Florida Governor Signs House Bill 1021 Into Law

Reporting on the latest legislative update, the Governor recently signed House Bill 1021 into law. This bill is 154 pages long, amends multiple Chapter 718/719, Florida Statutes sections, and adds to Section 468.4334/468.4335, Florida Statutes. The following are the most significant changes enacted by this bill:

CAM & CAM Firms Professional Practice Standards; Liability

Additional standards were added to the professional practice standards for CAMs and CAM firms. The more significant standards added include the following:

• Requires a CAM or CAM firm to return all community association official records within 20 business days after termination of a services agreement or a written request, whichever occurs first.
• Failure of a CAM or CAM firm to timely return all official records within its possession to the association creates a rebuttable presumption that such CAM or CAM firm willfully failed to comply.
• A CAM or CAM firm that fails to timely return the applicable official records to the association is subjected to.
  • suspension of its license under s. 468.436, Florida Statutes, and
  • a civil penalty of $1,000 per day (up to ten (10) days), which is assessed beginning on the 21^st day after the termination of a contractual agreement receipt or receipt of a written request from the association for the return of the records, whichever occurs first. Notice of termination can be sent by certified mail, return receipt request or in the manner required in the management contract (different time periods are established for a timeshare plan).

468.4334(3), Florida Statutes

CAM & CAM Firms Conflict of Interest

Associations often voice concerns about not knowing about certain business relationships between their management company and a specific vendor. To require disclosure of such relationships, the statutory provisions governing CAMs and CAM firms were amended to add conflict of interest reporting requirements and penalties for not abiding by such requirements.

• Requires disclosure of any activity that may reasonably be construed to be a conflict of interest by a CAM or CAM firm (including its directors, officers and persons with a financial interest in the firm, or relatives of such persons).
• If any of the following exist without providing prior notice, there is a rebuttable presumption that there is a conflict of interest:
  • Contracts for goods or services with the association.
  • Holds an interest in or receives compensation or anything of value from a business entity that conducts business with the association or proposes to enter into a contract or other transaction.

468.4335(1), Florida Statutes

• Adds a provision that if the association receives and considers a bid to provide a good or service that exceeds $2,500, other than CAM services, from a CAM or CAM firm (including its directors, officers and persons with a financial interest in the firm, or relatives of such persons), the association must also solicit multiple bids from other third-party providers of such good or service.

468.4335(2), Florida Statutes

• If a CAM or CAM firm (including its directors, officers and persons with a financial interest in the firm, or relatives of such persons) proposes that they engage in an activity that is a conflict of interest as described in subsection (1) above:
  • Such activity must be listed on the next board meeting agenda.
  • All contracts and transactional documents related to the proposed activity must be attached to such meeting agenda.
  • Disclosure of a possible conflict of interest must be entered into the written minutes of the meeting.
  • An affirmative vote of two-thirds of all directors present must approve the contract or other transaction with a possible conflict of interest.
  • The existence of the conflict of interest and the contract or other transaction must be disclosed to the members at the next regular or special meeting of the members.
• The new legislation includes an exception for existing management contracts that include disclosure by the CAM or CAM firms of a conflict of interest. However, upon any renewal of the management contract, the conflict of interest must be noticed and voted on in accordance with the newly established procedures addressed above.

468.4335(3), Florida Statutes

• Adds a provision that allows an association to cancel its management contract with the CAM or the CAM firm if the board finds that a CAM or CAM firm, including directors, officers, and persons with a financial interest in a management firm, or a relative of such persons has violated the statutory conflict of interest provisions.

468.4335(4), Florida Statutes

• Deems contracts between an association and CAM or CAM firm voidable under certain circumstances due to a failure to properly disclose a conflict of interest or possible conflict of interest and subjects them to termination upon the association filing a written notice of terminating the contract which contains the consent of at least 20 percent of the voting interests of the association.

468.4335(5), Florida Statutes

• The bill revises the disciplinary grounds for CAMs and CAM firms to provide a disciplinary ground on the basis of a CAM or CAM firm’s failure to disclose a conflict of interest as required by 468.4335, Florida Statutes.

