Florida Regulatory RequirementsWhat Florida requires of your condo or HOA — with the citations behind every requirement.
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Records Requirements for Florida Associations
Structural Integrity Reserve Study (SIRS)
A structural integrity reserve study (SIRS) is required for residential condominium buildings with three or more habitable stories. (FS 718.112(2)(g))
When it's due: Associations that existed on or before July 1, 2022 and are run by the unit owners rather than the developer had to finish their first study by December 31, 2025. An association that also has a milestone inspection due on or before December 31, 2026 may do the study at the same time as the milestone inspection, but no later than December 31, 2026. After that, a study is required at least every 10 years, counted from the date the condominium was created.
What the study must cover: The roof; the structure, including load-bearing walls; fireproofing and fire protection systems; plumbing; electrical systems; waterproofing and exterior painting; and windows and exterior doors. It must also cover any other item that costs more than the state's threshold to repair or replace, where letting that item fail would damage one of the systems on the list.
What the law requires the association to keep on file: the SIRS report itself, the engagement letter with the engineer or architect performing the study, the supporting reserve schedule, the board minutes adopting the study, the owner notice of adoption, and the corresponding reserve line items in the annual budget.
Statute: FS 718.112(2)(g). Online Sunshine: https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2025/718.112
Milestone Inspection
Condominium and cooperative buildings with three or more habitable stories must have a milestone inspection. (FS 553.899)
When it's due: By December 31 of the year the building turns 30, counted from the date the certificate of occupancy was issued, and every 10 years after that. A local building department may require the first inspection at 25 years instead, based on local conditions including how close the building is to salt water. If the local department accepted an inspection completed before July 1, 2022, the next deadline is 10 years after the date of that inspection.
What happens after the county writes to you: The local building department sends written notice by certified mail. The association then has 14 days to tell the unit owners and give them the date the inspection must be finished by. Phase 1 must be finished within 180 days of that notice.
What the inspection involves:
- Phase 1: a visual examination by a licensed architect or engineer.
- Phase 2: required only if phase 1 finds substantial structural deterioration that weakens the building — not surface problems like cracks, sagging or peeling paint, unless the architect or engineer decides those are a sign of something deeper.
Who is responsible for completing the inspection: The association, together with the owner of any part of the building that is not part of the condominium or cooperative. They arrange one inspection between them, and each is responsible for making sure it happens. The association pays for the parts of the building it maintains under its governing documents.
What the law requires the association to keep on file: the Phase 1 report, the Phase 2 report (if performed), the engineer or architect engagement letter, the local building official's filing, the board minutes addressing findings, owner notice of the inspection results, and any remediation plan or follow-up reports.
Statute: FS 553.899. Online Sunshine: https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2025/553.899
25-Unit Website Posting
A condominium with 25 or more units that has no timeshare units must keep a members-only website or app, and post a specific set of records there. (FS 718.111(12)(g))
When it started: January 1, 2026.
What must go on the site: Florida law lists 18 specific documents, from the declaration and bylaws through building permits, inspection reports and the reserve study. Each one has to be posted within 30 days of the association receiving or creating it.
Where the site has to be: The website or app must have a section that the general public cannot reach and only unit owners and association employees can. Owners get a username and password on written request.
If the association gets it wrong: The state Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes can investigate a complaint about website access. Failing to post something does not by itself invalidate a board decision.
Statute: FS 718.111(12)(g). Online Sunshine: https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2025/718.111
10-Day Records Request Response
A condominium association must produce its official records within 10 working days of a written request. An HOA has 10 business days. (FS 718.111(12); FS 720.303(5))
Where the records must be available: Within 45 miles of the property, or anywhere in the county where the association is. This does not apply to timeshare condominiums.
What a condominium must send with the records: A checklist, delivered at the same time as the records, listing every record made available and every official record that was not. Sending it creates a presumption that the association complied. The checklist must be kept for 7 years. HOAs have no equivalent requirement.
If the deadline is missed:
- Condominium: missing 10 working days creates a presumption the association willfully failed to comply. Damages run at a minimum of $50 per calendar day, for up to 10 days, starting the 11th working day after the request.
- HOA: the same presumption applies, but only if the request was sent by certified mail with return receipt. Damages are the same $50 per day, up to 10 days, starting the 11th business day.
Criminal exposure — the two chapters differ:
- Condominium: a director, board member or community association manager who willfully and knowingly or intentionally breaks the records rules commits a second-degree misdemeanor and must be removed from office. One violation is enough.
