Florida HOA Law Chapter 720: Records, Fines, and Liens

Florida HOA laws are codified in Chapter 720 of the Florida Statutes, the Homeowners’ Association Act, and they give every parcel owner in a mandatory association a set of rights that the community’s own covenants and bylaws cannot take away. Those rights cover access to records, notice of meetings, a hearing before any fine, limits on liens and interest, and protections for flags, assembly, and reasonable accommodations. The board can enforce the rules, but only through the procedures the statute spells out, and the penalties for ignoring those procedures fall on the association.

Your Right to Inspect Association Records

You can inspect and copy the association’s official records, which include the articles of incorporation, bylaws, meeting minutes, the current roster of members with mailing addresses, and all insurance policies in effect.¹ The association must keep these records within Florida for at least seven years and make them available within 45 miles of the community or within the county where the association is located.

Submit a written request to the board or its designee. Certified mail with return receipt is the smart choice because it starts the legal clock and creates proof of delivery. The association then has 10 business days to provide access.¹ If you used certified mail and the association still hasn’t produced the records, the law presumes the failure was willful.

The money matters here. An owner denied access is entitled to actual damages or a statutory minimum of $50 per calendar day, starting on the 11th business day after the association received the request and accumulating for up to 10 days.² That $500 is a floor, not a ceiling. If your actual damages are higher, you can recover the higher figure.

You can bring your own phone or portable scanner and photograph records at no charge. If you ask the association to make copies, it can charge up to 25 cents per page for standard photocopies.¹ Social Security numbers and financial account details must be redacted, but ordinary records like the member roster are not shielded from the inspection right.

Meetings, Notice, and the Owner Petition

You have the right to attend every board meeting and to speak on any item on the agenda.¹ The board must post notice in a conspicuous spot on the property at least 48 hours ahead of time, and that notice must list the specific agenda items. No posted agenda, no valid meeting.

A stronger right kicks in when owners organize. If 20 percent of the total voting interests sign a petition, the board must place the petitioned item on the agenda at its next regular meeting or at a special meeting within 60 days. On a petitioned item, each owner gets a guaranteed three minutes to speak, provided they sign the sign-up sheet or submit a written request to speak beforehand.³ This petition tool forces a board to publicly address an issue it would rather not.

Meetings where special assessments or amendments to rules about parcel use will be discussed require at least 14 days’ notice. That notice must be mailed, delivered, or electronically transmitted to every member and parcel owner, and also posted conspicuously on the property.¹ The annual membership meeting carries the same 14-day notice requirement.⁴

Minutes are required at every meeting and become part of the official records. These protections apply whenever a quorum of the board gathers to discuss association business, whether in person, by phone, or electronically. A decision made behind closed doors without proper notice can be challenged as invalid.

Elections, Voting, and Amendments

Owners elect the board, usually at the annual membership meeting, with each parcel carrying a vote.⁴ If you cannot attend, you can vote by proxy. A general proxy lets the holder vote at their discretion; a limited proxy instructs the holder to vote a specific way on specific issues. A proxy is valid only for the meeting it was given for and expires 90 days after that meeting date.

No binding vote happens without a quorum. Unless the bylaws set a lower number, 30 percent of the total voting interests must be present or represented.⁴ If a quorum fails to show, the meeting adjourns and gets rescheduled.

Changing the declaration of covenants is harder on purpose. It takes an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the total voting interests unless the governing documents set a different threshold.⁵ Secret ballots are allowed for board elections if the governing documents permit them, but are not required by statute.⁶

Financial Reports and Reserve Funds

The board must prepare a financial report within 90 days after the end of the fiscal year. You do not have to request it. The association must either deliver it to each owner or notify them that it is available at no charge.¹ The rigor of the report scales with the association’s total annual revenue:

Under $150,000: a report of cash receipts and expenditures.
$150,000 to under $300,000: compiled financial statements prepared under generally accepted accounting principles.
$300,000 to under $500,000: reviewed financial statements.
$500,000 or more: audited financial statements.
1,000 or more parcels: audited financial statements regardless of revenue.

A compiled report is essentially the board’s own numbers organized by an accountant; an audit involves independent verification.³ If your association has significant revenue and keeps producing only a compiled report, that gap is worth raising.

Owners have the right to review the proposed annual budget before any meeting where special assessments or use-rule amendments will be discussed, which must carry at least 14 days’ notice.¹

Reserve accounts work differently in HOAs than in condominiums. Reserves are not automatically required. They become mandatory only after a majority of the total voting interests votes to establish them, and once approved, the board must include reserve accounts in the budget for every subsequent year. Each reserve amount is set from the item’s estimated remaining useful life and replacement cost. Members can vote to waive or reduce reserve funding at a properly noticed meeting, but the waiver covers only one budget year and must be renewed. If the waiver meeting fails to achieve the needed vote or a quorum, the reserves as budgeted take effect automatically.³

Fines and the Hearing You Are Entitled To

The board cannot simply mail you a fine. An association can fine you for violating the declaration, bylaws, or reasonable rules, but only after following a specific procedure. Fines are capped at $100 per violation per day for a continuing violation, with a $1,000 aggregate cap, unless the governing documents set a higher amount.⁷ Fines under $1,000 cannot become a lien on your parcel.