468.436(2)(b)(7), Florida Statutes

Criminal Penalties

Fraud, theft, embezzlement and kickback schemes continue to be uncovered in associations throughout the state. This bill adds teeth to the criminal penalties for soliciting, offering to accept or accepting a kickback.

• Provides that an association officer, director, or CAM who knowingly accepts, offers to accept, or solicits a kickback commits a third-degree felony, is subject to a civil penalty and must be removed from office and a vacancy declared.

718.111(1)(a), Florida Statutes

• A director, member of the board, or CAM who knowingly, willfully, and repeatedly (“repeatedly” is defined as two or more violations within a 12-month period) violates any specified requirements relating to the inspection/copying of official records commits a second-degree misdemeanor, and must be removed from office and a vacancy declared.

718.111(12)(c)(2), Florida Statutes

• Any person who knowingly or intentionally destroys or defaces accounting records or fails to maintain or create accounting records specified in the official records section commits a first-degree misdemeanor, is subject to civil penalty, and must be removed from office and a vacancy declared.

718.111(12)(c)(3), Florida Statutes

• A person who willfully and knowingly refuses to release or otherwise produce association records with the 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 commits a felony of the third degree, and must be removed from office and a vacancy declared.

718.111(12)(c)(4), Florida Statutes

• An association and its officers, directors, employees, and agents may not use a debit card issued in the name of the association or billed directly to the association to pay any association expense. A person who uses a debit card issued in the association’s name or billed directly to the association for any expense that is not the association’s “lawful obligation” commits theft, and must be removed from office and a vacancy declared.

718.111(15)(b), Florida Statutes

• Creates new statutory provisions regarding fraudulent election voting activities and penalties. A person who engages in the following acts of fraudulent voting activity relating to association elections commits a misdemeanor of the first degree:
  • Willfully and falsely swearing to or affirming an oath or affirmation, or willfully procuring another person to falsely swear to or affirm an oath or affirmation, in connection with or arising out of voting activities.
  • Perpetrating or attempting to perpetrate, or aiding in the perpetration of, fraud in connection with a vote cast, to be cast, or attempted to be cast.
  • Preventing a member from voting or preventing a member from voting as he or she intended by fraudulently changing or attempting to change a ballot, ballot envelope, vote, or voting certificate of the member.
  • Menacing, threatening, or using bribery or any other corruption to attempt, directly or indirectly, to influence, deceive, or deter a member when the member is voting.
  • Giving or promising, directly or indirectly, anything of value to another member with the intent to buy the vote of that member or another member or to corruptly influence that member or another member in casting his or her vote. This does not apply to any food served which is to be consumed at an election rally or a meeting or to any item of nominal value which is used as an election advertisement, including a campaign message designed to be worn by a member.
  • Using or threatening to use, directly or indirectly, force, violence, or intimidation or any tactic of coercion or intimidation to induce or compel a member to vote or refrain from voting in an election or on a particular ballot measure.
  • Knowingly aiding, abetting, or advising a person in the commission of a fraudulent voting activity related to association elections.
  • Agreeing, conspiring, combining, or confederating with at least one other person to commit a fraudulent voting activity related to association elections.
  • Having knowledge of a fraudulent voting activity related to association elections and giving any aid to the offender with the intent that the offender avoid or escape detection, arrest, trial, or punishment. This does not apply to a licensed attorney giving legal advice to a client.

718.112(r)(1), Florida Statutes and 718.112(r)(2), Florida Statutes

• Establishes additional director or officer offenses, including charges or indictment with specific crimes, that result in the removal of the officer or director from office. If such a criminal charge is pending, the director or officer may not have access to the official records of any association, except pursuant to a court order, must be removed from office while the charges are pending and must be reinstated for the remainder of his or her term if the charges are resolved without a finding of guilt.

718.112(q)(1)(b), Florida Statutes

Official Records

Transparency is key to the operation of any association. While records requests are often a contentious topic, this law aims to create a balance between the timely delivery of information to members and making it easier for boards of directors and property managers to execute these requests by opening up the ability for the association to make the records available for download via a website.

