Florida Statute 718 PDF: Reserves, Inspections, and Turnover

The full text of Florida Statute Chapter 718, the Condominium Act, is published free online by the Florida Legislature and the Florida Senate, and while neither site offers a single official PDF download, you can generate a Florida Statute 718 PDF in seconds using your browser’s print-to-PDF function on either site. The Legislature’s version lives at leg.state.fl.us¹ and the Senate’s mirror is at flsenate.gov.² Both display the same statutory text.

Saving the Statute as a PDF

On the Legislature’s site, open the “Statutes, Constitution, & Laws” section and pick the most recent legislative year, then select Chapter 718. The table of contents appears with each section as a clickable link. To capture the whole chapter in one file, the Senate’s site is usually the easier route: the URL ending in /Chapter718/All loads every section on one long page.

Once the page is loaded, use Ctrl+P on Windows or Cmd+P on Mac, then choose “Save as PDF” as the destination in the print dialog. The Florida House also hosts the statute in a similar browsable format.³

Check the Year Before You Save

The legislature typically passes condominium-related bills each spring with a July 1 effective date, so a PDF you saved a year ago may already be out of step with what applies today. This is more than academic. The reforms triggered by the 2021 Surfside collapse rolled out in stages, tightening reserve rules, mandating milestone inspections for older buildings, and requiring board member certification for directors elected on or after July 1, 2024. Always confirm you are on the current year’s edition before printing.

How Chapter 718 Is Organized

The Condominium Act is split into seven parts, each covering a different phase of a condominium’s life:³

Part I, General Provisions (Sections 718.101–718.129), covers definitions, association powers, board operations, insurance, official records, and financial reporting. Most day-to-day questions land here.
Part II, Rights and Obligations of Developers (Sections 718.202–718.203), sets warranty and escrow rules for new sales.
Part III, Rights and Obligations of Association (Sections 718.301–718.303), handles the transition of control from developer to unit owners.
Part IV, Special Types of Condominiums (Sections 718.401–718.407), addresses condotels, phase condominiums, and other nonstandard developments.
Part V, Regulation and Disclosure Prior to Sale (Sections 718.501–718.509), sets out the authority of the Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes.
Part VI, Conversions to Condominium (Sections 718.604–718.622), protects existing tenants when rental buildings convert.
Part VII, Distressed Condominium Relief (Sections 718.701–718.71), governs bulk buyers in troubled communities.

If you are hunting for a specific operational rule, look first at Section 718.111 (association powers and duties) or Section 718.112 (board meetings, budgets, and reserves). Those two sections carry the bulk of the substance.

Developer Turnover

Every condominium starts under developer control. Part III sets the events that force a handoff to owners, whichever comes first: three years after 50 percent of units are sold, three months after 90 percent are sold, developer abandonment, bankruptcy, receivership, or a hard backstop of seven years after the first unit is recorded.⁴ At turnover, the developer must hand over all official records, financial accounts, insurance policies, and warranties still in effect. Statutes of limitations on construction defect and financial mismanagement claims begin running at turnover, so incoming boards should act quickly on anything the audit surfaces.

Association Operations

Section 718.111 treats the condominium association as a corporate entity whose directors owe a fiduciary duty to all owners.⁵ Board meetings must be open to owners, with the agenda posted conspicuously on the property at least 48 continuous hours ahead except in emergencies.⁶ The agenda has to identify every item. Owners may speak on agenda items, and at least four meetings a year must include an open question-and-answer session.

Director Certification

Directors elected or appointed on or after July 1, 2024, must complete a four-hour certification course within 90 days of taking office.⁶ The course covers milestone inspections, structural integrity reserve studies, elections, recordkeeping, financial transparency, fines, and meeting procedures.⁷ After that, each director must complete one hour of continuing education every year, focused on changes to Chapter 718 from the prior year. Simply reading course materials does not satisfy the requirement; the director must register and complete the course through the DBPR or an approved provider.

Reserves and Structural Integrity

Reserve funding is the area of the statute most transformed by post-Surfside reforms. The annual budget must include reserves for roof replacement, building painting, pavement resurfacing, and any other item with a deferred maintenance or replacement cost above $25,000.⁶ Owners can still vote by a majority of all voting interests to waive or reduce those general reserves.

For buildings three habitable stories or higher, a separate set of structural integrity reserves applies, and those cannot be waived. Since December 31, 2024, associations required to obtain a structural integrity reserve study can no longer underfund reserves for the roof; load-bearing walls and primary structural members; fireproofing and fire protection systems; plumbing; electrical systems; waterproofing and exterior painting; windows and exterior doors; or any other item above $25,000 whose failure would affect those components as identified in the study.⁸ Developer-controlled associations face a stricter rule: no reserve waivers at all before turnover. Many communities that routinely waived reserves for decades now face large special assessments to catch up.

