If you want to fight condo board abuse of power in Florida, the Condominium Act gives you a specific sequence to follow: gather evidence through a records request, send a written demand, file a complaint with the state, and if that fails, petition for arbitration or mediation before going to court. Skipping steps or doing them out of order is the fastest way to lose. Done in the right order, the same statute that binds the board also shifts attorney fees to your side when you win.
What Counts as Board Abuse
Every officer and director of a Florida condo association owes a fiduciary duty to the unit owners. They must act in good faith, use the care of a reasonably prudent person, and make decisions they genuinely believe serve the association.1Florida Senate. Florida Code 718.111 – The Association A director who personally benefits from a transaction or acts with reckless disregard can be held personally liable.
The misconduct that owners actually run into tends to fall into four patterns.
Financial self-dealing. Steering contracts to friends or relatives, using association funds for personal expenses, or improperly moving reserve funds to cover operating shortfalls. Reserves can be commingled with operating funds only for investment purposes, and even then the accounts must be tracked separately and the combined balance cannot drop below the reserve total.2Florida Senate. Florida Code 718.111 – The Association
Selective enforcement. When the board fines you for a balcony violation but ignores the identical violation next door, that inconsistency is arbitrary and capricious, and the fine can be challenged. You’ll need to document multiple instances of unequal treatment.
Closed meetings. Board meetings where a quorum is present must be open to owners. Owners have the right to speak on every agenda item. Notice must be posted at least 48 continuous hours ahead, or 14 days in writing for meetings involving a special assessment or a change to rules about how owners use their units.3Justia Law. Florida Code 718.112 – Bylaws The only exceptions are meetings with the association’s attorney about pending litigation and meetings about personnel.
Neglect of common elements. The board is responsible for maintaining shared property like roofs, elevators, hallways, and pools as spelled out in the declaration. Willfully deferring critical repairs is a breach of that duty.
Start with a Records Request
Records access is the foundation for almost every other challenge you might bring, and it’s the right with the sharpest penalties attached. Send your request in writing by certified mail so you have a receipt showing when the association received it. The association must make its official records available within five working days.4The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 718.111 – The Association
You can request meeting minutes, financial statements, annual budgets, vendor contracts, and insurance policies. You have the right to make copies at your own reasonable expense. The association can set rules about when and where inspection takes place, but it cannot refuse access or stall.
If the association fails to produce records within 10 working days, the law presumes the board willfully violated the statute. Starting on the 11th working day you’re entitled to minimum damages of $50 per calendar day for up to 10 days. You can also recover attorney fees if you have to file an enforcement action. A director who knowingly and intentionally blocks records access commits a second-degree misdemeanor and must be removed from office.4The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 718.111 – The Association
While you’re at it, request the governing documents if you don’t already have them: the declaration of condominium, articles of incorporation, bylaws, and any rules the board has adopted. These define the limits of the board’s authority, and you’ll cite them in every step that follows.
Building Your Paper Trail
Keep a running log of every interaction with the board about the dispute: dates, who was present, what was said. Save all written correspondence. If the problem is physical neglect, take dated photos and video. If you’re alleging selective enforcement, document the other owners who committed the same violation without consequences. This record matters at every stage, from a DBPR complaint through arbitration and into court.
Send a Written Demand to the Board
Your first formal move is a demand letter sent by certified mail. Name the specific problem, cite the provision of the governing documents or the Condominium Act that the board violated, and state clearly what you want done. Keep the tone professional and the request concrete.
This letter is not a formality. Florida’s pre-suit dispute resolution statute requires that before you petition for arbitration or file a lawsuit, you must be able to show you gave the board advance written notice of the dispute, a demand for relief, a reasonable opportunity to comply, and notice that you intend to pursue legal action if it isn’t resolved.5Justia Law. Florida Code 718.1255 – Alternative Dispute Resolution A carefully drafted demand letter checks every one of those boxes. Skip this step and your petition can be dismissed before it’s heard.
File a Complaint with the DBPR
If the board ignores your demand, file a complaint with the Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes, part of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation. The Division investigates financial issues, elections, records access, conflicts of interest, and other violations of the Condominium Act, and it has authority to impose penalties.6DBPR Condominium Information and Resources. Services
Complaints can be filed online, by mail, or at a DBPR location.7MyFloridaLicense.com. Complaints – Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares and Mobile Homes Attach your demand letter, the board’s response or lack of one, and the supporting documentation you’ve built. The more organized the submission, the faster the investigation moves.
Pre-Suit Mediation or Arbitration
This is the step most owners don’t know about and the one that gets cases thrown out. Before filing a lawsuit over most condo disputes, you must either petition the DBPR’s Division for nonbinding arbitration or initiate pre-suit mediation. If you go straight to court, the judge will dismiss the case.5Justia Law. Florida Code 718.1255 – Alternative Dispute Resolution
Covered disputes include disagreements over the board’s authority to require or prohibit owner conduct, failures to properly hold elections or meetings, inadequate notice, and refusals to allow records inspection. Election and recall disputes go directly to the Division for arbitration and cannot be sent to mediation.