• Provides that a condominium association may satisfy a request for access to records by making them available for download on the association website or through a mobile application.

718.111(12)(c)(1)(a), Florida Statutes

• An association must provide a checklist of all records made available for inspection/copying, which must also identify any official records that were not made available. This checklist must be maintained for seven (7) years. An association delivering a checklist creates a rebuttable presumption that the association has complied.

718.111(12)(c)(1)(b), Florida Statutes

• Amended, effective January 1, 2026, to require that condominium associations (which do not contain timeshare units) with 25 units or more, instead of the current 150 units or more, maintain digital copies of specified records on the association’s website or make such records available through an application that can be downloaded on a mobile device.

718.111(12)(g), Florida Statutes

• Requires associations to maintain additional accounting records (e.g., invoices and other documentation substantiating any receipt or expenditure).

718.111(12)(a)(11), Florida Statutes

• Adds copies of all building permits and satisfactorily completed board member educational certificates to the official records list, which must be maintained for at least seven (7) years.

718.111(12)(a)(11), Florida Statutes

• Adds language that the association must maintain the official records in an organized manner that facilitates inspection of the records by a unit owner, and incorporates a “good faith obligation” to obtain and recover, as is reasonably possible, any official records which are lost, destroyed or otherwise unavailable.

718.111(12)(b), Florida Statutes

Board Meetings

Keeping the transparency theme going, this bill aims to require associations to meet throughout the year to avoid complaints from members that their boards are not holding meetings and/or keeping them in the dark.

• A residential condominium association of more than ten (10) units is required to meet at least once each quarter, and the meeting agenda for at least four (4) board meetings each year must include an opportunity for members to ask questions of the board.

718.112(2)(c), Florida Statutes

• Adds language to the right to attend such meetings, such as a member’s right to ask questions relating to reports on the status of construction/repair projects, revenues/expenditures during the current fiscal year, and other issues affecting the condominium.

718.112(2)(c), Florida Statutes

• Adds a requirement that if an agenda item relates to the approval of a contract for goods or services, a copy of the contract must: (1) be provided with the notice; and (2) be made available for inspection and copying upon a written request from a unit owner or made available on the association’s website or through an application that can be downloaded on a mobile device.

718.112(2)(c)(3), Florida Statutes

Board of Director Education Requirement

Before this legislation was passed, all condominium directors serving on the board, newly elected or appointed directors, had to certify in writing to the association’s secretary that they had read the association’s declaration of condominium, articles of incorporation, bylaws, and policies 90 days after being elected or appointed. This written certification confirmed that they would work to uphold such documents and policies to the best of their abilities and would faithfully discharge their fiduciary responsibility to the association’s members. Alternatively, they could submit a certificate of completion after attending a state-approved board member certification course. With the adoption of this legislation, the new law provides that:

• Both an existing director and a newly elected or appointed director are required to submit both the written certification and a certificate of completing the educational curriculum.
• The division may also administer such an educational curriculum.
• Requires the educational curriculum to be at least 4 hours long and include instruction on specified topics (i.e., milestone inspections, structural integrity reserve studies, elections, recordkeeping, financial literacy and transparency, levying fines, and notice and meeting requirements).
• A director of a residential condominium who was elected or appointed before July 1, 2024, must comply with the new written certification and educational certificate requirements by June 30, 2025.
• The written certification and educational certificate are valid for seven (7) years after the date of issuance and does not have to be resubmitted as long as the director serves on the board without interruption during the seven (7) year period.
• A director who the developer appoints may satisfy the educational certificate requirement for any subsequent appointment to a board by a developer within seven (7) years after the date of issuance of the most recent educational certificate, including any interruption of service on a board or appointment to a board in another association within that seven (7) period.
• After the certificates are submitted, directors must annually submit to the association’s secretary a certificate of having satisfactorily completed at least one (1) hour of continuing education relating to any recent changes to this chapter and the related administrative rules during the past year. Such continuing education must be administered by the division or a division-approved condominium education provider.
• The association must retain a director’s written certification and educational certificates for a minimum of seven (7) years (instead of five (5) years) but may be required to maintain them for longer based on the duration of the director’s uninterrupted term.
• On the certification form provided by the division, the association’s directors must certify that each director has completed the new written certification and educational certificate requirements. This certification requirement does not apply to the directors of an association governing a timeshare condominium.

