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Fla. Stat. Chapter 720
The Florida Homeowners' Association ActGoverns Florida homeowners' associations (HOAs) for residential planned developments. Covers association powers and duties, recording of governing documents, board member duties, member rights, meeting and election procedures, financial obligations, and the Department of Business and Professional Regulation's oversight role.Official source on leg.state.fl.us
§ 720.301
Core definitions for the Florida Homeowners' Association Act: homeowners' association, parcel, common area, declaration, governing documents. Less elaborate than the 718 definitions because HOAs vary more in structure than condos.
§ 720.302
Common Elements summary — Section 720.302 sets out the legislature's purposes for Chapter 720 and defines its scope. The chapter is intended to give statutory recognition to homeowners' associations that operate residential communities, to provide procedures for operating those associations, to protect the rights of association members, and to provide rules that supersede inconsistent provisions of pre-existing governing documents. The key interpretive principle: Chapter 720 is a floor, not a ceiling. Where the chapter requires a procedure (notice, hearing, recordkeeping), governing documents cannot waive it. Where the chapter is silent or sets a default, governing documents control. Where the chapter conflicts with older recorded documents, the chapter generally wins for procedural matters but yields to vested property rights in the documents themselves. For boards: the practical takeaway is that "our declaration says we don't have to do that" is often wrong when "that" is a Chapter 720 procedural requirement. When in doubt, comply with the statute and amend the declaration to match.
§ 720.303
The omnibus section for HOA governance. Lists what the association can and must do — borrow money, levy assessments, maintain records, hold annual + budget meetings, give notice to members, allow records inspection, file annual financial reports. Parallels Chapter 718's § 718.111 + § 718.112 combined.
§ 720.304
Common Elements summary — Section 720.304 protects two distinct member rights against association overreach. First, homeowners have the right to peaceably assemble on association property — meaning the board cannot prohibit members from meeting in common areas to discuss community business, organize politically, or pursue collective action. The board can impose reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions, but it cannot ban member assembly outright. Second, the section establishes statewide protections for the display of certain flags. A homeowner may display in a respectful manner the United States flag, the Florida state flag, the flags of the United States Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, Space Force, and POW-MIA, regardless of any covenants or rules in the governing documents. The flag may be no larger than 4½ feet by 6 feet. Religious and political flags are NOT covered — the protection is narrow. For boards: the assembly right is the more frequently litigated half. A board that locks the clubhouse to prevent an owner-organized recall meeting has likely violated 720.304 and triggered a potential injunction plus fees. The right answer is to allow the meeting and let democracy work.
§ 720.305
How an HOA enforces covenants against members — fines, suspension of common-area use rights, suspension of voting rights for delinquent owners, and the procedural protections (notice, opportunity to be heard, fining committee independence). Fines cap at $100 per violation / $1,000 in aggregate unless governing documents allow more.
§ 720.306
Common Elements summary — Section 720.306 is the operational backbone of HOA governance. It sets the rules for members' meetings (annual and special), voting, election of directors, and amendment of the governing documents. Key mandatory rules: (1) annual meetings must be held; if the bylaws don't fix the date, the association must hold one within the calendar year; (2) special meetings can be called by the board, by 10% of total voting interests, or as the documents otherwise permit; (3) written notice with the agenda must be mailed, hand-delivered, or electronically transmitted at least 14 days before the meeting; (4) the annual meeting must include the election of directors unless the documents specify otherwise; (5) quorum defaults to 30% of total voting interests, but the bylaws can set it lower (no floor in the statute, unlike condos). For amendments: unless the documents say otherwise, amendments to the declaration require approval by two-thirds of voting interests, and amendments to bylaws require a majority. ALL amendments must be recorded in the county public records to be effective against successors. Boards routinely skip the recording step and create a years-later quiet-title problem.
§ 720.3085
HOA's parallel to § 718.116. Covers how assessments become a lien, the foreclosure procedure, the 1% / month statutory interest cap, and the safe-harbor cap on past-due assessments a new owner inherits after foreclosure by a mortgagee.
§ 720.307
Common Elements summary — Section 720.307 governs HOA turnover — the transfer of association control from the developer to the lot owners. The developer must turn over control of the board when 90% of the parcels in all phases have been conveyed to owners other than the developer, OR three months after the developer files an application for a final development order or final inspection on the last parcel, whichever comes first. At turnover the developer must deliver: all financial records, all governing documents, all contracts, all permits, all warranties, an audit of association finances by an independent CPA, all insurance policies, and the keys. The new board must give written notice to all members within 90 days of the turnover meeting. For successor boards: the most important post-turnover task is commissioning an independent audit and an independent property condition assessment within 90 days. Florida's construction-defect tolling rule (95.11 plus 720.307 case law) means the SOL clock starts running at turnover for claims against the developer. A board that "waits to see how things go" can lose claims worth millions before it ever gets advice.
§ 720.311
Mandatory pre-suit mediation for many HOA disputes between the association and a member (covenant enforcement, parking, architectural review). Some disputes (recall, election challenges) go through DBPR arbitration instead. Failing to participate in mandatory mediation is grounds for sanctions in the eventual lawsuit.
§ 720.31
§ 720.308
Common Elements summary — Section 720.308 is the HOA assessment-authority statute. It confirms that every parcel is subject to assessment for the parcel's share of the operating expenses of the association, and authorizes the association to levy regular assessments, special assessments, and individual charges for fines or for the cost of correcting a member's rule violation. Procedural rules: (1) regular assessments must be levied per the adopted budget; (2) special assessments require written notice describing the purpose and the amount to all members at least 14 days before the meeting at which they will be voted on; (3) individual charges for violation-correction costs require notice and hearing under 720.305(2); (4) all assessment authority must be grounded in the declaration — the statute does not create assessment authority where the documents don't provide it. For boards: the trap is special assessments. The 14-day notice with full disclosure of purpose and amount is non-waivable. A board that calls an "emergency meeting" with three days' notice to levy a $5,000-per-lot special assessment has created an unenforceable assessment and a fee-shifting fight. Plan ahead, notice properly, and document the financial necessity in the minutes.