- HOA: the same people commit a second-degree misdemeanor only if they act knowingly, willfully and repeatedly, with intent to harm the association or its members. "Repeatedly" means two or more violations in 12 months.
Statutes: FS 718.111(12) (condo); FS 720.303(5) (HOA). Online Sunshine: https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2025/718.111 and https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2025/720.303
Reserve Funding (No Waiver)
For budgets adopted on or after December 31, 2024, owners of a condominium that must have a reserve study can no longer vote to skip or reduce funding for the items that study covers. (FS 718.112(2)(f)2)
What changed: Owners can no longer vote to fund less than the reserve study calls for, and they can no longer vote to spend the reserve money for those items on anything else.
Three exceptions:
- An association that runs more than one condominium may still vote for lower reserves, but only if the state Division has approved another way of funding those reserves.
- The board may pause or reduce reserve funding, but only while the local building official has found the whole building uninhabitable after a natural emergency. Funding must restart as soon as the official says the building is habitable again.
- For budgets adopted on or before December 31, 2028: an association that finished a milestone inspection in the previous two calendar years may pause funding for up to two budgets, to pay for the repairs that inspection recommended. It must have a reserve study done before funding restarts.
What the law requires the association to keep on file: the annual budget showing SIRS reserve line items at full funding, the reserve study supporting the schedule, any reserve transfer authorizations (movement of reserve funds between line items requires a member vote), and the board minutes adopting the budget.
Statute: FS 718.112(2)(f)2. Online Sunshine: https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2025/718.112
The hard part isn't finding Florida's records rules.
It's keeping them straight.
Two Florida laws set different deadlines for posting this document on the association's website.
This applies to condominiums with 25 or more units that do not contain timeshare units — the ones required to have a website.
When a condominium association receives its milestone inspection report:
- Section 553.899 allows 45 days to publish the report on the association's website — "unless a shorter period is otherwise required" (per Section 718.111(12)(g)1).
- Section 718.111(12) allows 30 days to post this report. This is the shorter period.
For this reason, it appears that this must be posted within 30 days. This is not legal advice.
A rule that was repealed is still being published.
Florida law used to require an inspection at 25 years for buildings within three miles of the coast. Current Florida state law (Section 553.899) requires the first inspection by December 31 of the year the building turns 30, starting from the date the certificate of occupancy was issued — but check your local building department, as some require an inspection at 25 years.
One threshold changes every January.
Check the year your source was published. Florida publishes an inflation-adjusted reserve threshold every January. The association's reserve study must cover a fixed list of building systems — roof, structure, fireproofing, plumbing, electrical, waterproofing and exterior painting, windows and exterior doors — plus any other item that costs more than that year's threshold to replace or repair and whose failure would affect the systems on that list. The threshold starts at $25,000 and the state raises it each year. Any source that states a fixed dollar amount is only current for the year it was published.
When published sources disagree, we go to the agency that wrote the rule.
Florida's county programs are not always documented consistently. When we find a rules conflict, we contact the county or city directly and update our system with what we learn.
What a complete records inventory covers
Florida's record-keeping requirements span more than just structural and financial documents.
Below are the 10 categories RecordSteward's Florida catalog tracks.
1. Governing Documents
The recorded foundations of your association: declaration, articles, bylaws, rules, and every amendment. These define what the association is, who governs it, and what owners are bound by. They never expire — but they must remain available on request and accurate to current recorded versions.
2. Financial Records
Adopted budgets, year-end financials, audit/review/compilation reports, reserve schedules, bank statements, paid invoices, and tax returns. Florida requires most categories retained for 7 years. Reserve schedules carry special weight for condos — SIRS-component reserves cannot be waived.
3. Meeting Records
Every board and member meeting must be documented: minutes, notices, agendas, ballots, proxies, voting certificates. Florida requires 7-year retention for most. Budget meetings carry a 14-day owner-notice rule for condos.
4. Ownership Records
Current owner or member roster, delinquencies, violations and fines, and sale/lease approvals. Most retained for 7 years. The roster itself must stay current to support the records-request response clock.
5. Structural records — SIRS and Milestone Inspection
Applies to condominium and cooperative associations, not HOAs. Buildings with three or more habitable stories must produce SIRS reports every 10 years and milestone inspections at 30 years, or 25 years where the local building department requires it, then every 10 years. Engineer credentials, board acceptance, and owner-distribution proof must all be on file.