718.112(2)(d)(4)(b), Florida Statutes

Structural Integrity Reserve Study (SIRS)

While many were hopeful of seeing a change in the deadline for the SIRS requirement, this was not modified. The most significant change to this section included a requirement that the association provide owners and the division with notifications of the completion of the study.

• Within 45 days after receiving a SIRS, the association must distribute a copy of the SIRS to each unit owner or deliver to each unit owner a notice that the completed study is available for inspection and copying upon a written request.
  • The association must distribute a copy of the study or such notice by United States mail or personal delivery to the mailing address, property address, or any other address of the owner provided to fulfill the association’s notice requirements or by electronic transmission to the e-mail address or facsimile number provided to the association to fulfill the association’s notice requirements to owners who consented to receive notice by electronic transmission.

718.112(g)(9), Florida Statutes, 719.106(k)(9)

• Within 45 days after receiving the SIRS, the association must provide the division with a statement indicating that the study was completed and that the association provided or made such study available to each owner per the requirement provided in the section. The division will create a form posted on the division’s website for the association to provide this statement.

718.112(g)(10), Florida Statutes, 719.106(k)(10)

• Requires the division to create a database on its website by January 1, 2025, of the condominium and cooperative associations that have reported completion of their SIRS.

Section 29 of the Bill

Reserves for Uninhabitable Buildings

The only leeway given to associations related to the collection of reserves was buildings deemed uninhabitable by the local building official.

• The board, upon the approval of a majority of its members, may pause the contribution to reserves or reduce reserve funding if the local building official determines that the entire condominium building is uninhabitable due to a natural emergency until such time as the local building official determines that the building is habitable.
• Pursuant to the board’s determination, any reserve account funds held by the association may be expended to make such building and structures habitable.
• The association must immediately resume contributing to its reserves once the building official determines that the building is habitable.

718.111(12)(f)(2)(a), Florida Statutes

Hurricane Protection

The bill incorporates many statutory changes regarding hurricane protection, responsibilities of owners and the association and seeks to provide some certainty incorporating language that the hurricane protection provisions apply to all residential and mixed-use condominiums in the state, regardless of when the condominium is created pursuant to the declaration.

• Defines “hurricane protection” as hurricane shutters, impact glass, code-compliant windows or doors, and other code-compliant hurricane protection products used to preserve and protect the condominium property or association property.

718.103(19), Florida Statutes

• Requires the declarations of new residential condominiums and mixed-use condominiums to describe whether the owner or association is responsible for the costs of maintenance, repair, and replacement of hurricane protections.

718.104(4)(p), Florida Statutes

• Provides that the hurricane protection provisions in subsection (5) of Section 718.113, Florida Statutes, apply to all residential and mixed-use condominiums in Florida, regardless of when the condominium is created pursuant to the declaration.

718.113(5), Florida Statutes

• Provides that the installation, maintenance, repair, replacement, and operation of hurricane protection in accordance with the hurricane protection requirements is not considered a material alteration or substantial addition to the common elements or association property.

718.113(5), Florida Statutes

• Requires that a vote of the unit owners for the installation of hurricane protection must be set forth in a certificate attesting to such vote and include the date that the hurricane protection must be installed. The certificate must:
  • Be recorded in the county’s public records where the condominium is located.
  • Include the recording data identifying the condominium declaration, which must be executed in the form required for the execution of a deed.

718.113(5)(a), Florida Statutes

• Once the certificate is recorded, the board must mail or hand-deliver a copy of the recorded certificate to the unit owners at the owners’ address as reflected in the records of the association. The board may provide a copy of the recorded certificate by electronic transmission to unit owners who previously consented to receive notice by electronic transmission. The board’s failure to record the certificate or to send a copy of the recorded certificate to the unit owners does not affect the validity or enforceability of the vote of the unit owners.