Milestone Inspections

Buildings three habitable stories or higher must undergo a milestone structural inspection by December 31 of the year the building turns 30, measured from the certificate of occupancy date.⁹ Reinspection follows every 10 years. Local authorities in coastal areas can shorten the initial trigger to 25 years to account for salt-air exposure.

Phase one is a visual review by a licensed architect or engineer covering load-bearing elements and primary structural systems. If it turns up signs of substantial structural deterioration, a more invasive phase two follows. The findings feed directly into the structural integrity reserve study. Associations required to complete milestone inspections had a deadline of December 31, 2026, and the reserve study could be completed at the same time.¹⁰

Insurance

Every residential condominium association must carry adequate property insurance regardless of what the declaration says.¹¹ Replacement cost must be updated by an independent insurance appraisal at least once every three years. The association’s policy covers the condominium property as originally installed plus any alterations to common areas. It does not cover personal property inside a unit, or flooring, wall coverings, appliances, cabinets, countertops, water heaters, or window treatments within unit boundaries. Those are the owner’s responsibility. The association must also maintain fidelity bonding for anyone handling association funds, in an amount matching the maximum that could be in their custody at any one time.

Financial Reporting

Reporting requirements scale with revenue. Associations under $150,000 in annual revenue produce a report of cash receipts and expenditures; from $150,000 to $299,999, compiled statements; $300,000 to $499,999, reviewed statements; $500,000 or more, full audited financial statements.⁵ All must follow generally accepted accounting principles, and falling below the tier your revenue requires is itself a violation.

Owner Rights and Records Access

Chapter 718 grants owners rights the association can’t override through bylaws or board vote. Each owner holds an undivided share in common elements and the right to use them.² Owners may display a portable, removable United States flag, and on specified holidays may fly military branch flags up to 4.5 by 6 feet.¹² Neither the declaration nor the board can block installation of an EV charging station in an owner’s limited common element or designated parking space, though the owner pays for installation, separately metered electricity, maintenance, and removal.

Section 718.111(12) requires the association to maintain a full set of official records from formation, including the declaration and amendments, bylaws, building plans, insurance policies, financial records, meeting minutes, and the owner roster. Associations managing 25 or more units must also post key documents on a website accessible to owners.¹⁰ After a written request, records must be made available within 10 working days, at a location within 45 miles of the property or within the same county.¹³ Miss the deadline, and the owner can claim minimum damages of $50 per calendar day starting on the 11th working day, capped at 10 days, for a maximum of $500.

Dispute Resolution

You generally can’t take a condominium dispute straight to court. Section 718.1255 routes most disagreements between owners and the association through either nonbinding arbitration with the Division of Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes or presuit mediation before a lawsuit can be filed.¹⁴ The arbitration filing fee is $50. Election and recall disputes must use arbitration specifically.

Several categories go directly to court instead: disputes over title to units or common elements, warranty claims, assessment amounts and collections, tenant evictions, fiduciary duty breaches by directors, and damage claims tied to the association’s failure to maintain common property. Assessment disputes, among the most common conflicts, skip arbitration entirely.

Estoppel Certificates

When an owner sells, the buyer’s title company will ask for an estoppel certificate confirming what the seller owes. The association can charge up to $250 if the account is current.¹⁵ A three-business-day rush adds $100. A delinquent account adds another $150. The caps were enacted after associations turned estoppel requests into profit centers.

1
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 718 – Condominiums
2
Florida Senate. Chapter 718 – 2025 Florida Statutes
3
Florida House of Representatives. Florida Code Chapter 718 – Condominiums
4
Florida Senate. Chapter 718 Section 301 – 2025 Florida Statutes
5
Florida Senate. Chapter 718 Section 111 – 2025 Florida Statutes
6
The Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 718.112 – Bylaws
7
Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR). Education and Resources
8
Florida Senate. Chapter 718 Section 112 – 2025 Florida Statutes
9
Florida Senate. Chapter 553 Section 899 – 2025 Florida Statutes
10
Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR). Timeline – DBPR Condominium Information and Resources
11
The Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 718.111 – The Association
12
Florida Senate. Chapter 718 Section 113 – 2021 Florida Statutes
13
Florida Senate. Chapter 718 Section 111 – 2024 Florida Statutes
14
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 718.1255 – Alternative Dispute Resolution
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The Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 718.116 – Assessments; Liability; Lien and Priority; Interest; Collection