New Florida Timeshare Laws: Cancellation, Resale, and HB 897

Florida timeshare laws sit in Chapter 721 of the Florida Statutes, the Vacation Plan and Timesharing Act, and they give buyers and owners a specific set of rights: ten days to cancel a signed purchase, a state-reviewed disclosure document before any sale, a ban on upfront fees for resale listings, and a defined process for assessments, liens, and foreclosures. The Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) enforces the chapter through its Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes, and a 2025 law, HB 897, added new obligations on the management side of the industry.

The 10-Day Right to Cancel

You have until midnight on the tenth calendar day after you sign the contract, or after you receive all required disclosure documents, whichever is later, to cancel without penalty.¹ The developer cannot negotiate this window away, and any attempt to get you to waive it is unlawful.

Cancel in writing. The notice is effective on the date you send it, not the date the developer receives it, and your contract must show the developer’s name and address for that purpose along with a conspicuous cancellation notice printed directly above the signature line.² Once you cancel, the developer has 20 days to refund everything you paid, minus the value of any benefits you already used.

Two backstops apply if something went wrong at closing. If the sale closed before your cancellation period ran out, you can void the transaction for up to five years after. If you unknowingly waived the cancellation right and a closing happened, you can void it for up to one year from the date the cancellation period would originally have expired.¹ Resale buyers get the same 10-day cancellation right as original purchasers.³

What the Developer Must Disclose Before You Sign

No developer can sell a Florida timeshare interest until it files a public offering statement with the DBPR’s division and receives approval.⁴ Any contract signed before approval can be canceled by the buyer.

The public offering statement has to cover the plan’s name and location, the type of ownership being offered, estimated operating budgets, a schedule of buyer expenses including maintenance fees, descriptions of the accommodations and facilities, the identity and terms of the managing entity, and any pending litigation that affects the property.⁴ The developer must also set up an escrow account for buyer deposits.⁵

The purchase contract itself has its own requirements. It must state the total financial obligation, including price and recurring charges like maintenance, management, and recreation fees. It must describe the nature and duration of the interest being sold, including whether you are getting a real property interest or a license to use. And it must carry the cancellation notice in conspicuous type immediately above your signature.²

Advertising and Sales Rules

Developers must file all advertising materials with the division at least 10 days before using them, from brochures to prize giveaway promotions. The division can require corrections or bring administrative charges over noncompliant materials.⁶

Whether written or spoken, no sales pitch may:

Misrepresent any fact about the plan or create a false impression about it
Predict specific price increases or make vague claims about future value
Use fine-print contradictions, like asterisks that walk back an earlier claim
Overstate the size, quality, or availability of units and facilities
Suggest you can easily swap your week through an exchange program when availability is limited
Exaggerate the ease of selling or renting your timeshare

If what you were promised doesn’t match what you got, these rules give you a statutory basis to challenge the sale.⁶

Reselling a Florida Timeshare

Anyone selling a timeshare in Florida has to hold a real estate broker or sales associate license. The statute exempts solicitors who only recruit potential buyers, and owners who refer 20 or fewer people per year.⁷

The strongest resale protection is a flat ban on advance fees. No licensed broker or salesperson may collect any fee upfront for listing a timeshare for resale.⁷ Resale service providers also have to give you a written description of every fee or cost you will owe before they list or advertise your interest.

When an individual owner sells, the resale purchase agreement must disclose the current year’s assessment for common expenses, whether property taxes are included in that assessment, and any delinquent amounts owed on the interest.³

How Resale Scams Work

The FTC has taken action against timeshare resale operations that collected between $300 and $3,400 in upfront fees by falsely claiming a buyer was already lined up or that a sale was guaranteed on a specific timetable. In many of those cases, the company did little more than post an online listing, strung owners along with false promises, and ignored refund requests.⁸

The common warning signs: unsolicited calls claiming a buyer is ready to pay top dollar, pressure to pay a fee before any work happens, and guaranteed sale timelines. The FTC’s guidance is to never pay for a promise, to get every commitment in writing before paying anything, and to pay only after the unit has actually sold.⁸

Annual Assessments and What Happens If You Fall Behind

Every timeshare plan’s managing entity charges owners an annual assessment for common expenses covering maintenance, operations, insurance, and management. The managing entity has to produce an itemized annual budget of estimated revenues and expenses, and the plan’s financial statements must be independently audited each year by a CPA.⁹ Typical annual assessments run from $700 to $2,500, and luxury resorts and larger unit types run higher.

