Florida HOA Disputes for Homeowners in Miami and South Florida

Disputes between Florida homeowners and their associations turn on two sets of rules: the community's declaration, bylaws and rules, and the Homeowners' Association Act, chapter 720 of the Florida Statutes. Reiser Law, P.C. represents homeowners in disputes with their associations throughout Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties from our office on Brickell Avenue, in Florida state court and in the statutory mediation and arbitration processes. We also represent associations, and we run a conflict check before taking on any HOA matter.

If you own a condominium unit rather than a home in a homeowners' association, a different statute applies. Condominiums are governed by chapter 718, and our page on Miami condo special assessment and SIRS disputes covers the condominium rules.

What these disputes involve

A homeowner receives a violation letter for a paint color the neighbors have had for years. The board denies a pool or a hurricane impact door without saying which rule the plan breaks. The association refuses to produce its contracts and bank statements. A fine notice arrives with no hearing date. A collection letter adds attorney's fees to a small delinquency. An election is run in a way owners believe was rigged. Each of these has a statutory answer, and the details of the notice, the timeline and the governing documents usually decide who wins.

Records: what owners can demand

An association must keep its official records, including the declaration, bylaws, articles, rules, minutes, insurance policies, contracts, financial and accounting records, and election materials, for at least 7 years unless its governing documents require longer. Fla. Stat. § 720.303(4)(a) (2026).

The association must make records available for inspection within 10 business days after the board or its designee receives a written request. § 720.303(5)(a). Owners may copy records with a smartphone or scanner without paying a fee for using the device. Id. An association may adopt reasonable rules on inspection but may not require the owner to demonstrate a proper purpose. § 720.303(5)(g).

Sending the request by certified mail, return receipt requested, is not required, but it matters. If the association fails to provide access within 10 business days after receiving a certified-mail request, the law creates a rebuttable presumption that the failure was willful. § 720.303(5)(b). A member denied access is entitled to actual damages or minimum damages for the association's willful failure to comply, set at $50 per calendar day for up to 10 days, beginning on the 11th business day after the association received the request. § 720.303(5)(c).

Associations with 100 or more parcels must post key documents, including the governing documents, budget, financial report, a list of current contracts and bids, and meeting notices, on a website or mobile application with a protected owners-only section. § 720.303(4)(b)1.-2. Knowingly, willfully and repeatedly refusing to provide records, or destroying accounting records, with the intent of causing harm, and withholding records to avoid detection of a crime, are crimes under the statute. § 720.303(5)(d)-(f).

Fines and suspensions

A fine requires notice and an independent hearing. The board must give the owner at least 14 days' written notice of the right to a hearing, describing the alleged violation, the action needed to cure it, and the hearing date and location. Fla. Stat. § 720.305(2)(b) (2026). The hearing must be held within 90 days, before a committee of at least three members appointed by the board who are not officers, directors or employees of the association, or the spouse, parent, child, brother or sister of an officer, director or employee. Id. If the committee does not approve the fine by majority vote, it may not be imposed. § 720.305(2)(c).

Several protections favor owners:

  • Cure. If the violation is cured before the hearing, or in the manner the notice specifies, no fine or suspension may be imposed. § 720.305(2)(e).
  • Fine limits. Unless the governing documents provide otherwise, a fine may not exceed $100 per violation, and a continuing violation may not exceed $1,000 in the aggregate. § 720.305(2). A fine of less than $1,000 may not become a lien against the home. Id.
  • Timing of payment and fees. The payment date must be at least 30 days after the committee's written findings are delivered, and attorney's fees may not be awarded for actions the board took before that date. § 720.305(2)(d), (f).
  • No lockout. A suspension of common-area use rights may not cut off utilities or the owner's vehicle and pedestrian access to the home, including the right to park. § 720.305(2)(a).
  • Prohibited fines. An association may not fine an owner for leaving garbage receptacles at the curb within 24 hours before or after the scheduled collection, or for holiday decorations left up past the period the documents allow, unless they stay up more than one week after written notice. § 720.305(7).

