone inspections frequently produce repair recommendations that require substantial construction contracts - often under time pressure from regulators or from the inspection deadline itself. Boards entering into these contracts without counsel review face real exposure on scope of work definitions, change-order procedures, payment schedules tied to verifiable milestones, lien waiver requirements, bonding and insurance minimums, and warranty terms.

Broad indemnification clauses that favor the contractor, inadequate liquidated damages provisions, and payment terms that advance funds before verified completion are the most common problem areas we see in association repair contracts. The contract review cost is a small fraction of the risk in a material remediation project. Our construction law group works alongside our community association attorneys on these matters.

Reserve funding mandates under the SIRS requirement, insurance cost increases, and deferred maintenance identified through milestone inspections are each contributing to meaningful budget changes across Florida condominium communities. These increases are not optional - they reflect legal obligations that apply regardless of what the prior board approved or what the membership voted to waive in previous years.

Boards have a fiduciary obligation to fund reserves as required by law and to present a budget that accurately reflects the association's financial position. Clear communication to unit owners - supported by the reserve study and the milestone inspection report - reduces the risk of legal challenges to special assessments. Boards that document their deliberations and their reliance on professional studies are in a much stronger position if a challenge arises. This is general information about Florida law, not legal advice for a specific association.

Chapter 718 of the Florida Statutes, together with Administrative Code Chapters 61B-75 through 79, provides the procedural framework for condominium elections, recall petitions, and annual meeting requirements. The Division of Condominiums has mandatory arbitration jurisdiction over election disputes, which means a procedural misstep - a deficient notice, an improper ballot, a failure to follow the condominium documents - can result in an arbitration proceeding and a new election.

Common problem areas include election notices that do not give the required advance time, candidate eligibility disputes, proxy and limited proxy procedures, and the handling of inner-envelope ballots. Counsel should review election procedures before the notice goes out, not after the meeting has been challenged. This is general information about Florida law, not legal advice for a specific association.

Turnover typically occurs when unit owners obtain the right to elect a majority of the board - generally when 90 percent of the units have been sold or three years after the declaration is recorded, whichever comes first. At turnover, the developer is required to transfer records, funds, and association property to the owner-controlled board.

A turnover audit - covering the association's financial records, reserve accounts, construction quality, and any developer-imposed contracts or management reservations - is essential to identify claims before the statute of limitations runs. Our attorneys have significant experience in turnover proceedings, including construction defect claims and the termination of developer-imposed management contracts. This is general information about Florida law, not legal advice for a specific association.

Unit owners can recall a condominium director before the term ends, either by a vote at a special meeting called for that purpose or by a written agreement signed by a majority of the voting interests. The recall is the owners' tool, not the board's, and it follows the procedures in Chapter 718 and the related Administrative Code provisions. Once owners serve a facially valid recall, the board has a short statutory window to either certify it at a duly noticed board meeting or, if it rejects the recall, file for arbitration with the Division of Condominiums to challenge it.

The procedure is where recalls succeed or fail. A board that improperly rejects a valid recall, or improperly certifies an invalid one, faces arbitration exposure in either direction, and a defective recall notice or petition can be set aside. Because the deadlines are short and the requirements are exact, both owners pursuing a recall and boards responding to one should have the petition and the response reviewed before acting. This is general information about Florida law, not legal advice for a specific association.