You’re browsing publicly. Statutes and search stay open. A free account adds bookmarks, document upload, side-by-side compare, and forum posting.
Sign up freeEducational reference only. Not legal advice
Common Elements is not a law firm and does not provide legal services. Plain-English summaries, topic guides, and synced statutory text help you find the right citation faster. Always confirm the current official version on the official leg.state.fl.us (statutes) or flrules.org (administrative rules) before relying on any citation.
Viewing Florida statutes
Fla. Stat. Chapter 768
Florida Statutes Chapter 768 — NegligenceFlorida's general negligence and premises-liability statute. Sets the comparative-fault framework, the three-tier premises-liability classification (invitee, licensee, trespasser), contribution among tortfeasors, the alcohol-or-drug defense, and the Good Samaritan Act. For HOA and COA boards this chapter is the substrate under almost every tort claim filed against the association — slip-and-fall, swimming-pool injury, common-element defect, gate-related auto loss. Officer-and-director immunity for community associations lives in the chapter-specific statutes (718.111(1)(d) for COAs, 720.303(1) for HOAs), referenced from this chapter rather than duplicated here.Official source on leg.state.fl.us
§ 768.0701
Common Elements summary — Section 768.0701 (along with its companion 768.0710 and 768.0755) sets the proof burden when someone trips, slips, or is injured by a transitory foreign substance — water, food, a dropped object — on premises in the possession or control of a business or association. The injured person must prove that the entity in possession had actual or constructive notice of the dangerous condition and should have taken action to remedy it. For HOA and COA boards this is the rule that turns "we had no idea there was water in the hallway" from a moral argument into a legal defense. Constructive notice typically requires evidence that the condition existed long enough that the association should have discovered it on a reasonable inspection — or that it recurred regularly enough that the association should have addressed the cause. The practical implication: keep written inspection logs. Pool decks, fitness rooms, lobbies, walkways — wherever transitory hazards are foreseeable. A timestamped log showing "swept at 3:15 PM, no hazards observed" is the cheapest defense in tort litigation.
§ 768.0710
Common Elements summary — Section 768.0710 is the older codification of the transitory-foreign-substance proof rule, partially superseded by 768.0755 in 2010 but still referenced in case law for premises that fall outside the 768.0755 "business establishment" framing. For most HOA and COA common areas the operative section today is 768.0755, but courts continue to look to 768.0710 for premises that are not clearly business establishments (a private pool deck used only by residents, for example). For boards the takeaway is the same as under 768.0755: the plaintiff carries the burden to prove notice. Keep your inspection logs.
§ 768.0755
Common Elements summary — Section 768.0755 is the modern transitory-foreign-substance rule for business establishments. A claimant must prove the business had actual or constructive knowledge of the dangerous condition and should have taken action. Constructive knowledge may be proven by circumstantial evidence showing (a) the condition existed long enough that the business should have known about it in the exercise of ordinary care, or (b) the condition occurred with such regularity that it was foreseeable. For HOA and COA boards: whether your common areas qualify as a "business establishment" under 768.0755 is fact-specific. Mixed-use buildings with retail or commercial space generally do. Pure residential common areas often fall back to 768.0710 or the common-law premises rule. The protective effect of either statute depends on contemporaneous inspection evidence. Boards should not let counsel litigate this distinction on the fly. Keep inspection logs everywhere. Train staff to date and initial the log. Pool the cost of a basic inspection-log app across associations if needed — the marginal cost is trivial compared to one defended slip-and-fall.
§ 768.075
Common Elements summary — Section 768.075 limits the duty owed to a trespasser on real property. A landowner is generally not liable to a trespasser for injuries caused by the condition of the premises unless the landowner's conduct was willful and wanton, or unless the trespasser was discovered (a known trespasser) and the landowner failed to exercise reasonable care to avoid causing harm. For HOA and COA boards this section reduces exposure for injuries to people who are on the property without permission — the teenager who climbs the pool fence after hours, the door-to-door solicitor who ignores a "no trespassing" sign. It does not eliminate the duty entirely, and discovered-trespasser liability remains a meaningful exposure (the most common scenario: a manager sees the trespasser, says nothing, and the trespasser is injured). The protective effect depends on the property being clearly posted and the policy being consistently enforced. Inconsistent enforcement (you toss out the kids you don't like but tolerate the ones you do) creates the discovered-trespasser exposure that 768.075 was supposed to limit.
§ 768.13
Common Elements summary — Section 768.13 (the Good Samaritan Act) grants immunity from civil liability to a person who, gratuitously and in good faith, renders emergency medical care or treatment to an injured person at the scene of an emergency, outside a hospital or similar facility, so long as the person acts as an ordinarily reasonable person would have acted under the circumstances. For HOA and COA boards this section protects volunteer board members, residents, and association staff who respond to a medical emergency on association property — performing CPR, using a community AED, helping an injured resident before paramedics arrive. So long as the response is gratuitous, in good faith, and not reckless, the responder is shielded. The protection extends to the association itself when it makes an AED available without charge under associated AED-good-samaritan provisions, provided the AED is properly maintained and the association complies with the registration/notification rules under 401.2915. Boards that buy an AED but then let the battery die or refuse to share its location with first responders erode the immunity.
