Buying Into a Florida HOA

What Is an HOA?

A homeowners' association (HOA) is a private organization that manages a residential community. When you buy a home in a mandatory HOA community, you automatically become a member and are legally bound by its governing documents, including its rules, assessments and architectural standards.

Florida has two main kinds of community association. HOAs are governed by Chapter 720 of the Florida Statutes, and condominium associations by Chapter 718. Each also answers to its own governing documents and its elected board of directors. The two work differently, especially on buyer rights.

Before You Buy: What the Seller Must Give You

Buying in an HOA

Florida law doesn't require a full document packet for an HOA resale. It requires a disclosure summary (§720.401), a one-page statement that you'll have to join the association, that recorded covenants govern the property, that you'll owe assessments and any special assessments, and that unpaid assessments can become a lien.

You must get the summary before you sign the contract. If you don't, you can cancel by written notice within 3 days after you receive it, or before closing, whichever comes first. If you received the summary on time, this cancellation right doesn't apply. If you didn't, the right can't be waived, and it ends at closing.

The summary won't show you the rules, the budget or the reserves. Ask for those yourself, and make your contract depend on reviewing them. See how to find a Florida HOA's governing documents.

Buying a condo

Condo resale buyers get much more. The seller must provide, at the seller's expense, the declaration, articles, bylaws and rules, the latest annual financial statement and budget, the question and answer sheet, and any milestone inspection summary and structural integrity reserve study (§718.503(2)).

Unless you received them more than 7 days before signing, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays, you can cancel within 7 days, excluding the same days, after signing and receiving them. That right ends at closing. If you're buying new from a developer, the period is 15 days (§718.503(1)). See Florida Condo Laws.

Governing Documents

Every association is governed by a hierarchy of documents. Higher-level documents control when there's a conflict.

1. Declaration of Covenants, Conditions & Restrictions (CC&Rs) — The foundational legal document, recorded with the county. In a condo, this is the declaration of condominium. It defines what owners can and cannot do with their property.
2. Articles of Incorporation — Establish the association as a corporation.
3. Bylaws — Govern how the association operates: board structure, elections, meetings and voting.
4. Rules and Regulations — Day-to-day rules on matters like parking, pets, noise and pool hours. Boards can usually change these more easily than the documents above.
5. Architectural Guidelines — Standards for exterior changes such as paint colors, landscaping, structures and fencing.

Pay particular attention to rental restrictions, pet rules, parking, exterior modification approvals, and any unusual use restrictions before buying.

The declaration and its amendments are public records you can pull from the county before you make an offer.

Reserve Fund Health

The reserve fund is the association's savings account for major future repairs such as roofs, paving and pool resurfacing. A well-funded reserve reduces the risk of a sudden large special assessment.

The law treats the two kinds of association differently. A Florida HOA doesn't have to keep statutory reserves unless its owners voted them in. Condo associations generally must budget reserves, and buildings three stories or higher need a structural integrity reserve study. See Florida Reserve Requirements and Florida Condo Milestone Inspections & Reserves.

How to evaluate it:

• Ask for the most recent reserve study, if there is one
• Calculate: current reserve balance ÷ fully funded amount = funding percentage
• As a rule of thumb, not a legal standard, 70% or higher is comfortable
• Below 50% suggests a higher risk of special assessments

Special Assessment History

Ask for 3–5 years of board meeting minutes. Special assessments can appear unexpectedly when reserves can't cover a major repair. Past assessments reveal:

• How the board manages finances
• What infrastructure has needed major attention
• Whether the pattern suggests future exposure

A history of repeated or large special assessments is a serious red flag.

Verify the Management Company

A paid manager of a Florida association with more than 10 units, or an annual budget over $100,000, generally needs a community association manager (CAM) license from the DBPR (§468.431, §468.432). Not every community has a manager. Smaller associations and those run by volunteer directors may not.

If the community has a manager, look up the license at myfloridalicense.com and confirm it's active.

Review the Board Meeting Minutes

Board meeting minutes reveal more than any brochure. Look for:

• Recurring maintenance issues, since deferred repairs compound
• Contentious meetings or frequent board turnover
• Special assessments that were proposed, voted on or recently paid
• How the board responds to homeowner concerns

Request at least 3 years of minutes. The statutory right to inspect records belongs to members, not buyers, so ask the seller to request them from the association for you. If the seller won't, treat that as a warning sign.

Check What's Owed Before Closing

A buyer is jointly liable with the seller for assessments that were unpaid when title transfers (§720.3085(2)(b), §718.116(1)(a)). An estoppel certificate shows what's owed, and you can rely on it. See Florida HOA Estoppel Certificates.

Buyer Due Diligence Checklist

Before closing on a property in a Florida HOA or condo, confirm you have:

• [ ] HOA disclosure summary, or the condo documents required by §718.503(2)
• [ ] Full governing documents (CC&Rs or declaration, articles, bylaws, rules)
• [ ] Reserve study, if there is one, and the reserve balance
• [ ] Last 3 years of meeting minutes
• [ ] Last 3 years of financial statements
• [ ] Any pending or recent special assessments
• [ ] Any pending litigation involving the association
• [ ] Management company name and license check
• [ ] Current assessment amount and history of increases
• [ ] Insurance coverage amounts, and for a condo the windstorm deductible
• [ ] Any rental, pet, or short-term rental restrictions
• [ ] Estoppel certificate

Statutory content on this page was last verified against the 2026 Florida Statutes on 2026-11-04. Confirm current statute text at flsenate.gov before relying on it.