Before a fine or suspension takes effect, the board must give you at least 14 days’ written notice of your right to a hearing. That hearing must happen within 90 days before a committee of at least three members who are not officers, directors, or employees of the association and are not related to any of them.⁷ The notice must describe the alleged violation, explain how to cure it if applicable, and give you the hearing date, location, and access information. You can attend by phone or other electronic means.

The committee has veto power. If a majority of the committee does not approve the proposed fine or suspension, the board cannot impose it. Within seven days after the hearing, the committee must send you written notice of its findings, including whether the fine was approved and how to cure the violation.⁸ This independent committee requirement is the single most skipped step in Florida HOA enforcement. A board that bypasses it has imposed an unenforceable fine.

Suspension of Common-Area Use

The association can suspend your right to use common areas and facilities for rule violations, subject to the same hearing process. The statute draws a hard line: a suspension can never block access to your own parcel. You keep the right to vehicular and pedestrian access, including parking, and the association cannot cut off utilities or services that run through common areas to reach your home.⁷

Unpaid money is treated differently. If you are more than 90 days delinquent on any fee, fine, or other amount owed, the board can suspend your common-area privileges and your voting rights without the independent committee hearing. The board only needs to approve the suspension at a properly noticed meeting and then send you written notice.⁹ Losing your vote means no say in board elections or community decisions until you bring the account current.

Assessment Liens and Foreclosure

Unpaid assessments are the highest-stakes financial issue for a parcel owner. When the governing documents authorize it, the association has a lien on your parcel to secure payment, and that lien becomes effective for priority purposes against a first mortgage when the association records a claim of lien in the county’s public records.¹⁰

The association cannot record a lien without first sending you a written demand for the past-due amount, giving you 45 days from the mailing date to pay in full.¹¹ If you still do not pay, the association can record the claim of lien, which secures the overdue assessments plus any future assessments that come due, with interest, late charges, and the association’s attorney fees and collection costs.

Foreclosure follows the same path as a bank foreclosing on a mortgage, but it is not instant. Before filing suit, the association must send a separate notice of intent to foreclose and wait another 45 days. The combined effect is a minimum of 90 days from the initial demand before any foreclosure filing can land. If you believe a lien is invalid, you can record a notice of contest of lien, which forces the association to file suit within 90 days or lose the lien entirely.¹⁰

Interest and Late Fee Caps

Past-due assessments accrue interest at the rate stated in the declaration or bylaws. If no rate is specified, the default is 18 percent simple interest per year. Compound interest is prohibited regardless of what the governing documents say.¹² A late fee is allowed if the governing documents provide for one, but it cannot exceed the greater of $25 or 5 percent of each past-due installment. The caps keep punitive charges from dwarfing the original assessment, though attorney fees stacked on top can still add up quickly.

Assembly and Flag Display

Chapter 720 protects your right to peaceably assemble on common areas and within your parcel, including the right to invite public officials and candidates for public office to speak in common areas and recreational facilities.¹³ The association cannot unreasonably restrict these gatherings.

Flag rights are broader than many owners realize. Even where the covenants prohibit flag displays, you can still display up to two portable, removable flags no larger than 4½ by 6 feet from this list:

The United States flag
The official flag of the State of Florida
A flag representing the United States Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Space Force, or Coast Guard
A POW-MIA flag
A first responder flag, which may incorporate the design of another permitted flag

If you install a flagpole, you can fly one United States flag from the pole (up to 4½ by 6 feet) plus one additional flag from the list above.¹⁴ The association cannot ban, restrict, or fine these displays as long as you present them respectfully.

Board Conflicts of Interest

Florida sets specific rules when the association contracts with one of its own directors, or with a company a director has a financial interest in. The board must disclose the relationship in the minutes, approve the contract by a two-thirds vote of the directors present, and disclose the contract to the membership at the next meeting.¹⁵ At that meeting, any member can move to bring the contract up for a vote, and a majority of the members present can cancel it. If canceled, the association owes only the reasonable value of what has already been delivered, with no termination penalties.

Kickbacks are a crime. A director, officer, or manager who solicits or accepts anything of value from a vendor providing or proposing services to the association, without paying for it, commits a third-degree felony.¹⁵ If the board discovers a violation, it must immediately remove the offender, who is also exposed to civil monetary damages.

