Owning a Florida condo means being part of an association — and that association has real power over your money, your meetings, and your day-to-day living. The good news: Florida law gives unit owners a clear set of rights and protections. Knowing them is the single best way to protect your investment and have a say in how your community is run.
Much of this framework is overseen by the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) and its Office of the Condominium Ombudsman, created in 2004 to act as a liaison between the state, unit owners, board members, and community association managers. Below is a practical rundown of what you're entitled to — and what you're responsible for — as a condo owner in Florida.
New for 2026: the association website requirement
As of Jan. 1, condo associations with 25 or more units must operate an official website or secure portal that provides unit owners access to required records and documents. There are also new education requirements for board members. If your association doesn't have a compliant portal, that's worth raising.
Your Rights Around Meetings
Transparency starts with notice. As a unit owner, you're entitled to:
- 48-hour notice of board and committee meetings.
- 14-day notice for the annual budget meeting, and for any special-assessment adoption, fine, or suspension.
- Contracts included with notices and agendas, available for your review.
- The right to speak and ask questions on agenda items.
- The right to record meetings by audio or video.
- To consent before the association delivers agendas and notices to you electronically.
Video meetings are now allowed — with rules
Associations may now hold video-conference meetings, but there must still be a physical location for the meeting. Meeting notices must include a hyperlink, a conference phone number, and the physical address, plus a statement that the meeting will be held by video. Those video meetings must be recorded and kept for the records, and must be held within 15 miles of the condo property or within the same county.
A key distinction: for board meetings, board members can count toward a quorum and vote by video. But at the annual unit-owner meeting, a quorum of the board must be physically present at the location where owners gather — even though owners themselves can attend and vote online.
Board Elections: The Timeline You Should Know
The annual election happens on the same date as the annual meeting. Florida spells out a specific countdown of deadlines leading up to it:
| Days before election | What happens |
|---|---|
| 90 days | Voting rights may be suspended for owners who owe money or broke association rules, making them ineligible to run. |
| 60 days | First notice of election. |
| 40 days | Deadline for notice of intent to be a candidate (to legally qualify). |
| 35 days | Candidate information sheets go out. |
| 34–14 days | Second notice of election. |
A Community Association Manager may oversee the election but cannot serve on the committee that counts the votes. Electronic voting is a right for all unit owners (you can opt out), but the association must formally adopt it — and that requires a petition from at least 25% of owners, received within 180 days after the last annual election. One trade-off with electronic voting: your ballot is no longer secret, since the electronic sheet asks for your unit number and last name.
Owner elections generally require participation from 20% of the membership to be valid. If a dispute arises, DBPR can provide election monitoring — at a cost to the association (for example, around $200 per unit for the first 25 units, decreasing as the building size grows).
Your Right to Inspect Association Records
Unit owners have a broad right to inspect and access official records. You can make copies yourself — using a portable scanner or by taking photos — at no charge. If instead you ask the association to make copies, it may charge "reasonable fees." (Tenants, by contrast, may only inspect the rules and the declaration/by-laws.)
How long records are kept matters, too. In general:
- 7 years — financial records, contracts, and monthly reports (the maximum retention).
- 15 years — Structural Integrity Reserve Studies and Milestone Inspection reports.
- 1 year — bids.
Safety inspections carry their own rights. Every building with three or more habitable stories must be inspected at the 30-year mark and every 10 years after that. As an owner, you have the right to see that inspection report within 45 days after the association receives it — and you can inspect the results of Structural Integrity Reserve Studies.
"Unit owners have a right to inspect and access records. You can make copies on your own, using a portable scanner or take photos."
Budgets, Fines, and Assessments
- You must receive the proposed annual budget at least 14 days before the meeting.
- You can submit questions by certified inquiry (certified mail); the association has 30 days to respond — or 60 days if legal counsel is involved.
- Depending on your governing documents, the association must generally grant a hearing to any owner being fined.
These protections cut both ways — which brings us to responsibilities.
Your Responsibilities as an Owner
Rights come with duties. As a unit owner, you're expected to:
- Attend and participate in owner and committee meetings, and vote in elections.
- Pay your assessments on at least a quarterly basis, plus your share of common-area expenses as defined by statute and your condo documents.
Falling behind has teeth: an association has the power to place a lien on your unit if you refuse to pay or become delinquent. Staying current and engaged is the best protection for both your home and your equity.
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When You Have a Dispute: The Ombudsman
If something isn't right — a meeting held without notice, records you can't access, an election gone sideways — you have somewhere to turn. Any violation-complaint form can be submitted to DBPR for review to open a complaint. The Condominium Ombudsman can help, and DBPR's jurisdiction covers the development, construction, sale, lease, ownership, operation, and management of residential condo units. (Note: once a developer turns the condo over to the owners, the scope of what the state can enforce narrows.)
Save this for reference
• Florida condo requirements & to schedule an association presentation: condos.myfloridalicense.com
• Verify a license or file a complaint: MyFloridaLicense.com
• DBPR customer contact center: 850-488-1122
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Frequently Asked Questions
Board and committee meetings require 48-hour notice. The annual budget meeting, and any special-assessment adoption, fine, or suspension, requires 14-day notice. Meeting notices for video conferences must also include a hyperlink, a conference phone number, and the physical meeting address.
Yes. Unit owners have a right to inspect and access official records and can make their own copies with a scanner or by taking photos at no charge. If you ask the association to copy records, it may charge reasonable fees. Financial records and contracts are generally kept for up to seven years, and Structural Integrity Reserve Studies and Milestone Inspection reports for 15 years.
Key deadlines before the election are: 60 days for the first notice, 40 days to submit notice of intent to be a candidate, 35 days for candidate information sheets to go out, and 34 to 14 days for the second notice. Owners who owe money or broke rules may have voting rights suspended as of 90 days before the election.
As of Jan. 1, condo associations with 25 or more units must operate an official website or secure portal that gives unit owners access to required records and documents. There are also new education requirements for board members.
You can submit a violation-complaint form to the Florida DBPR, which oversees residential condos through the Office of the Condominium Ombudsman. Verify a license or file a complaint at MyFloridaLicense.com, or call the DBPR customer contact center at 850-488-1122.
