Florida condo board meeting rules come from Chapter 718 of the Florida Statutes, and they cover how often the board meets, how it notifies owners, what owners can do at the meeting, how votes must be taken, and what records the board has to keep afterward. Skip a step and the resulting decision can be challenged. Here is what the statute actually requires.
How Often the Board Must Meet
In any residential condominium with more than 10 units, the board must meet at least once every quarter. At least four meetings per year must include a dedicated opportunity for unit owners to ask questions about repair projects, the budget, and other community issues.1Justia Law. Florida Code 718.112 – Bylaws Associations with 10 or fewer units are not subject to this quarterly minimum, though their bylaws may impose their own schedule.
Notice of Board Meetings
Every board meeting requires notice posted in a visible spot on the condominium property at least 48 continuous hours beforehand. The notice must list every item the board plans to discuss. Vague descriptions and catch-all “new business” categories don’t satisfy the requirement.1Justia Law. Florida Code 718.112 – Bylaws The board must formally designate a specific location on the property where all meeting notices will be posted, and it must tell owners where that is.
The 14-Day Notice Rule
Some business demands a longer heads-up. When the board plans to consider a nonemergency special assessment or an amendment to rules about how owners can use their units, written notice must go out to every unit owner at least 14 days before the meeting. That notice must be mailed, hand-delivered, or sent electronically, on top of the standard physical posting. The association must keep an affidavit on file proving it met the 14-day requirement.1Justia Law. Florida Code 718.112 – Bylaws
If the agenda includes a vote on a contract for goods or services, a copy of that contract must either go out with the notice or be available for owners to inspect and copy upon written request.
Video Conference Meetings
When a board meeting will be conducted by video conference, the notice must say so and include a hyperlink, a conference call phone number, and the address of a physical location where owners can attend in person. Any meeting held by video conference must be recorded, and that recording becomes part of the association’s official records.2Florida Senate. Florida Code 718 Section 112 – Bylaws A board that runs a virtual meeting without all three notice components leaves the meeting open to challenge.
Your Right to Attend, Speak, and Record
Board meetings where a quorum is present must be open to all unit owners. You don’t need an invitation, and the board can’t condition your entry on forms or waivers. Only two narrow exceptions allow the board to close its doors: meetings with the association’s attorney about proposed or pending litigation, and discussions of personnel matters.1Justia Law. Florida Code 718.112 – Bylaws
Your right to attend includes the right to speak on every agenda item and to ask questions about construction or repair projects, current revenues and expenditures, and other condominium issues. The association may adopt reasonable written rules limiting how long each owner speaks or how often, but those rules cannot eliminate the right to participate.
Owners also have the right to audio-record or video-record board meetings. The association can set reasonable rules about equipment, but it cannot ban recording.1Justia Law. Florida Code 718.112 – Bylaws Florida is a two-party consent state for private conversations, but condo board meetings aren’t private. The statute grants the recording right, so no additional consent from board members is needed.
Quorum, Motions, and Voting
No official business can happen without a quorum of board members. The association’s bylaws define the quorum, which is typically a majority of authorized directors. A board member participating by telephone, video conference, or similar real-time electronic communication counts toward the quorum and may vote as if physically present.1Justia Law. Florida Code 718.112 – Bylaws
Every board action requires a motion and a recorded vote. Directors may use email to communicate with each other, but they cannot cast votes on association business by email or any other method outside a properly noticed meeting.1Justia Law. Florida Code 718.112 – Bylaws This is the rule boards violate most often. A quick email poll to approve a vendor contract is not a valid vote, even if every director responds.
Emergency Actions
The 48-hour notice rule has one exception. An item not listed on the posted agenda can be addressed on an emergency basis if at least a majority plus one of the board members vote to take it up. The threshold is intentionally higher than a simple majority. Any action taken this way must then be formally noticed and ratified at the next regular board meeting.2Florida Senate. Florida Code 718 Section 112 – Bylaws If the board skips ratification, the action’s validity is in doubt. A pattern of “emergency” votes on routine matters is grounds for challenge.
Forcing an Item Onto the Agenda
If 20 percent of the voting interests submit a written petition asking the board to address a specific issue, the board must place that item on the agenda within 60 days. It can appear at the next regular meeting or at a special meeting called for that purpose.2Florida Senate. Florida Code 718 Section 112 – Bylaws The board has no discretion once the threshold is met.
Conflicts of Interest
Directors, officers, and their relatives must disclose any activity that could reasonably be seen as a conflict of interest. A rebuttable presumption of conflict exists whenever a director, officer, or a relative of one enters into a contract with the association or holds an interest in a business that does business with the association, unless the board received prior notice.3The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 718.3027 – Conflicts of Interest
When a conflict exists, the proposed activity must appear as a separate item on the board meeting agenda, and all contracts and transactional documents must be available for owner inspection. The board can’t bury a director’s landscaping contract in a consent agenda and move on. Transactions handled without following the disclosure rules are vulnerable to challenge.
Minutes and Records Access
The association must prepare minutes for every board meeting. Those minutes must record the date, time, and location of the meeting, every motion made, the outcome of each vote, and how each individual board member voted, including abstentions.1Justia Law. Florida Code 718.112 – Bylaws If a meeting was held by video conference, the recording of that meeting is also an official record. Minutes from all board and unit owner meetings must be permanently maintained from the date the association was created.
Owners have a statutory right to inspect the association’s official records, including approved minutes. After you submit a written request, the association must make the records available within 10 working days. The records must be accessible within 45 miles of the condominium property or within the county where the property is located. The association may charge a reasonable fee for copies but cannot use fees or inconvenience as a barrier.4Justia Law. Florida Code 718.111 – The Association
Committee Meetings
Not every committee is treated the same. Committees that have the authority to act on behalf of the board, or that make recommendations about the association’s budget, must follow the same notice and open-meeting rules as the board itself. Their meetings must be posted, open to owners, and documented.1Justia Law. Florida Code 718.112 – Bylaws Committees without that level of authority, like a social events committee, may be exempt from the open-meeting requirement if the bylaws allow.
When the Board Breaks the Rules
Disputes about the board’s failure to give adequate notice, properly conduct meetings, properly conduct elections, or allow inspection of records are eligible for mandatory nonbinding arbitration through the Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes.5Florida Senate. Florida Code 718 Section 1255 – Alternative Dispute Resolution Arbitration is faster and cheaper than circuit court. Either party may reject the arbitrator’s decision and file for a new trial in court within 30 days. If neither party appeals within that window, the decision becomes binding.6Florida DBPR. Arbitration – Division of Condominiums, Timeshares and Mobile Homes
If your board is holding meetings without proper notice, shutting owners out of discussions, or refusing to produce records, filing for arbitration with the Division is the first formal step. Document violations as they happen. Keep your own recordings when the meetings are open. That evidence carries the case.