Directors and officers must disclose any activity that could reasonably be construed as a conflict at least 14 days before voting on an issue or entering into a related contract. A rebuttable presumption of a conflict exists whenever a director, officer, or relative enters into a contract with the association without prior disclosure.

Federal Protections That Override HOA Rules

Several federal laws apply to Florida HOAs and override conflicting covenants or rules.

Fair Housing and Reasonable Accommodations

The Fair Housing Act applies to homeowners’ associations and prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, and disability.¹⁶ For families with children, an HOA cannot impose special rules on households with minors, restrict them to certain sections, limit their access to recreational facilities, or set unreasonable caps on how many people may live in a home.

For residents with disabilities, the association must provide reasonable accommodations when requested. A reasonable accommodation is a change to a rule, policy, or practice that allows a person with a disability equal opportunity to use and enjoy their home, including common areas.¹⁷ The most common example is assistance animals. Even where the HOA has a no-pets policy, an owner with a disability-related need for an emotional support or service animal is entitled to keep one without paying pet deposits or fees.¹⁸ The request does not need any particular form or magic words, and the association must respond promptly.

The association can deny a request only in narrow circumstances: when granting it would impose an undue financial burden, fundamentally alter operations, or when the specific animal poses a direct threat to health or safety based on individualized assessment rather than speculation. When a request is denied, the association must discuss possible alternatives.

Satellite Dishes and Antennas

The FCC’s Over-the-Air Reception Devices rule prohibits HOAs from restricting the installation of certain antennas and satellite dishes on property within your exclusive use or control, including your yard, balcony, or patio.¹⁹ Covered devices include satellite dishes one meter or smaller, antennas designed to receive local broadcast signals, and antennas for fixed wireless service. The association cannot impose restrictions that unreasonably delay installation, increase costs, or interfere with signal quality. Legitimate safety requirements are allowed, but the burden of proving a restriction is valid falls on the HOA.

Presuit Mediation Before You Sue

Before filing most lawsuits against your association, you must first demand presuit mediation. The requirement covers disputes about parcel use, changes to common areas, covenant enforcement, amendments to the governing documents, board meeting procedures, and access to official records.²⁰ The demand must go by certified mail, and the other party has 20 days to respond. The mediation conference must happen within 90 days unless both sides agree to extend.

Not every dispute goes through mediation. Collection actions for unpaid assessments, fines, and other financial obligations are exempt, as are actions to enforce a prior mediation settlement. Election and board recall disputes skip mediation and go directly to binding arbitration through the state’s Division of Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes, or to court.²⁰ If the dispute requires emergency relief, you can go straight to court for a temporary injunction and address mediation afterward.

A party that ignores a mediation demand or fails to appear faces real consequences. A refusal to participate can lead to negative inferences in later litigation and can shift attorney fees and costs. For many HOA disputes, mediation resolves the matter at a fraction of what a lawsuit would cost.

1
Florida Senate. Florida Code 720.303 – Association Powers and Duties; Meetings of Board; Official Records; Budgets; Financial Reporting; Association Funds; Recalls
2
Florida Senate. Chapter 720 Section 303 – 2025 Florida Statutes
3
The Florida Legislature. 2025 Florida Statutes Section 720.303
4
Florida Senate. Florida Code 720.306 – Meetings of Members; Voting and Election Procedures; Amendments
5
Florida Senate. Chapter 720 Section 306 – 2025 Florida Statutes
6
The Florida Legislature. 2025 Florida Statutes Section 720.306
7
Florida Senate. Florida Code 720.305 – Obligations of Members; Remedies at Law or in Equity; Levy of Fines and Suspension of Use Rights
8
The Florida Legislature. 2025 Florida Statutes Section 720.305
9
Florida Senate. Chapter 720 Section 305 – 2024 Florida Statutes
10
Florida Senate. Florida Code 720.3085 – Payment for Assessments; Lien Claims
11
Florida Senate. Chapter 720 Section 3085 – 2025 Florida Statutes
12
The Florida Legislature. 2025 Florida Statutes Section 720.3085
13
Florida Senate. Florida Code 720.304 – Right of Owners to Peaceably Assemble; Display of Flags; SLAPP Suits Prohibited
14
FindLaw. Florida Statutes Title XL Real and Personal Property 720.304
15
The Florida Legislature. 2025 Florida Statutes Section 720.3033
16
U.S. Department of Justice. The Fair Housing Act
17
U.S. Department of Justice. Joint Statement of HUD and DOJ on Reasonable Accommodations Under the Fair Housing Act
18
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Assistance Animals
19
Federal Communications Commission. Over-the-Air Reception Devices Rule
20
The Florida Legislature. 2025 Florida Statutes Section 720.311