718.113(5)(a), Florida Statutes

• The bill provides that if hurricane protection that complies with or exceeds the current applicable building code has been previously installed, the board may not install the same type of hurricane protection or require that unit owners install the same type of hurricane protection unless the unit owner installed hurricane protection has reached the end of its useful life or it is necessary to prevent damage to the common elements or the unit.

718.113(5)(a), Florida Statutes

• Allows the board to require that unit owners adhere to an existing unified building scheme regarding the external appearance of the condominium.

718.113(5)(c), Florida Statutes

• Regarding a unit owner’s responsibility for the costs of installation or removal of hurricane protection, the bill adds language in order to provide that a unit owner is not responsible for the cost of any removal or reinstallation of hurricane protection if its removal is necessary for the maintenance repair, or replacement of the condominium property or association property for which the association is responsible.
  • If such removal or reinstallation is completed by the association, the association may not charge the costs incurred to the owner.
  • If such reinstallation of removal is completed by the owner, the association must reimburse the owner for the cost or apply the cost as a credit toward future assessments in the amount of the owner’s cost to remove or reinstall the hurricane protection.
  • The board is responsible to determine if removal or reinstallation of hurricane protection must be completed by the owner or association.

718.113(5)(d), Florida Statutes

• If the removal or reinstallation of hurricane protection is the responsibility of the unit owner and the association completes such removal or reinstallation and then charges the unit owner for such removal or reinstallation, such charges are enforceable as an assessment and may be collected in the same manner as assessments under the statute.

718.113(5)(e), Florida Statutes

The bill deletes the requirement that the expense of installation, replacement, operation, repair, and maintenance of hurricane protection by the board constitutes a common expense and must be collected as a common expense if the association is responsible for the maintenance, repair, and replacement of the hurricane shutters, impact glass, code-compliant windows or doors, or other types of code-compliant hurricane protection pursuant to the declaration of condominium.

The bill provides, notwithstanding the limitation in s. 718.116(9), F.S., and regardless of what the declaration states about the responsibility of hurricane protection, an owner of a unit in which hurricane protection that complies with the current applicable building code that has been installed is excused from any assessment levied by the association or will receive a credit if the same type of hurricane protection is installed by the association. Credit is applicable if the installation of hurricane protection is for all other units that do not have hurricane protection and the cost of such installation is funded by the association’s budget, including the use of reserve funds.

The bill adds that the credit must be equal to the amount that the unit owner would have been assessed to install the hurricane protection. The bill adds language which states that expenses for the installation, replacement, operation, repair, or maintenance of hurricane protection on common elements and association property are common expenses.

Electronic Voting

Electronic voting has been an option for associations since the passing of the initial law in 2015. This change to the statute allows owners to consent electronically to online voting, and it requires a board that has authorized online voting to continue permitting owners who consented to online voting to cast votes using an online voting system at each subsequent member voting event unless the owner opts out of online voting.

• Allows a condominium unit owner to electronically consent to electronic voting, in addition to doing so by written consent. The bill requires a board that authorizes online voting to honor a unit owner’s request to vote electronically at all subsequent elections, unless such unit owner opts-out of online voting.

718.128(4), Florida Statutes, 719.129, Florida Statutes

Suspension of Voting Rights Due to Delinquent Monetary Obligation

This change focuses on giving owners enough warning to become current in payment to the association in an effort to avoid voting rights being suspended due to outstanding balances.

• At least 90 days before an election, an association must notify an owner or member that his or her voting rights may be suspended due to a nonpayment of any fee or other monetary obligation.

718.303(5), Florida Statutes

Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP)

Florida has adopted anti-SLAPP laws in the association context, which prohibit governmental entities, business organizations, and individuals from filing lawsuits, causes of action, claims, or counterclaims against a unit owner. The law did not specifically prohibit condominium associations from engaging in SLAPP suits; instead, the prohibition generally applied to governmental entities, business organizations, and individuals. The new law clarifies that a condominium association cannot engage in SLAPP suits.