The managing entity is a fiduciary to owners. Any penalty the DBPR imposes on it for breaching that duty cannot be passed along to owners as a common expense, and owners are entitled to inspect the plan’s books and records at reasonable times.⁹

Delinquency, Liens, and Foreclosure

Miss an assessment and the costs stack quickly. Delinquent amounts can accrue interest at the highest rate Florida law allows, plus an administrative late fee of up to $25 per delinquent assessment. If the managing entity gives written notice at least 60 days before turning the account over to a collection agency, you become liable for all collection costs, including agency and attorney’s fees. A lien attaches to your timeshare interest to secure the delinquent amount.¹⁰

Once you are delinquent for more than 60 days, the managing entity can deny you use of the accommodations and facilities entirely.⁹ It can also foreclose on the lien. Florida allows a trustee foreclosure process for assessment liens that moves faster than judicial foreclosure. You can object in writing and force the lienholder into a standard court proceeding, or cure the default by paying everything owed at any point before the trustee issues a certificate of sale.¹¹

One built-in protection: after a trustee sale, you are released from all amounts secured by the lien, and the lienholder has no right to a deficiency judgment against you.¹¹ A timeshare foreclosure still damages your credit and can stay on your credit report for seven years.

Penalties the DBPR Can Impose

The DBPR enforces Chapter 721 through a penalty schedule in the Florida Administrative Code. Fines run from $2,500 to $10,000 per violation depending on the infraction and any prior offenses, and some categories carry a flat $10,000 fine regardless of history:

Public offering statement violations: $5,000 first offense, $10,000 after
Cancellation right violations: $5,000 first offense, scaling to $10,000
Advertising violations: $3,500 first offense, rising to $10,000
Misrepresentation in sales: $2,500 first offense, scaling to $10,000
Fiduciary duty breaches: $10,000 flat
Failure to deliver the public offering statement: $10,000 flat
Advance fee collection: $10,000 flat

Fines are assessed per violation, so a single transaction that breaches several provisions can generate stacked penalties.¹² The DBPR can also suspend or revoke a developer’s or resale company’s ability to operate, which effectively halts sales until the operator returns to compliance.

Filing a Complaint and Other Remedies

Complaints go to the Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes. The division uses a Uniform Timeshare Complaint Form that asks for details about the plan, the parties, and the alleged violation, and attaching contracts, promotional materials, and correspondence makes the file stronger.¹³

The division can investigate, fine, and suspend or revoke licenses. It cannot represent you in a private lawsuit or force a refund. For those outcomes, a private action for breach of contract, misrepresentation, or statutory disclosure violations is the route, with monetary damages, specific performance, or injunctive relief on the table. Mediation and arbitration remain available for straightforward disputes.

What Changed in 2025: HB 897

CS/HB 897, enacted as Chapter 2025-142, took effect July 1, 2025, and focuses on the management side of the industry.¹⁴ Its main provisions:

Timeshare management firms and their employees must carry out their duties in good faith.
Those firms and employees are exempted from liability for monetary damages, aligning them with similar protections in other community association contexts.
The board of administration for a timeshare condominium must meet at least once per year.
If a management firm or owners’ association provides goods and services through affiliated entities, it must disclose that relationship annually to owners in a specified manner.

The bill also revised how conflicts of interest are handled between community association managers and people with a financial stake in the association they manage. For owners, the practical takeaway is more visibility into whether the company running your resort has side arrangements that could be inflating your costs.

1
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 721.10 – Cancellation
2
Florida Senate. Florida Code 721.06 – Contracts for Purchase of Timeshare Interests
3
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 721.065 – Resale Purchase Agreements
4
FindLaw. Florida Statutes Title XL 721.07
5
MyFloridaLicense.com. Timeshares – FAQs
6
Florida Senate. Florida Code 721.11 – Advertising Materials; Oral Statements
7
Florida Senate. Florida Code 721.20 – Licensing Requirements; Suspension or Revocation of License; Exceptions to Applicability; Collection of Advance Fees for Listings Unlawful
8
Federal Trade Commission. FTC and Dozens of Law Enforcement Partners Halt Travel and Timeshare Resale Scams in Multinational Effort
9
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 721.13 – Management
10
Florida Senate. Florida Code 721.15 – Assessments; Liability; Lien
11
Florida Senate. Florida Code 721.855 – Procedure for the Trustee Foreclosure of Assessment Liens
12
Legal Information Institute. Florida Administrative Code R. 61B-41.003 – Penalty Guidelines
13
MyFloridaLicense.com. Complaints – Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares and Mobile Homes
14
Florida House of Representatives. CS/HB 897 (2025) – Timeshare Plan Management