6. Insurance
Property insurance with replacement-cost appraisal, general liability, D&O, fidelity bond, flood, and wind-mitigation coverage. Most policies refresh annually; condo replacement-cost appraisals refresh every 3 years.
7. Vendors & Contracts
Management agreements (CAM contracts), service contracts (elevator, pool, fire alarm), competing bids over the statute threshold, and certificates of insurance for every vendor working on common elements. Most contracts retained 7 years; bid summaries 1 year.
8. Government Filings
Annual filings with the State of Florida and the federal government: corporate annual report, DBPR Division registration (condo only), and federal tax return. Each refreshes annually. Missed filings expose the association to administrative dissolution.
9. Website Posting
Condo associations with 25+ units must maintain a password-protected records website effective Jan 1, 2026 (HB 1021). HOAs with 100+ parcels have a parallel requirement effective Jan 1, 2025 (HB 1203). Posted records must be kept current; an internal posting log is best practice.
10. Legal & Correspondence
Records-request logs, recorded liens, foreclosures, pre-litigation demand letters, and government-agency correspondence. The records-request log itself is an official record. Most categories retained 7 years; legal actions persist until satisfied or dismissed.
RecordSteward helps Florida associations understand and meet their records requirements
Each entry in RecordSteward's Florida catalog includes:
- The statute or rule citation
- The retention period
- The refresh cadence (annual, on-event, etc.)
- The stakeholder responsible (Board, CAM, vendors, etc.)
For every association you manage, RecordSteward shows you which required records are on file, which are missing, and which are in review. Status language is conservative: On File, Missing, In Review. Dates shown are reference dates only.
RecordSteward does not determine compliance, safety, insurability, or legal sufficiency.
Professional review is required for those determinations.
Condo vs HOA — the rules are different
| Topic | FL Condo (FS 718) | FL HOA (FS 720) |
|---|---|---|
| Records request response window | 10 working days | 10 business days |
| Records retention | 7 years for most categories | 7 years for most categories |
| Website posting requirement | 25+ units (effective Jan 1, 2026) | 100+ parcels (effective Jan 1, 2025) |
| Structural Integrity Reserve Study (SIRS) | Required for 3+ stories | Not required |
| Milestone inspection | Required at 30 years from CO, or 25 where the local building department requires it | Not required |
| Annual audit threshold | Revenue-based, tiered by association size | Revenue-based, tiered by association size |
| Reserve waiver | Prohibited for SIRS components | Permitted by member vote |
| Director certification | Required for new directors | Required for new directors |
| Board meeting minutes retention | 7 years | 7 years |
| Bank statements retention | 7 years | 7 years |
Records request response window
- FL Condo (FS 718)
- 10 working days
- FL HOA (FS 720)
- 10 business days
Records retention
- FL Condo (FS 718)
- 7 years for most categories
- FL HOA (FS 720)
- 7 years for most categories
Website posting requirement
- FL Condo (FS 718)
- 25+ units (effective Jan 1, 2026)
- FL HOA (FS 720)
- 100+ parcels (effective Jan 1, 2025)
Structural Integrity Reserve Study (SIRS)
- FL Condo (FS 718)
- Required for 3+ stories
- FL HOA (FS 720)
- Not required
Milestone inspection
- FL Condo (FS 718)
- Required at 30 years from CO, or 25 where the local building department requires it
- FL HOA (FS 720)
- Not required
Annual audit threshold
- FL Condo (FS 718)
- Revenue-based, tiered by association size
- FL HOA (FS 720)
- Revenue-based, tiered by association size
Reserve waiver
- FL Condo (FS 718)
- Prohibited for SIRS components
- FL HOA (FS 720)
- Permitted by member vote
Director certification
- FL Condo (FS 718)
- Required for new directors
- FL HOA (FS 720)
- Required for new directors
Board meeting minutes retention
- FL Condo (FS 718)
- 7 years
- FL HOA (FS 720)
- 7 years
Bank statements retention
- FL Condo (FS 718)
- 7 years
- FL HOA (FS 720)
- 7 years
RecordSteward sorts out these rules and conflicts for you.
Which county rules override the state rules? Which deadlines apply to my association?
RecordSteward incorporates the records requirements in the 2025 Florida Statutes that apply to each association's buildings, and provides you with what's required and when it's due.
See how RecordSteward can help manage your association's records
Know which records are on file, which are missing, and which need review
— all tied to the underlying statutes.
This page describes requirements in general terms and is not legal advice. See our Legal Disclaimer.