Florida HOA and Condo Laws, in Plain English

Chapter 718 of the Florida Statutes is the Condominium Act, governing the creation, governance, and operation of condominium associations in Florida. It covers the declaration, board governance, assessments, records, and owner rights, and it sets the disclosure obligations an association or selling owner owes to buyers and lenders when a unit is sold or refinanced. Applies to condominium associations.

• Fla. Stat. 718.116(8) (Estoppel certificates)

  This section requires a condominium association to furnish a written estoppel certificate on request from a unit owner, the owner's designee, or a mortgagee, stating the unit's assessment and financial status for a sale or refinance. The statute sets a delivery deadline and a fee cap for preparing the certificate, with a consequence if the association misses the deadline. Applies to condominium associations.

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• Fla. Stat. 718.503 (Resale disclosure)

  This section requires the seller in a condominium resale, rather than the developer, to give the buyer copies of the association's governing documents and key financial and inspection records before the sale closes. The statute gives the buyer a limited right to cancel the contract if these documents are not provided in time. Applies to condominium associations.

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Chapter 720 of the Florida Statutes is the Homeowners' Association Act, governing the creation, governance, and operation of homeowners' associations for planned communities of parcels or lots. It covers board governance, meetings, assessments, records, and covenant enforcement, and it sets the disclosure obligations owed to prospective buyers and lenders when a lot is sold. Applies to homeowners' associations in planned communities.

• Fla. Stat. 720.30851 (Estoppel certificates)

  This section requires a homeowners' association to furnish a written estoppel certificate on request from a parcel owner, the owner's designee, or a mortgagee, stating the parcel's assessment and financial status for a sale or refinance. The statute sets a delivery deadline and a fee cap for preparing the certificate, with a consequence if the association misses the deadline. Applies to homeowners' associations in planned communities.

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• Fla. Stat. 720.401 (Disclosure summary)

  This section requires that a prospective buyer of a lot in a homeowners' association community receive a disclosure summary describing the association, its assessments, and covenant restrictions before signing a purchase contract. The statute gives the buyer a limited right to cancel the contract if the summary is not provided in time. Applies to homeowners' associations in planned communities.

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This section requires a cooperative association to furnish a written estoppel certificate on request from a unit owner, the owner's designee, or a mortgagee, stating the unit's assessment and financial status for a sale or refinance. The statute sets a delivery deadline and a fee cap for preparing the certificate, with a consequence if the association misses the deadline. Applies to cooperative associations.

Chapter 719 of the Florida Statutes is the Cooperative Act, governing the creation, governance, and operation of residential cooperative associations in Florida. It covers the cooperative documents, board governance, assessments, records, and owner rights, and it sets the estoppel certificate an association must furnish on a unit's sale or refinance and the disclosures a reselling owner must give a buyer.

• Fla. Stat. 719.503 (Resale disclosure)

  Entitles a prospective purchaser under contract for an interest in a cooperative to current copies, at the seller's expense, of the articles of incorporation, the bylaws and rules, the question and answer sheet, the milestone inspection summary where one applies, the most recent structural integrity reserve study or a statement that none has been completed, and any turnover inspection report for an inspection on or after July 1, 2023. The resale contract must carry the statute's conspicuous acknowledgment or seven day voidability clause.

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