Architectural review and what the association can regulate

An association may review and approve improvements only to the extent its declaration or published standards specifically state or reasonably imply that authority, and it must apply its standards reasonably and equitably to all owners. Fla. Stat. § 720.3035(1)(a) (2026). It may not regulate the interior of a structure that cannot be seen from the frontage, an adjacent parcel, the common area or a community golf course, and it may not require a government building permit as a condition of review. § 720.3035(1)(b)-(c).

When an association denies an application, it must give written notice stating the specific rule or covenant it relied on and the specific aspect of the proposed improvement that does not conform. § 720.3035(4)(a). If an association or committee unreasonably, knowingly and willfully infringes on an owner's rights under the statute, the owner may recover damages, including costs and reasonable attorney's fees. § 720.3035(4)(b).

Hurricane protection has its own rule. The board must adopt hurricane protection specifications that comply with the applicable building code and may not deny an application for hurricane protection that conforms to them. § 720.3035(6)(a)-(b). Separately, an association may not restrict owners from installing, displaying or storing items that are not visible from the frontage, an adjacent parcel, an adjacent common area or a community golf course, such as artificial turf, boats, flags, vegetable gardens, clotheslines and recreational vehicles, unless general law or a local ordinance prohibits the item. Fla. Stat. § 720.3045 (2026).

Assessments, liens and collections

When the governing documents authorize it, the association has a lien on each home to secure unpaid assessments. Fla. Stat. § 720.3085(1) (2026). The statute regulates how the association collects:

  • Late charges and interest. The late fee may not exceed the greater of $25 or 5 percent of the late installment, and interest runs at the rate in the documents, or 18 percent a year if none is stated. § 720.3085(3)(a).
  • Order of payments. Payments are applied first to interest, then to late fees, then to collection costs and attorney's fees, and only then to the delinquent assessment, regardless of any restrictive endorsement. § 720.3085(3)(b).
  • No attorney's fees without a first notice. An association may not charge attorney's fees on a past-due assessment without first sending, by first-class mail, a written notice of late assessment giving the owner 30 days to pay without fees. § 720.3085(3)(d).
  • 45 days before a lien. No claim of lien may be recorded unless the association first sends a notice of intent to record a claim of lien, by certified or registered mail and by first-class mail, giving the owner 45 days to pay. § 720.3085(4).
  • 45 days before foreclosure. A foreclosure action may not be filed until 45 days after the owner receives notice of the association's intent to foreclose. § 720.3085(5).
  • Contesting the lien. An owner may record a notice of contest of lien, which gives the association 90 days to file suit to enforce it. § 720.3085(1)(b).

Special assessments also require notice. Written notice of any board meeting at which special assessments will be considered must be mailed, delivered or electronically transmitted to members and posted at least 14 days before the meeting. Fla. Stat. § 720.303(2)(c)2. (2026).

Meetings, elections and recall

Notice of board meetings must specifically identify agenda items and be posted at least 48 hours in advance, except in an emergency, or mailed or delivered at least 7 days before the meeting. Fla. Stat. § 720.303(2)(c)1. (2026). Notice of the annual members' meeting must go out at least 14 days in advance. Fla. Stat. § 720.306(5) (2026).

A challenge to the election process must be commenced within 60 days after the results are announced. § 720.306(9)(a). Election and recall disputes are not eligible for presuit mediation; they must be arbitrated by the Department of Business and Professional Regulation or filed in court. Fla. Stat. § 720.311(1) (2026).

Owners can recall any director, with or without cause, by a majority of the total voting interests. § 720.303(10)(a). After receiving a written recall agreement or ballots, the board must notice and hold a meeting within 5 full business days and either certify the recall or, within 5 full business days after that meeting, file suit or petition the department for binding arbitration. § 720.303(10)(b), (d). If the board fails to hold the meeting, the recall is deemed effective. § 720.303(10)(f).