• Specifically prohibits condominium associations from:
  • Retaliating against a unit owner by imposing or threatening:
    • A fine;
    • An increase in a unit’s assessments;
    • Discriminatorily decrease services to an owner;
    • To bring or bringing an action for possession; or
    • other civil action, including a defamation, libel, slander, or tortious interference action.
  • Prohibits association from spending association funds in support of defamation, libel, or tortious interference actions against a unit owner or any other claim against a unit owner based on certain described conduct listed in the statute.

718.1224(1), Florida Statutes, 718.1224(3), Florida Statutes, 718.1224(7), Florida Statutes

• Allows a unit owner to present evidence of retaliatory conduct as a defense in any action brought against him or her for possession. The bill provides that a unit owner may use the defense of retaliatory conduct if the unit owner acted in good faith and not for any improper purposes. The bill provides that an improper purpose includes:
  • Harassment;
  • Cause unnecessary delay or for frivolous purpose; or
  • Needless increase in the cost of litigation.

718.1224(4), Florida Statutes

• Provides examples of conduct for which a condominium association, an officer, a director, or an agent of an association are prohibited from retaliating include, but are not limited to, situations in which:
  • The unit owner has, in good faith, complained to a governmental agency charged with responsibility for enforcement of a building, housing, or health code of a suspected violation applicable to the condominium;
  • The unit owner has organized, encouraged, or participated in a unit owners’ organization;
  • The unit owner submitted information or filed a complaint alleging criminal violations or violations of the Condominium Act or rules of the division with:
    • The division;
    • Office of the Condominium Ombudsman;
    • A law enforcement agency;
    • A state attorney;
    • The Attorney General; or
    • Any other governmental agency.
  • The unit owner has exercised his or her rights under the Condominium Act;
  • The unit owner has complained to the association or any of the association’s representatives for the failure to comply with the Condominium Act or Corporations Not For Profit Act; or
  • The unit owner has made public statements critical of the operation or management of the association.

718.1224(3)(a-f), Florida Statutes

Office of the Condominium Ombudsman

The Office of the Condominium Ombudsman is a neutral resource for unit owners, board members, condominium associations and others. Prior to this bill, the Ombudsman was required to be an attorney appointed by the Governor charged with certain duties, including but not limited to preparing and issuing certain reports, acting as a liaison between the division, board of directors, and owners, monitoring and reviewing procedures and disputes concerning elections and meetings, etc. The new law makes two major changes to this section.

• The Secretary of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, instead of the Governor, shall appoint the ombudsman.
• The ombudsman no longer has to be an attorney.

718.5011(2), Florida Statutes

Limitations on Actions by Condominium and Cooperative Associations

The statute of limitations for any actions in law or equity that a condominium association or a cooperative association may have does not begin to run until the unit owners have elected a majority of the members of the board of administration. Before, the “statute of repose” language was not included in the section. The bill includes a major change in the law to now provide that:

• The statute of repose is included in section 718.124, F.S., so that the statute of repose also begins to run once the unit owners elect the association board.

718.124, Florida Statutes

Mixed-Use Condominiums

There are a number of different types of condominiums. Various components make up a condominium’s common elements. “Common elements” are defined in the Condominium Act. However, classifying or understanding what constitutes a portion of the common elements can be difficult, as a condominium’s declaration may define or declare other parts of the condominium to qualify as common elements and portions of the condominium that are not considered common elements. For example, in a recent decision by the Florida Third District Court of Appeals involving a mixed-use condominium comprised of residential units and a hotel, the court held that the declaration of condominium had impermissibly divested a unit of its undivided share of the common elements by designating certain portions of the condominium property as “shared facilities.” The “shared facilities” included the balconies, lobby, elevators, and the infrastructure for utilities, such as wires and pipes. Even though the residential unit owners did not have a common ownership interest in the “shared facilities,” the declaration burdened the residential unit owners, instead of the owner of the hotel, with expenses incurred by the owner of the hotel for the maintenance, repair, replacement, improvement, management, and operation of the shared facilities. The court held that the recharacterization of common elements as “shared facilities” owned by the hotel in the condominium declaration was contrary to the Condominium Act.

