Florida HOA Laws: Chapter 720, Section by Section

By Carlos Castellano · Current as of October 1, 2026

Chapter 720, Florida Statutes, is the Homeowners’ Association Act (Section 720.3015). It sets the rules an HOA board operates under: how the board meets, which records it keeps, how it budgets and reports, how members vote and elect directors, how fines are levied, and how control passes from the developer to the owners. This page goes through the chapter in the order a board uses it, gives each section a short summary, and links to the article that covers it in full. Citations are to the 2026 Florida Statutes.

Condominium associations are governed by Chapter 718, summarized the same way in Florida condo laws: Chapter 718, section by section. Section 720.302(4) provides that Chapter 720 does not apply to an association subject to Chapter 718, 719, or 721. The condominium certification rule is explained in Florida Statute 718.112(2)(d).

How Chapter 720 works with your governing documents

Section 720.302(1) states the chapter’s purposes: to recognize the nonprofit corporations that operate residential communities, “to provide procedures for operating homeowners’ associations, and to protect the rights of association members without unduly impairing the ability of such associations to perform their functions.”

Under Section 720.303(1), the association’s powers and duties include those in Chapter 720 and, “except as expressly limited or restricted in this chapter, those set forth in the governing documents.” Section 720.301 defines the governing documents as the recorded declaration of covenants with its recorded amendments and exhibits, plus the articles of incorporation and bylaws with their amendments. Some Chapter 720 rules apply whatever the documents say. Others apply only when the documents are silent, such as the 30 percent quorum for member meetings in Section 720.306(1)(a), which applies unless the bylaws set a lower number. Read the statute and the documents together. How the documents rank against each other is in declaration, articles, bylaws, rules: which one wins.

Section 720.302(5) makes an association incorporated under Chapter 617, the nonprofit corporation act, subject to that chapter as well as Chapter 720. Chapter 617 supplies corporate rules Chapter 720 does not, such as the one-year default term for a director when the articles and bylaws do not set one (Section 617.0805(1)).

Directors and officers: Sections 720.303(1) and 720.3033

Fiduciary duty. Section 720.303(1) provides that officers and directors “are subject to s. 617.0830 and have a fiduciary relationship to the members who are served by the association.” What that means for a director’s decisions is in fiduciary duty for Florida board members.

Education. Section 720.3033(1) requires each newly elected or appointed director to complete the department-approved education within 90 days, covering financial literacy and transparency, recordkeeping, levying of fines, and notice and meeting requirements. The certificate is valid for four education years (July 1 to June 30) while the director serves without a break, and directors owe continuing education by June 30 of each education year: 4 hours if the association has fewer than 2,500 parcels, 8 hours at 2,500 or more. The full section is in Florida Statute 720.3033, the deadline in the 90-day HOA certification requirement, and the annual hours in HOA continuing education hours.

Conflicts and kickbacks. Under Section 720.3033(2), when the association contracts with a director, or with an entity in which a director is a director, an officer, or financially interested, the board must comply with Section 617.0832, enter the required disclosures in the minutes, approve the transaction by an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the directors present, and disclose it to the members at their next meeting. Section 720.3033(3) prohibits an officer, director, or manager from soliciting, offering to accept, or accepting a kickback. Doing so knowingly is a third-degree felony, and a board that finds a violation must immediately remove the officer or director.

Removal on criminal charges. Section 720.3033(4)(a) requires the removal of a director or officer charged by information or indictment with certain crimes, including forgery of a ballot envelope, theft or embezzlement of association funds or property, and destruction of or refusal to allow inspection of an official record.

Money controls. Section 720.3033(5) requires insurance or a fidelity bond for every person who controls or disburses association funds, covering the most the association or its management agent will hold at any one time, unless a majority of the voting interests present at a properly called meeting waives the requirement for that year. Section 720.303(12) provides that a director, officer, or committee member “may not directly receive any salary or compensation from the association” for that service, with exceptions that include reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses. Section 720.303(13) prohibits paying association expenses with a debit card issued in the association’s name.

