Florida Statute 720.303: HOA Meetings, Records, and Recalls

Florida Statute 720.303 is the central operating law for homeowners’ associations in the state. It defines what your HOA board can do, how it must run meetings, what records it has to keep and show you, how it prepares budgets and financial reports, and how members can recall directors. If you own property in a Chapter 720 community, this is the statute that governs the day-to-day mechanics of the association.

The law has grown considerably in recent sessions, adding website posting duties for larger associations, tighter financial reporting tiers, and sharper penalties when boards refuse to hand over records.

What the Board Can Do and What Limits It

Every community governed by Chapter 720 must be operated by a Florida corporation, and the statute grants the board broad authority to manage the association’s affairs.¹ Boards can maintain common areas, enforce the governing documents, and file or settle lawsuits when a matter affects the community as a whole.

Officers and directors owe a fiduciary duty to the members. Section 720.303 ties that duty to Section 617.0830 of the Florida Not for Profit Corporation Act, which requires directors to act in good faith, with the care an ordinarily prudent person would use, and in what they reasonably believe to be the association’s best interests.² Board power flows from the declaration, articles of incorporation, and bylaws, but none of those documents can override state statute where they conflict.

Open Meetings and Notice Rules

Board meetings must be open to all members. The only closed-door exception is when the board meets privately with its attorney to discuss proposed or pending litigation.¹ Any time a quorum of directors gathers to conduct association business, that is a meeting subject to the notice rules.

Notice of each board meeting must be posted in a visible location on the community’s property at least 48 hours in advance, except in an emergency. The notice must list specific agenda items. If assessments will be considered, the notice must say so and describe the kind of assessment.³ As an alternative to physical posting, the association can mail or deliver notice to each member at least seven days before the meeting.

Members have the right to attend all board meetings and to speak on designated agenda items. The association can set reasonable rules on how long members may speak and whether a sign-up sheet is required. If at least 20 percent of the total voting interests petition the board to address a specific item, the board must place it on the agenda at its next regular meeting or hold a special meeting within 60 days, and each member then has the right to speak for at least three minutes on the petitioned item.² The board must hear the item; the statute does not require any particular action beyond that.

An association may adopt a rule allowing notices and agendas to be posted on its website or a downloadable mobile app, so long as the posting stays up for the minimum notice period and the association emails a link to every member whose email address is on file. Members must consent in writing to receive notice electronically.⁴

Your Right to Inspect Association Records

The association must keep a full set of official records, including the governing documents, financial reports, contracts, and minutes of board and member meetings. These records must be kept within Florida for at least seven years.¹

Any parcel owner or their authorized representative can inspect or copy the records. The inspection location must be within 45 miles of the community or within the county where the association is located. You submit a written request, and the association has 10 business days to make the records available.³ You can bring your own phone, scanner, or portable device to make electronic copies at no charge.

Miss that 10-business-day window and the law creates a rebuttable presumption that the failure was willful. A member denied access can recover actual damages or minimum statutory damages of $50 per calendar day, starting on the 11th business day and running for up to 10 days.³ This is one of the sharper enforcement tools in the statute.

What the Association Can Withhold

Not everything in the association’s files is open to members. The statute lists specific categories the association may lawfully withhold:

Attorney-client privileged materials prepared for or in anticipation of litigation, until the litigation concludes
Records the association obtains in connection with approving a sale, lease, or other transfer of a parcel
Information collected about visitors to residents in gated communities
Disciplinary, payroll, health, and insurance records of association or management company employees, though written employment agreements and compensation figures are not protected
Medical records of parcel owners or residents
Social security numbers, driver license numbers, credit card numbers, email addresses, phone numbers, and emergency contacts; the association may publish a directory of names, parcel addresses, and phone numbers, and an owner can opt out of the phone number listing in writing
Passwords and security protocols used to safeguard data
The association’s software itself, though the data it stores remains part of the official records

If a record does not fall into one of these categories, the association cannot refuse to produce it.³

Website Posting for Associations With 100 or More Parcels

As of January 1, 2025, associations with 100 or more parcels must maintain a website or mobile app and post a defined set of documents on it, including:

The articles of incorporation, bylaws, declaration, and current rules
All executory contracts and, after bidding closes, a list of bids received within the past year
The annual budget, proposed budgets, and annual financial report
Current insurance policies
Director certifications required under Section 720.3033
Any contracts involving a director’s financial interest or potential conflict of interest
Notice and agenda for member meetings, posted at least 14 days before the meeting, with any documents to be voted on posted at least 7 days before
Notice and agenda for board meetings, posted no later than the statutory notice deadline

The member-meeting notice must appear on the website’s homepage or on a clearly labeled “Notices” subpage linked from the homepage.⁴ For associations under 100 parcels, website posting is optional but permitted.

Budgets, Reserves, and Financial Reports

The association must prepare an annual budget showing estimated revenues, expenses, and any projected surplus or deficit for the year. Costs paid to a developer or other party for recreational amenities must be broken out separately. Every member must receive either a copy of the budget or written notice that a copy is available at no charge.¹

The budget may include reserve accounts for capital expenditures and deferred maintenance. Once reserve accounts are formally established, the statute requires the association to calculate reserve amounts using a formula based on each item’s estimated remaining useful life and estimated replacement cost. Reserve funds and any interest they earn stay in the reserve account and can only be spent on authorized reserve purposes unless a majority of members at a quorum-present meeting votes in advance to redirect them.⁵ While the developer still controls the association, reserves cannot be redirected without majority approval from the non-developer voting interests.

Reporting Level Depends on Revenue

Within 90 days after the end of the fiscal year, the association must complete or contract for a financial report covering the prior year. Members must receive a copy or written notice that one is available within 21 days after the report is finished, and no later than 120 days after the fiscal year ends. The type of report required depends on annual revenue:

Under $150,000: a report of cash receipts and expenditures
$150,000 to $299,999: compiled financial statements under generally accepted accounting principles
$300,000 to $499,999: reviewed financial statements
$500,000 or more: audited financial statements
1,000 or more parcels: audited financial statements, regardless of revenue

These thresholds are not optional. An association collecting $500,000 in annual revenue cannot settle for a compilation because a full audit costs more.³

The statute also restricts how association money is handled. Reserve and operating funds cannot be commingled before turnover from the developer, though the association may jointly invest reserve funds as long as accounting keeps them separate. A developer who controls the association may never mix association money with personal funds or the funds of another community association. Association funds cannot be used to defend a developer in any civil, criminal, administrative, or arbitration proceeding, even if it concerns how the developer ran the association. Member deposits for something like a construction project must be held separately, with an accounting available on request within 7 days and any unused deposit returned within 30 days after the project ends.⁵

Recalling a Board Director

Section 720.303(10) lets members recall and remove any board director, with or without cause, by a majority of the total voting interests. When the governing documents provide that only a particular class of members elects certain directors, only that class can vote to recall them.²

A recall can happen two ways: through a written agreement or written ballot process without a membership meeting, or by a vote at a meeting if the governing documents allow it. For the written ballot method, the signed ballots or agreement must be served on the association by certified mail or personal service. The board then has 5 full business days to hold a meeting where it either certifies the recall, which makes it effective immediately, or disputes it. A recalled director must turn over all association records and property within 5 business days.²

If a recall is later found defective through arbitration or court action, the ballots that were not individually defective can be reused in one additional recall attempt, so long as no individual ballot is more than 120 days old from the date it was signed. A member who wants to revoke their recall ballot must do so in writing before the association is served with the ballots.