Some disputes are excluded and can proceed straight to court: those involving assessments and collections, alleged breaches of fiduciary duty, claims for damage to a unit caused by the association’s failure to maintain common property, and evictions. If your complaint is primarily a breach of fiduciary duty, you may be able to bypass arbitration after sending your demand letter.
To petition for arbitration, file with the Division and pay a $50 fee. Your petition must include proof that you sent the demand letter, gave the board a reasonable opportunity to comply, and warned that you would pursue legal action. Missing any of those prerequisites gets the petition dismissed without prejudice. The arbitration is nonbinding unless both parties agree in writing to be bound.5Justia Law. Florida Code 718.1255 – Alternative Dispute Resolution
Recalling Board Members
When the problem is one or more specific directors, Florida lets owners remove them with or without cause. Two paths are available.
- Ten percent of the voting interests can call a special meeting for a recall vote. The recall passes if a majority of all voting interests vote in favor. The board must then meet within five full business days to certify the result.
- A majority of all voting interests can sign a written agreement to recall a director, then serve the agreement on the association by certified mail or personal service.
Both paths require a majority of all voting interests, not just those who show up.3Justia Law. Florida Code 718.112 – Bylaws In large or disengaged buildings, that’s the hard part; the real work happens before the vote is scheduled. Any recall dispute that isn’t resolved goes directly to Division arbitration.
Suing the Board
If arbitration or mediation fails, or if your claim is one of the categories that can bypass the pre-suit process, you can file suit. The Condominium Act contains a prevailing-party attorney fee provision, so a winning owner recovers reasonable legal costs from the association. A winning owner can also recover the portion of their own assessments that the association levied to pay for its side of the litigation.8Justia Law. Florida Code 718.303 – Obligations of Owners Without that second provision, you’d win your case and still fund the board’s defense through your condo fees.
Fee-shifting cuts both ways. If the association prevails, it can collect its attorney fees from you. Weigh that honestly before filing, especially when the evidence is thin or the violation is minor. For many disputes, Division arbitration is the more cost-effective path.
Protection Against Retaliation
Owners often hesitate to challenge a board because they fear payback. Florida addresses that directly. The association may not fine you, raise your assessments, cut services to your unit, or sue you in response to protected activity.9Florida Senate. Florida Code 718.1224 – Prohibition Against SLAPP Suits Protected activity includes:
- Filing a complaint with the DBPR, law enforcement, a state attorney, or any government agency
- Participating in or encouraging a unit owners’ group
- Making public statements critical of how the association is managed
- Requesting records, attending meetings, or exercising any right the Condominium Act gives you
If the board sues you in retaliation, you can petition the court for expedited dismissal. A court that finds the suit retaliatory can award you actual damages, treble those damages, and order the board to pay your attorney fees. The association is also barred from using association funds to prosecute the retaliatory suit.9Florida Senate. Florida Code 718.1224 – Prohibition Against SLAPP Suits One condition applies: your underlying conduct must have been in good faith, not aimed at harassment or delay.
Fines: What the Board Owes You Before It Bills You
A board cannot simply vote to fine you and send a bill. Before any fine takes effect, the board must give you at least 14 days’ written notice describing the specific violation and provide a hearing. That hearing is not conducted by the board itself. It must be held by an independent committee of at least three association members who are not officers, directors, employees, or close relatives of any of those people. If the committee votes against the fine, it cannot be imposed.8Justia Law. Florida Code 718.303 – Obligations of Owners
Even an approved fine cannot exceed $100 per violation or $1,000 total for continuing violations. Fines also cannot become liens against your unit, so the board has no ability to foreclose over an unpaid fine. If the board skipped the committee hearing, exceeded the cap, or threatened a lien over a fine, those are direct violations you can challenge.
Federal Rules That Override the Board
Two federal rules routinely trump board decisions, and it’s worth knowing them because owners often assume the declaration wins.
The FCC’s Over-the-Air Reception Devices rule prohibits any association restriction that unreasonably delays, prevents, or increases the cost of installing a satellite dish or antenna one meter or less in diameter on property within an owner’s exclusive use or control. The association can suggest alternative placement for aesthetic reasons only if the alternative doesn’t interfere with signal reception. Owners can file a complaint with the FCC.10eCFR. 47 CFR 1.4000 – Restrictions Impairing Reception of Television Broadcast Signals
The Fair Housing Act requires associations to grant reasonable accommodations for residents with disabilities. The common flashpoint is service and assistance animals. A board that enforces a “no pets” policy against an owner who needs an assistance animal is violating federal law, regardless of what the declaration says. The accommodation must be granted unless it would impose an undue financial or administrative burden on the association.
What HB 913 Changed
HB 913, signed in 2025, strengthened owner tools in several ways. Contracts for condo repairs now require competitive bidding, closing a loophole that let boards steer work to preferred vendors. Board members and managers must fully disclose potential conflicts of interest. More records must be made available online, and electronic voting and virtual meeting options were expanded to help owner participation.11Office of the Governor. Governor DeSantis Signs Legislation Delivering Relief to Condo Owners Associations also gained explicit power to terminate contracts with community association managers who fail to follow the Condominium Act. When the problem isn’t just the board but a management company enabling it, that termination authority is a lever worth pointing to.