§ 720.401
HOA's parallel to § 718.503 — what disclosures a buyer must receive before closing on a parcel governed by an HOA. Less elaborate than the condo disclosure because HOA documents are typically simpler, but the same buyer-protective rescission concept applies.
§ 720.3055
Common Elements summary — Section 720.3055 is the HOA procurement disclosure statute. Any contract for goods, services, or insurance that the association proposes to enter with a person or entity related to a board member (spouse, parent, child, sibling, business affiliate) must be disclosed to all members in writing before the contract is signed, and the contract must be approved by two-thirds of all voting interests if the value exceeds 10% of the association's annual budget. The section also requires competitive bids for any contract for materials, equipment, or services in excess of 10% of the annual budget (some smaller associations are exempt under a $1 million budget floor). Bids must be open to all qualified vendors; sole-source contracts are permitted only for emergencies or where a single vendor can demonstrably provide the work. For boards: this is the affirmative-disclosure cousin of 617.0832 (conflicts of interest). The 720.3055 disclosure is in addition to, not in substitute for, the conflict-of-interest documentation. Run both checks on every contract over the budget threshold. The cost of a noticing email is trivial; the cost of unwinding a non-conforming insurance contract mid-policy is enormous.
§ 720.309
Common Elements summary — Section 720.309 lets the association's successor (post-turnover) board cancel certain long-term agreements the developer entered into for the association's benefit. The cancellation right covers grounds-maintenance contracts, cable and communications contracts, management contracts, and similar service agreements that the developer signed while it controlled the board. The mechanics: at any time within two years after turnover, the post-developer board can vote (majority of the post-developer board members) to cancel any such agreement on written notice to the vendor. There is no cancellation fee, no buyout, no liquidated damages — the legislative judgment is that owners shouldn't be locked into developer sweetheart deals. For successor boards: this is the most underused remedy in Chapter 720. Most developer-era contracts are above-market because they were negotiated when no arm's-length counterparty existed for the association. The cancellation window is short (two years post-turnover), and the savings can be enormous. Audit every developer-era service agreement in the first 60 days post-turnover and cancel everything that doesn't pass arm's-length scrutiny.
§ 720.3105
Common Elements summary — Section 720.3105 is the HOA fine-and-suspension statute, parallel to condo 718.303. The association can fine a member up to $100 per violation, with a $1,000 aggregate cap for continuing violations, AND can suspend the member's right to use common areas and recreational facilities (pool, clubhouse, gym, etc.) for cause. Voting rights can be suspended only for monetary delinquencies over 90 days past due. The procedural requirements are absolute: (1) at least 14 days' written notice of the alleged violation and the proposed fine or suspension; (2) an opportunity for a hearing before a committee of at least three members who are not officers, directors, or employees of the association and not related to officers, directors, or employees; (3) the committee must affirmatively vote to approve the fine or suspension — if it doesn't, the sanction cannot be imposed; (4) the member must be notified of the committee's decision in writing. Common board mistakes: appointing a committee of three board members (disqualified), holding the hearing in executive session without notice (procedurally void), or "deeming" the fine imposed when the member doesn't appear at the hearing (still requires the committee vote). Build the committee BEFORE you need it. Document everything.
§ 720.402
Common Elements summary — Section 720.402 confirms that amendments to a Florida HOA's governing documents are effective only when recorded in the public records of the county where the community sits. The recording requirement applies to amendments of the declaration, articles, and bylaws — anything that purports to bind successor owners. The section also requires that the recorded amendment identify the book and page (or instrument number) of the original recorded document being amended, and that the amendment be certified by the association's president or vice president and attested by the secretary. For boards: unrecorded amendments are the most common chain-of-title defect in Florida HOA practice. A board votes to amend a use restriction, distributes the new restriction to owners, and enforces it for years — only to lose an enforcement action because the amendment was never recorded. Build a calendar reminder for "record the amendment" the day after any membership vote on a governing-document change, and have association counsel handle the recording as a routine matter. The recording fee is under $200; the cost of losing enforcement authority is unlimited.
§ 720.405
Common Elements summary — Section 720.405 is the HOA consumer-protection statute for parcel sales. Before a contract for the sale of a parcel becomes binding, the seller must give the buyer a "Homeowners' Association Disclosure Summary" in substantially the form prescribed by the statute — disclosing that the parcel is in an HOA, that there is a recorded declaration of covenants, that the buyer will be obligated to pay assessments, that assessments are subject to change, that there may be capital contribution charges at closing, that there are recorded restrictions on use of the property, and that the buyer should review the governing documents before closing. The buyer has a 3-day rescission right after receipt of the disclosure summary AND the governing documents. If the seller fails to deliver the summary at all, the buyer can void the contract at any time before closing. Real-estate brokers and sellers attempting to close without the disclosure summary face contract-rescission risk and potential damages. For boards and managers: the association is often asked to provide the governing-documents package for the disclosure. Charge a reasonable fee under 720.303(5) and produce promptly — slow document responses are a frequent source of broker complaints to DBPR.
§ 720.312
§ 720.313
§ 720.315
§ 720.316
§ 720.317
§ 720.318
§ 720.403
§ 720.404
§ 720.406
§ 720.407
§ 720.3015
§ 720.3032
§ 720.3033
§ 720.3035
§ 720.3045
§ 720.3053
§ 720.3065
§ 720.3075
§ 720.3086
§ 720.30851
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