§ 768.31
Common Elements summary — Section 768.31 (the Uniform Contribution Among Tortfeasors Act) lets a defendant who has paid more than its proportionate share of a joint tort judgment seek contribution from co-tortfeasors. The right to contribution is established as a matter of substantive law and can be enforced either as a counterclaim in the original suit or as a separate action after payment. For HOA and COA boards this is the statutory basis for impleading vendors, contractors, and management companies into a tort claim. When a slip-and-fall lawsuit lands on the association, the association's first move is typically to bring in the landscaping vendor, the elevator company, the pool service — whoever else shares fault — under 768.31. The pre-Tiger Woods view that contribution was disfavored has been replaced by Florida's comparative-fault regime (see 768.81), but 768.31 still controls when comparative fault doesn't apply (intentional torts, certain insurer-subrogation contexts). Board liability shifts substantially when the association's contribution claim is pleaded crisply and early.
§ 768.36
Common Elements summary — Section 768.36 bars recovery in a negligence case if the plaintiff was, at the time of the injury, under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance to the extent that the plaintiff's normal faculties were impaired, and the plaintiff was more than 50 percent at fault for the injury as a result. For HOA and COA boards this is a real defense in pool, dock, gym, and clubhouse tort claims involving intoxicated residents or guests. A resident who climbs a fence and dives into the shallow end at 2 AM with a blood-alcohol level above the legal limit has a 768.36 problem before the association's defense even begins. The defense is not automatic. The association must plead it, develop the blood-alcohol or toxicology evidence (typically through subpoenaed hospital records), and persuade a jury on the fault apportionment. But where the facts support it, 768.36 can shift a six-figure exposure to a defense verdict. Make sure your defense counsel asks about toxicology in the very first deposition.
§ 768.81
Common Elements summary — Section 768.81 is Florida's comparative-fault statute. In a negligence action the court must enter judgment against each party on the basis of that party's percentage of fault, and not on the basis of the doctrine of joint and several liability — with limited exceptions. In 2023, Florida moved from a pure comparative-fault system to a modified comparative-fault system: a plaintiff who is found more than 50% at fault recovers nothing. For HOA and COA boards this is the single most important section in Chapter 768. It means that even when the association is partly at fault, its exposure is limited to its proportionate share — typically less than 50% in most cases involving third-party vendors or plaintiff conduct. It also means that aggressive plaintiff-fault arguments can eliminate liability entirely under the 50% bar. The 2023 amendment is fact-pattern-specific. Claims that accrued before March 24, 2023 are governed by the old pure-comparative-fault rule. Claims accruing after that date get the modified rule. If your association has a claim near the cutoff, your defense counsel should be all over the date-of-accrual analysis.
§ 718.111-1-d
Common Elements summary — This is a navigational placeholder. Officer-and-director immunity for Florida condominium associations is set by § 718.111(1)(d) (and 718.111(1)(e) for the corresponding indemnification right), not by Chapter 768. The condominium-specific immunity is meaningfully broader than the general nonprofit director immunity in 617.0834 because it explicitly extends to acts taken in good faith reliance on counsel and other professionals, and limits liability to wrongful acts that were not done in bad faith. Use this section as a reading bookmark. The substantive text lives in 718.111. For HOA officers, see the parallel cross-reference at 720.303(1) below. Boards that mix up the immunity statutes regularly find themselves arguing the wrong one in motion practice. The 617.0834 baseline applies to every Florida nonprofit. The chapter-specific overlay (718.111(1)(d) for COAs, 720.303(1) for HOAs) is what should be in your D&O defense letter.
§ 720.303-1
Common Elements summary — Navigational placeholder. Officer-and-director immunity for Florida homeowners' associations is set by § 720.303(1) (and 720.303(13) for the corresponding indemnification right), not by Chapter 768. The HOA-specific immunity tracks the condominium version closely: directors are not personally liable for monetary damages to the association or any other party for any statement, vote, decision, or failure to take any action regarding association management unless the breach involves conduct that is criminal, was in violation of the chapter, was outside the scope of authority, or was committed with reckless disregard for the safety of others. For HOA boards this is the immunity statute to cite in any board-action lawsuit. Combined with 617.0830 (business judgment) and 617.0834 (volunteer immunity), it gives a properly-acting director three independent shields. The chapter-specific overlay matters because it explicitly covers omissions ("failure to take any action") — a feature missing from the 617 baseline. Boards facing inaction claims (failure to enforce, failure to repair) should anchor the defense in 720.303(1) rather than 617.0834.
Get an email when a section of Fla. Stat. Ch. 768 changes. No account needed.
Free account
A free account adds bookmarks, PDF export, uploaded governing documents, and side-by-side search with Florida statutes.
Common Elements is the always-on industry expo for community associations: vendor hall, professional community, and structured procurement, open 24/7. It complements the management and accounting software you already use; it does not replace it.