Here's what you need to know in regards to condominium law in Florida:

Milestone Inspections

• If records are lost or destroyed, there is a good faith obligation to recover them as soon as reasonably possible. Records must also be maintained in an organized manner for inspection purposes.
• Adds a copy of building permits and a copy of all satisfactorily completed board member educational certificates to the list of required “official records.”
• Adds invoices, transaction receipts, or deposit slips that substantiate any receipt or expenditure of funds by the association to the list of accounting records.
• Email addresses and facsimile numbers can be made available to unit owners if consent to receive notices electronically is provided. The sale/sharing of this personal information to third parties is prohibited.
• Effective 1/1/26, an association with 25+ units must maintain specified records on a website.

Criminal Penalties

• Criminal penalties for: (1) any officer/director repeatedly violating any specified requirements related to the inspection/copying of official records; (2) destroying/defacing of accounting records with the intent of causing harm to the association or one or more members; (3) refusing to release/produce records with intent to avoid or escape detection, arrest, trial, or punishment for the commission of a crime, or to assist another person with such avoidance or escape; (4) any officer/director soliciting or offering to accept a kickback; (5) engaging in specified fraudulent voting activity, or advising someone to do so; (6) using an association debit card for any expense that is not for the association.
• If an officer/director is charged with a criminal violation mentioned above, they are deemed removed from office and a vacancy is declared.

Director Education

• Four hours of training including; SIRS, milestone inspections, elections, recordkeeping, financial literacy and transparency, levying of fines, and meeting requirements.
• Directors:
• must submit a written certification that they have read and will uphold the governing documents;
• must submit a certificate of completion of an approved condo education course;
• must complete at least one hour of continuing education re: recent changes to condo laws;
• must certify on a DBPR form that all directors have completed their education requirements; and
• who are new must submit their certifications to the association secretary within 1 year before, or 90 days after elected.

Hurricane Protection

• All residential and mixed-use condos must adopt hurricane protection specifications for each building within each condominium operated by the association.
• A unit owner is not responsible for the cost of any removal/reinstallation of hurricane protection if its removal is necessary for maintenance, repair, or replacement. The association is responsible.
• If a unit owner is responsible for the removal/reinstallation of hurricane protection and the association completes such removal, the unit owner is responsible for the cost.
• If a board requires unit owners to install hurricane protection, it must open the matter to a vote of unit owners.
• The vote must be set forth in a certificate including the date the hurricane protection must be installed.

SLAPP and Defamation Law Suits

• Condominium associations are now included in the SLAPP suit prohibition.
• This prohibition protects unit owners–who report complaints to government agencies or law enforcement or make public statements critical of the operation or management of an association–from being sued.

Pre-Sale Disclosures and Requirements

• Add a copy of the most recent financial statement and the association's annual budget to the list of documents a non-developer seller must provide pre-sale. (Effective 10/1/24)

Condos Within a Portion of a Building/Within a Multiple Parcel Building

• If one of the above, the association has the right to:
• inspect/copy the records upon which the costs for maintaining/operating the shared facilities are based.
• receive an annual budget with respect to such costs.

Community Associations

• An association board:
• can fulfill records requests by directing an owner to the website if all records are posted;
• must provide a checklist of all records available for inspection and copying in response to a written request, and must maintain this checklist for 7 years;
• cannot reduce the required type of financial statement;
• must provide a notice that the SIRS is available for inspection (within 45 days of completing the study);
• can pause/reduce funding of reserves if the building is deemed uninhabitable due to a natural emergency;
• must notify the Department of Business and Professional Regulation within 45 days after the SIRS is completed;
• must meet at least once a quarter (required for 10+ units);
• must include an opportunity for member questions to be placed on the agenda at least four times a year;
• must include a copy of any proposed contract in the notice for meetings relating to the approval of a contract;
• must notify a condo owner 90 days before an election that their voting rights may be suspended due to non-payment; and
• must honor a unit owner's request to vote electronically if the board authorizes online voting (consent can be provided electronically).
• consent can be provided electronically.

Community Association Managers/Management Firms

• must return all association records in their possession within 20 business days of termination of a services agreement OR written request, whichever occurs first. Noncompliance can result in license suspension and civil penalties.

Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR)

• can provide records to unit owners (at no charge) if they subpoena records, only after the association has failed to provide records.
• can gain access to an association's website to investigate complaints related to access to records.
• must create a database of associations that have completed their SIRS reports (by 7/1/2025).
• must include this information collected via SIRS must be included in its annual report (after 12/31/2024).
• will begin hiring 65 full-time equivalent positions to assist with implementing the provisions of this bill (on 7/1/2024).
• must report criminal activity to law enforcement authorities.
• may attend any association meetings.
• after turnover has occurred, DBPR has jurisdiction to investigate complaints related only to:
• procedures and records related to financial issues, including annual financial reporting, assessments for common expenses, fines, and commingling funds;
• elections, including election and voting requirements and recall of board members;
• maintenance of/access to association records;
• the procedural aspects of meetings, such as unit owner settings, quorums, voting requirements, proxies, board of administration meetings, and budget meetings;
• disclosure of conflicts of interest;
• the removal of a board director or officer;
• the procedural completion of SIRS; and
• any written inquiries by unit owners to the association.
• must submit findings by January 1, 2025.