Can a delinquent owner serve on a Florida condo board?

No. Section 718.112(2)(d)3., Florida Statutes, provides that a person delinquent in the payment of any assessment due to the association is not eligible to be a candidate for board membership and may not be listed on the ballot. The condominium chapter also defines the term: a person is delinquent if a payment is not made by the due date specifically identified in the declaration, bylaws, or articles of incorporation, and if no due date is identified, the due date is the first day of the assessment period.

What happens when a Florida board member falls 90 days behind?

The seat is deemed abandoned by operation of the statute. Section 720.306(9)(b) provides that a board member who becomes more than 90 days delinquent in the payment of any fee, fine, or other monetary obligation to the association is deemed to have abandoned the seat, creating a vacancy to be filled according to law. Section 718.112(2)(p) says the same for a condominium director or officer and reaches any monetary obligation. No board vote, notice, or hearing is required by either statute.

Does a felony conviction permanently bar someone from a Florida board?

No. Both chapters bar a person convicted of a felony in Florida, in a United States District or Territorial Court, or of an offense elsewhere that would be a felony in Florida, unless that person's civil rights have been restored for at least 5 years as of the date they seek election. Section 720.306(9)(b) and Section 718.112(2)(d)3. use the same 5-year restored-civil-rights standard.

Is a director who misses the certification deadline removed from the board?

No, suspended. Section 720.3033(1)(b) provides that a director who does not timely file the educational certificate is suspended from the board until they comply, and that the board may temporarily fill the vacancy during the suspension. Section 718.112(2)(d)5.b. suspends a condominium director from service on the board on the same terms. The seat returns to the suspended director on compliance, which is what separates a suspension from an abandoned seat.

Are past board votes void if a director turns out to have been ineligible?

Not under the HOA chapter. Section 720.306(9)(b) provides that the validity of any board action is not affected if it is later determined that a person was ineligible to seek election or is ineligible for board membership, and Section 720.3033(1)(c) says the same for a missing certificate. The condominium carve-out in Section 718.112(2)(d)3. is narrower and is written to ineligibility due to a felony conviction, with a separate carve-out for a missing certification in Section 718.112(2)(d)5.b. A condominium board facing another ground should ask counsel rather than assume either result.

Who Can Serve on a Florida Board, and When a Director Loses the Seat

Q: Who is eligible to serve on a Florida HOA board?

Section 720.306(9)(a), Florida Statutes, provides that except as stated in paragraph (b), all members of the association are eligible to serve on the board. Paragraph (b) sets two exceptions: a person delinquent in any fee, fine, or other monetary obligation to the association on the last day to be nominated may not seek election and may not be listed on the ballot, and a person convicted of a felony is not eligible for board membership unless their civil rights have been restored for at least 5 years.

By Carlos Castellano · Current as of September 18, 2026

Florida law sets who may serve on an association board in two places: Section 720.306(9), Florida Statutes, for a homeowners’ association, and Section 718.112(2)(d)3. for a condominium association. Each one lists the people who may not run or serve, the date the check is made on, and the rule that ends a sitting director’s seat at 90 days of delinquency. This article walks through both lists, the three other events that remove or suspend a director mid-term, and what the statutes say about board votes taken while an ineligible person held a seat.

Screening a candidate or a sitting director? Download our free eligibility check: the bars in each chapter, the date each one is measured on, the day-91 rule, and the three mid-term events that end or suspend a seat. No email required. Download the eligibility check (PDF).

How to read this article

BoardComply provides education and compliance tools, not legal advice. This article explains Florida law as we read it, with citations to the statutes. Where the law is unsettled we say so, and where regulators clarify a point we will update this article and note the change. For advice about your association’s specific situation, talk to a Florida community association attorney.

Who is eligible to serve on an HOA board

Section 720.306(9)(a) provides that “[e]xcept as provided in paragraph (b), all members of the association are eligible to serve on the board of directors.” Paragraph (b) sets two exceptions.