Who may hold a seat at all is in Section 720.306(9)(b), covered in who can serve on a Florida board. What each officer does is in president, secretary, treasurer: who does what.

Board meetings and minutes: Section 720.303(2) and (3)

Section 720.303(2)(a) provides that a board meeting “occurs whenever a quorum of the board gathers to conduct association business.” Board meetings are open to all members, except a meeting with the association’s attorney about proposed or pending litigation. Directors may communicate by email but may not vote on an association matter by email. Members may attend and speak on all designated agenda items.

Section 720.303(2)(c) requires the bylaws to provide for notice of board meetings, and if they do not, they are deemed to include the statute’s rules. Notice must specifically identify the agenda items and be posted conspicuously in the community at least 48 hours ahead, or mailed or delivered to each member at least 7 days ahead, except in an emergency. A meeting at which special assessments or amendments to rules regarding parcel use will be considered takes 14 days’ written notice. Directors may not vote by proxy or by secret ballot, except that secret ballots may be used to elect officers. Under Section 720.303(3), the minutes must record each director’s vote or abstention on every matter voted on. The full notice rules are in Florida board meeting notice requirements.

Official records and the website: Section 720.303(4), (5), (14), and (15)

Section 720.303(4) lists the official records and requires the association to keep them for at least 7 years unless the governing documents require longer. Under Section 720.303(5), a parcel owner’s written request to inspect or copy them must be honored within 10 business days. The steps are in a member asked to see the records, and the secretary’s part in the board secretary’s job.

Section 720.303(4)(b) requires an association with 100 or more parcels to post specified documents on a website or mobile application. The list and the redaction rules are in the association records website.

Two related duties sit at the end of the section. Under Section 720.303(14), the board must answer a parcel owner’s written request for a detailed accounting of amounts owed within 15 business days. Under Section 720.303(15), the association must give every new member a copy of the rules and covenants, and give every member an updated copy when the rules or covenants are amended.

Budgets, financial reports, and contracts

The budget. Section 720.303(6) requires an annual budget of operating expenses and gives each member a copy, or notice that a copy is free on request. Reserves are covered in the same subsection. See adopting the annual budget.

The financial report. Section 720.303(7) requires a financial report for the preceding fiscal year within 90 days after the fiscal year ends, or on the date the bylaws provide, at a level of detail set by the association’s total annual revenues. See the annual financial report.

Contracts and bids. Section 720.3055 requires contracts for materials, equipment, and services to be in writing. When a contract requires payment of more than 10 percent of the total annual budget, including reserves, the association must obtain competitive bids, and it is not required to accept the lowest bid.

Assessments. Section 720.308 requires assessments to follow each member’s proportional share as described in the governing documents. Section 720.315 provides that before turnover, a developer-controlled board may not levy a special assessment unless a majority of the non-developer parcel owners approve it at a special meeting. How a board levies a special assessment is in special assessments. The association’s lien for unpaid assessments is in Section 720.3085, and estoppel certificates are in Section 720.30851.

Member meetings, elections, and amendments: Section 720.306

Section 720.306 governs meetings of the members. The quorum is 30 percent of the total voting interests unless the bylaws set a lower number, and decisions require a majority of the voting interests present unless the chapter, the articles, or the bylaws provide otherwise (Section 720.306(1)(a)). The association holds an annual meeting (Section 720.306(2)), members may speak on agenda items (Section 720.306(6)), members vote in person or by proxy unless the documents provide otherwise (Section 720.306(8)), and any parcel owner may record a meeting (Section 720.306(10)).

Elections. Section 720.306(9)(a) provides that director elections “must be conducted in accordance with the procedures set forth in the governing documents,” with statutory rules on nominations, uncontested seats, the plurality count, and the 60-day challenge window. See how Florida HOA board elections work. Section 720.3065 makes fraudulent voting activity in an association election a first-degree misdemeanor, and Section 720.317 allows elections and other member votes through an online voting system once the board adopts it by resolution. Filling an empty seat is covered in filling a board vacancy.