This bill incorporates many new changes, including the following:

• Revises the definition of condominium property to mean the lands, leaseholds, improvements, any personal property, and all easements and rights appurtenant thereto, regardless of whether contiguous, which are subjected to condominium ownership.

718.103(14), Florida Statutes

• Provides that condominiums created within a portion of a building or within a multiple-parcel building must include the name by which the condominium is to be identified and be followed by “a condominium within a portion of a building or within a multiple-parcel building.”

718.104(4)(b), Florida Statutes

• Allows a condominium to be created within a portion of a building or within a multiple-parcel building.

718.407(1), Florida Statutes

• Provides that common elements of a condominium created within a portion of a building or a multiple-parcel building are only those portions of the building submitted to the condominium form of ownership, excluding the units of such condominium.

718.407(2), Florida Statutes

• Provides that a declaration of condominium that creates a condominium within a portion of a building or within a multiple-parcel building, the recorded instrument that creates the multiple- parcel building, or any other applicable recorded instrument to specify the following:
  • The portions of the building which are included in the condominium and the portions of the building which are excluded.
  • The party responsible for maintaining and operating those portions of the building, which are shared facilities, which may include, among other things, the roof, the exterior of the building, windows, balconies, elevators, the building lobby, corridors, recreational amenities, and utilities.
  • The party responsible for collecting the shared expenses.
  • The rights and remedies that are available to enforce payment of the shared expenses.
  • The manner in which the expenses for the maintenance of the shared facilities will be apportioned.

718.407(3), Florida Statutes

• Provides that an owner of a portion of a building which is not submitted to condominium form of ownership, or the condominium association, as applicable to the portion of the building submitted condominium form of ownership, must approve any increase in the apportionment of expenses to such portion of the building. The apportionment of the expenses for the maintenance and operation of the shared facilities may be based on any of the following criteria or any combination:
  • The area of volume of each portion of the building in relation to the total area or volume of the entire building, exclusive of the shared facilities.
  • The initial estimated market value of each portion of the building in comparison to the total initial estimated market value of the entire building.
  • The extent to which the owners are permitted to use various shared facilities.

718.407(3)(c), Florida Statutes

• Allows an alternative apportionment of expenses if it is stated in the applicable recorded document.

718.407(3)(c)(2) Florida Statutes

• Permits an applicable condominium to inspect and copy the books and records upon which the costs for maintaining and operating the shared facilities are based and to receive an annual budget with respect to such costs.

718.407(4) Florida Statutes

• Requires each sale contract of a unit in a condominium within a portion of a building or within a multiple parcel building to include a disclosure summary. The disclosure summary must include:
  • That the unit is within a portion of a building or within a multiple-parcel building, and that the common elements of the condominium consist only of the portions of the building that are submitted to the condominium.
  • Acknowledgements from the buyer that:
    • The unit may have minimal common elements;
    • Portions of the building that are not subject to the condominium ownership are governed by a separate record instrument.
    • The party that controls the maintenance and operation of the portions of the building that are not included in the condominium determines the budget for the operation and maintenance of such portions. However, the condominium association and unit owners are still responsible for their share of such expenses.
    • The cost distribution between the unit owners and the owner of the portions of the building that are not a condominium to maintain and operate portions of the building that are not part of condominium can be found in the declaration of the condominium or other recorded instrument.

718.407(5), Florida Statutes

• Clarifies that the creation of a multiple-parcel building is not a subdivision of the land upon which such building is located provided the land itself is not subdivided.

718.407(6), Florida Statutes

*Incorporates language that these provisions are intended to clarify existing law and apply retroactively, except that such amendments do not revive or reinstate any right or interest that has been fully and finally adjudicated as invalid before October 1, 2024.

We will continue to provide updates on new legislation on our blog. Please get in touch with us with any questions on these updates.