Delinquency, measured on the last day to be nominated. A person who is delinquent in the payment of “any fee, fine, or other monetary obligation to the association on the day that he or she could last nominate himself or herself or be nominated for the board may not seek election to the board, and his or her name shall not be listed on the ballot.” The statute defines the reach of the term: delinquency means “any delinquency to the association with respect to any parcel.” An owner who is current on one parcel and behind on a second parcel is delinquent for this purpose.

A felony conviction, unless civil rights have been restored for at least 5 years. The bar reaches a felony conviction in Florida, in a United States District or Territorial Court, or any offense in another jurisdiction that would be a felony if committed in Florida. Such a person “may not seek election to the board and is not eligible for board membership” unless their civil rights have been restored for at least 5 years as of the date they seek election.

Chapter 720 does not define when a payment becomes delinquent for this purpose. The due date comes from the declaration, articles, or bylaws. Section 720.3085(3)(a) uses the same reference point when it charges interest on assessments “not paid when due.” If your governing documents do not state a due date, that is a gap to close with the association’s attorney before an election turns on it.

Who is eligible to serve on a condominium board

Section 718.112(2)(d)3. lists four groups who are not eligible to be a candidate for board membership and may not be listed on the ballot.

Suspended or removed by the division. A person who has been suspended or removed by the Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes under Chapter 718.
Delinquent in the payment of any assessment. The statute supplies the definition: “a person is delinquent if a payment is not made by the due date as specifically identified in the declaration of condominium, bylaws, or articles of incorporation,” and if no due date is specifically identified, “the due date is the first day of the assessment period.”
A felony conviction, on the same terms as the HOA chapter, with the same 5-year restored-civil-rights window.
Co-owners of the same unit. In a residential condominium association of more than 10 units, or one that does not include timeshare units or interests, co-owners of a unit may not serve on the board at the same time, unless they own more than one unit or there are not enough eligible candidates to fill the vacancies.

The same subparagraph caps consecutive service: a condominium board member may not serve more than 8 consecutive years without approval by two-thirds of the votes cast in the election, or unless there are not enough eligible candidates, and only service on or after July 1, 2018 counts. The counting rules are in the condo board term limit explained.

The condominium chapter also fixes the date eligibility is tested. A unit owner who wants to be a candidate must be eligible “at the time of the deadline for submitting a notice of intent to run in order to have his or her name listed as a proper candidate on the ballot or to serve on the board.” That deadline is 40 days before the election. The full election calendar is in how a Florida condo board election works.

The two delinquency bars side by side

The HOA bar in Section 720.306(9)(b) covers any fee, fine, or other monetary obligation, with respect to any parcel. The condominium bar in Section 718.112(2)(d)3. covers any assessment due to the association. An unpaid fine bars an HOA candidate; the condominium candidacy bar is written to assessments.

The condominium chapter defines the due date that makes a payment delinquent, quoted above. Chapter 720 leaves the due date to the association’s governing documents.

Day 91: a sitting director’s seat is deemed abandoned

Section 720.306(9)(b) provides that a person serving as a board member who becomes more than 90 days delinquent in the payment of any fee, fine, or other monetary obligation to the association “shall be deemed to have abandoned his or her seat on the board, creating a vacancy on the board to be filled according to law.” Section 718.112(2)(p) provides for a condominium: “A director or officer more than 90 days delinquent in the payment of any monetary obligation due the association shall be deemed to have abandoned the office, creating a vacancy in the office to be filled according to law.”

The condominium rule reaches officers as well as directors, so a treasurer who is not a director is covered. It also reaches any monetary obligation, including a fine, while the condominium candidacy bar is written to assessments.

Both statutes use the word deemed. The vacancy exists by operation of the statute on day 91. Neither statute requires a board vote, a notice, or a hearing. The treasurer’s aging report is where a board sees this coming, so it belongs on the agenda as a governance item once anyone on the board crosses 90 days. Section 720.305(4) separately allows an HOA to suspend the voting rights of a member who is more than 90 days delinquent. That suspension is a board decision; the seat rule above operates on its own.

