For Homeowners & Residents

Your rights as a Florida HOA resident — how to attend board meetings, run for the board, challenge violations, request records, and resolve disputes.

• Attending and speaking at board meetings
• Running for the board
• How to challenge a fine or violation
• Requesting HOA records in writing
• Florida's free dispute resolution program

Your right to inspect HOA records under Florida Statute 720.303 — what's accessible, the 10-business-day deadline, what's off-limits, and what to do if the board refuses.

• What records you're entitled to see
• The 10-business-day response rule
• Records the association may withhold
• Penalties for a board that refuses
• How to write an effective request

How to resolve a dispute with your Florida HOA — internal appeals, mandatory pre-suit mediation and arbitration, the DBPR, and when to go to court.

• Start with the internal process
• Mandatory pre-suit mediation for many disputes
• Condo arbitration through the DBPR
• Recall and election disputes
• When court or small claims makes sense

How to tell whether a Florida HOA rule is actually enforceable — the four-part test, the rules statute overrides, selective enforcement, and what to do next.

• The four-part test for whether a rule is enforceable
• Rules Florida statute overrides outright
• How selective enforcement makes a valid rule unenforceable
• Rules that were never properly adopted
• What to do when you think a rule is unenforceable

What actually happens if you don't pay a Florida HOA fine — the fine cap, why fines under $1,000 can't become a lien, and how that differs from unpaid assessments.

• Why unpaid fines and unpaid assessments are completely different
• The most a Florida HOA can fine you
• Why a fine under $1,000 cannot become a lien
• The step-by-step escalation timeline
• How to challenge a fine before it grows

Parking, pets, rentals, solar, flags and more — what a Florida HOA is allowed to restrict, what state law protects, and how to tell the difference.

• The general test for whether a restriction is valid
• Parking and vehicles — what HB 1203 changed
• Pets, rentals, and short-term lets
• Solar, flags, and hurricane protection the law protects
• When a restriction is in your declaration but not in statute