Directors must complete a department-approved education course within 90 days after being elected or appointed and must complete continuing education every year. A director who does not file the certificate on time is suspended from the board until he or she complies. Fla. Stat. § 720.3033(1)(a)-(b) (2026).

Presuit mediation

Many HOA disputes cannot go straight to court. Disputes over the use of or changes to a home or the common areas, other covenant enforcement disputes, disputes over amendments, board and committee meetings, members' meetings other than elections, and access to official records must first go to presuit mediation. Fla. Stat. § 720.311(2)(a) (2026). The requirement does not apply to the collection of assessments, fines or other amounts claimed due, and a party may seek emergency temporary injunctive relief without mediating first. Id.

The process starts with a statutory offer to participate in presuit mediation, served by certified mail and first-class mail. The other side has 20 days to respond, and if mediation is not held within 90 days of the offer, an impasse is deemed to have occurred unless both sides agree to extend. § 720.311(2)(b). The stakes for skipping the process are real: a person who fails or refuses to participate in the entire mediation process may not recover attorney's fees and costs in later litigation over the dispute. Id.

Lawsuits and attorney's fees

The association, or any member, may sue the association, another member, or a director or officer who willfully and knowingly fails to comply with the statute or the governing documents, for damages, injunctive relief or both. Fla. Stat. § 720.305(1) (2026). The prevailing party in that litigation is entitled to recover reasonable attorney's fees and costs. Id.

Fee shifting cuts both ways. An owner who wins can recover fees; an owner who loses may owe the association's. That risk belongs in every decision to sue, defend or settle, and it is one reason we look hard at the notices and procedures before recommending a course.

How we handle an HOA dispute

  1. Documents first. We review the declaration, bylaws, rules, architectural guidelines, the violation or collection notices, and the minutes of the meetings where the decision was made.
  2. Records request. If the file is incomplete, we send a written records request by certified mail so the statutory presumption is available if the association does not respond.
  3. Procedure check. We test each step the association took against the statute: notice periods, hearing committee composition, cure opportunities, fine caps and collection notices. Procedural defects often resolve a dispute without litigation.
  4. Mediation or demand. Where mediation is required, we serve the statutory offer. Where it is not, we send a demand to the board and its counsel.
  5. Litigation if necessary. If the dispute does not resolve, we file in Florida circuit court or pursue the arbitration route the statute provides.

What to gather before you call

  • The declaration of covenants, bylaws, articles and current rules
  • Every letter, e-mail and notice you received from the association or its manager
  • Photographs of the property and of comparable homes in the community
  • Any application you submitted to the architectural committee and the response
  • Your payment history and the association's account statement
  • Meeting notices, agendas and minutes you have access to

Questions clients ask

Does Florida's HOA law apply to my condominium?

No. Condominiums are governed by chapter 718, and homeowners' associations by chapter 720. The rules on records, fines, assessments and disputes differ in important ways.

Can my HOA fine me without a hearing?

No. The owner must receive at least 14 days' written notice of a hearing before an independent committee, and the fine cannot be imposed unless the committee approves it.

Can the association foreclose over a fine?

A fine of less than $1,000 cannot become a lien on the home. Assessments are different: unpaid assessments can support a lien and foreclosure after the required notices.

Do I have to mediate before suing my HOA?

For many disputes, yes, including covenant enforcement, records and meeting disputes. Collection disputes and emergency injunctions are exceptions, and election and recall disputes go to department arbitration or to court.

Can the association charge me attorney's fees on a late payment?

Not until it sends a written notice of late assessment and gives you 30 days to pay without fees.

Talk to us

Matthew W. Reiser and Isabella Martinez, based in Miami, are members of The Florida Bar and the State Bar of California. Isabella Martinez, a native of Colombia, is fluent in Spanish and is the firm's contact for Spanish-speaking homeowners. To discuss an HOA dispute, call (305) 726-2003, email matthew@reiserlaw.com or isabella@reiserlaw.com, or use our contact page. Our office is at 1000 Brickell Ave, Suite 1100, Miami, FL 33131. See also our Miami business litigation page and our litigation practice areas.

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