Once the seat is vacant, both chapters let the remaining directors fill it. The steps are in how to fill a seat that opens mid-term.

Appointing a delinquent owner to a vacancy

Neither chapter addresses appointment directly.

The following is our reading of the text, not legal advice, and capable lawyers may read it differently. Ask the association’s attorney about a specific person.

The felony bars in both chapters are drafted as ineligibility “for board membership,” which covers holding the seat by any route. The delinquency bars are drafted around candidacy and the ballot: the HOA text says such a person “may not seek election to the board, and his or her name shall not be listed on the ballot,” and the condominium text says such a person is “not eligible to be a candidate for board membership and may not be listed on the ballot.” Neither sentence mentions appointment.

The condominium sentence quoted earlier requires eligibility at the notice-of-intent deadline “to have his or her name listed as a proper candidate on the ballot or to serve on the board,” and in both chapters a delinquency of more than 90 days ends a sitting director’s seat.

Our reading: do not appoint an owner who is delinquent, and certainly not one more than 90 days delinquent. For a shorter delinquency the text does not compel that answer, so confirm it with counsel before the appointment.

Three other events that suspend or remove a director

1. The education deadline suspends the director. Section 720.3033(1)(b) provides that a director who does not timely file the educational certificate “is suspended from the board until he or she complies with the requirement,” and that the board may temporarily fill the vacancy during the period of suspension. Section 718.112(2)(d)5.b. provides the same for a condominium director. The seat stays with the suspended director and returns to them on compliance. Details are in what happens if a board member is not certified in time.

2. A criminal charge removes the director. Section 720.3033(4)(a) and Section 718.112(2)(q)1. both provide that a director or officer charged by information or indictment with a listed offense must be removed from office. The lists match: forgery of a ballot envelope or voting certificate used in an association election, theft or embezzlement involving association funds or property, destruction of or refusal to allow inspection or copying of an official record in furtherance of a crime, obstruction of justice, and any criminal violation of the chapter. While the charge is pending, the person may not be appointed or elected to a position on any association’s board and may not access any association’s official records except by court order. On reinstatement, the HOA text restores the director if the charges are resolved “without a finding of guilt or without acceptance of a plea of guilty or nolo contendere”; the condominium text reads “without a finding of guilt.” The removal procedure, and removal by owner vote, are a separate subject and are not covered here.

3. A kickback removes the director immediately. Section 720.3033(3) provides that if the board finds an officer or director has solicited, offered to accept, or accepted a kickback, the board “must immediately remove the officer or director from office,” and the conduct is a third-degree felony. Section 718.111(1)(a) provides the same for a condominium, adds a civil penalty under Section 718.501(1)(e), and requires that the person be removed from office and a vacancy declared. The related disclosure duties are in what fiduciary duty requires of a director.

Board votes taken while an ineligible person served

Section 720.306(9)(b) provides that “[t]he validity of any action by the board is not affected if it is later determined that a person was ineligible to seek election to the board or that a member of the board is ineligible for board membership.” Section 720.3033(1)(c) provides the same for a missing educational certificate.

Section 718.112(2)(d)3. provides that “[t]he validity of an action by the board is not affected if it is later determined that a board member is ineligible for board membership due to having been convicted of a felony.” Section 718.112(2)(d)5.b. covers a missing written certification or educational certificate. For the other condominium grounds, the chapter does not supply an express answer, so a condominium board in that position should fill the seat and take the question about past votes to counsel.

When to run the check

At the nomination deadline, check each candidate against the bars for your chapter and record the date of the check, since both chapters measure eligibility on a fixed date. When the aging report shows anyone on the board past 90 days, put the seat on the next agenda. When a new director takes a seat by election or appointment, start the education clock that day; both certification statutes run from being elected or appointed.

The person who keeps the association’s records sees each of these first. That job is described in the board secretary’s job, explained.

Eligibility, elections, recordkeeping and the rest of what a director is expected to know are the topics Florida requires new board members to study. Our HOA and condominium certification courses cover the required curriculum with the statutes cited, and the certificate is issued the moment the course is finished.