Amendments. Section 720.306(1)(b) provides that, unless the governing documents or the law provide otherwise, any governing document may be amended by the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the voting interests. Within 30 days after recording an amendment, the association must give the members copies, or, when the members saw the unchanged proposal before voting, a notice identifying where the recorded amendment can be found.

Rules, fines, and owner rights

Section 720.305(1) provides that each member, the member’s tenants, guests, and invitees, and the association “are governed by, and must comply with, this chapter, the governing documents of the community, and the rules of the association,” and lets the association or any member sue to enforce them.

Fines and suspensions. Under Section 720.305(2), a fine may not exceed $100 per violation, or $1,000 in the aggregate for a continuing violation, unless the governing documents provide otherwise, and a fine of less than $1,000 may not become a lien. A fine or suspension requires a hearing before a committee of at least three members who are not officers, directors, or employees, or their close relatives, and the owner must first get at least 14 days’ written notice of the right to a hearing. Section 720.305(3) allows suspending the use of common areas when a member is more than 90 days delinquent. The procedure is in how to levy an HOA fine.

Limits on the association. Section 720.3035 allows architectural review only to the extent the authority is stated or reasonably inferred in the declaration or the published guidelines it authorizes, and requires the standards to be applied reasonably and equitably to all owners. Section 720.304 protects the right to peaceably assemble and to display certain flags. Section 720.3045 prevents an association from restricting items on a parcel that are not visible from the frontage, an adjacent parcel, an adjacent common area, or a community golf course. Section 720.318 protects a first responder’s right to park an assigned vehicle where the owner may otherwise park. Section 720.3075 lists clauses that may not be included in or enforced from association documents.

Turnover from the developer: Sections 720.307 to 720.31

Section 720.307 sets when members other than the developer are entitled to elect at least a majority of the board. The first trigger is three months after 90 percent of the parcels in all phases have been conveyed to members other than the developer, and the section lists others. It also sets what the developer must turn over. See developer turnover. Section 720.309 requires contracts longer than 10 years made before turnover for operation, maintenance, or management to be fair and reasonable, and Section 720.31 governs recreational leases made before turnover.

Recall, disputes, receivership, and emergencies

Recall. Under Section 720.303(10)(a), any director may be recalled and removed with or without cause by a majority of the total voting interests, regardless of any contrary provision in the governing documents.

Disputes. In Section 720.302(2), the Legislature finds that creating a state agency to regulate the affairs of HOAs is not in the best interest of associations or their members. Section 720.311 sends election and recall disputes to binding arbitration with the Department of Business and Professional Regulation or to court, and requires presuit mediation before covenant-enforcement disputes, amendment disputes, meeting disputes, and records-access disputes go to court. Collection of assessments and fines is excluded from presuit mediation. What happens when a director never certifies is in what happens if a board member never certifies.

Receivership. Under Section 720.3053, if the association fails to fill enough board vacancies to make a quorum, any member may give 30 days’ notice and then petition the circuit court to appoint a receiver, whose salary and costs the association pays. Section 720.313 requires the receiver to notify all members.

Emergency powers. Section 720.316 gives the board additional powers after a state of emergency is declared under Section 252.36 for the area, unless the declaration or other recorded governing documents specifically prohibit them. Under Section 720.316(2), the authority lasts only as long as reasonably necessary to protect health, safety, and welfare, mitigate further damage, and make emergency repairs. The special assessment power within it is covered in special assessments.

Buyers and covenant preservation

Part II of Chapter 720 covers disclosure before the sale of a parcel. Section 720.401 requires that a prospective parcel owner be given a disclosure summary before signing the contract for sale, and Section 720.402 covers false and misleading developer advertising. Section 720.3032 lets an association record a notice to preserve its covenants from termination after 30 years under the Marketable Record Title Act, Chapter 712. Part III, Sections 720.403 through 720.407, lets owners revive a declaration that has lapsed, with approval from the Department of Commerce.

The legislature amends Chapter 720 most sessions, with changes usually effective July 1. Recent changes are tracked in Florida HOA and condo law changes.