Hurricane protection used to be a board's prerogative. As of 2024, it is a board's obligation. Three pieces of legislation reset the rules: HB 1021 rewrote Florida's condominium hurricane-protection statute, HB 293 added a parallel framework for homeowners' associations for the first time, and HB 913 (2025) cleaned up the cost-allocation edges. The result is a regime where every Florida community-association board — condominium, cooperative, or HOA — must now adopt hurricane-protection specifications, must not deny a conforming owner installation, and operates under detailed cost-allocation rules that often surprise the directors enforcing them. Before each hurricane season opens, this is what a Florida board actually has to do.
This is general information about Florida community-association law and is not legal advice. Adopting specifications, drafting an installation vote, structuring an assessment, and handling owner-credit disputes should be done with your association's attorney. This guide covers condominium and cooperative associations under Chapters 718 and 719 and homeowners' associations under Chapter 720. The condo and HOA frameworks share a structure but differ in important particulars, all flagged below.
The 2024 reset: how the law changed
For decades, Florida community associations treated hurricane shutters and impact glass as an architectural-review matter dressed up with a vote. A board could install protection if owners approved; a board could regulate owner installations through architectural standards; an HOA's authority was whatever its declaration said. That world ended in 2024.
Three statutes did the work. HB 1021 (Chapter 2024-244, effective July 1, 2024) rewrote the condominium hurricane-protection statute at FS 718.113(5). HB 293 (Chapter 2024-205, effective May 28, 2024) added a parallel framework for homeowners' associations at FS 720.3035(6) — the first time HOA hurricane protection had its own statutory scaffolding. HB 913 (Chapter 2025-175, effective July 1, 2025) then amended the condo statute again, this time to settle who pays when hurricane protection has to come off so the association can make repairs.
The throughline of all three: boards no longer get to deny hurricane protection on aesthetic grounds, but they do have to take affirmative steps — written specifications, recorded votes, transparent cost allocation — that many had skipped for years. Every condo and HOA in Florida is now operating under these rules, regardless of when the community was created.
What counts as "hurricane protection"
Both chapters now define the term — and the definitions are deliberately broad. For condominiums, FS 718.103(19) (added by HB 1021) provides:
"'Hurricane protection' means 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."
For HOAs, FS 720.3035(6)(c) goes substantially further. The HOA definition expressly includes — in addition to shutters and impact glass — "roof systems recognized by the Florida Building Code which meet ASCE 7-22 standards, permanent fixed storm shutters, roll-down track storm shutters, impact-resistant windows and doors, polycarbonate panels, reinforced garage doors, erosion controls, exterior fixed generators, fuel storage tanks, and other hurricane protection products." That broader sweep matters for HOAs of single-family homes, where roofs, garage doors, and standby generators are real installation questions an architectural review committee handles routinely.
One common point across both chapters: the protection has to be code-compliant. Florida's building code — currently the Florida Building Code 8th Edition (2023), built on the ASCE 7-22 wind maps — sets the technical standards. In Miami-Dade and Broward counties, which together make up the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone, every glazed opening on new construction must be protected by approved impact-rated windows, doors, or shutters tested under TAS 201, 202, and 203 protocols. In the broader wind-borne debris region defined by Section 1609 of the building code, comparable opening protection applies. None of this is optional for new construction or substantial renovations — the question for most boards is what to do about the existing buildings.
Mandatory specifications — boards must adopt them
This is the change boards most often miss. Both chapters now require the board to adopt hurricane-protection specifications — it is no longer a discretionary act. The condo statute, FS 718.113(5), reads:
"Each board of administration of a residential condominium or mixed-use condominium must adopt hurricane protection specifications for each building within each condominium operated by the association which may include color, style, and other factors deemed relevant by the board. All specifications adopted by the board must comply with the applicable building code."
The HOA mirror in FS 720.3035(6)(a) is essentially identical: "the board or any architectural, construction improvement, or other such similar committee of an association must adopt hurricane protection specifications for each structure or other improvement on a parcel governed by the association." The word "must" was deliberate. A board that has never adopted specifications is in non-compliance with state law — and more practically, has no defensible basis to deny a non-conforming owner installation later.
Specifications are not architectural-review boilerplate. They should cover product type, color, mounting, anchoring method, finish, code certification, deployment rules, and any unified-building-scheme elements unique to the community. Once adopted, neither chapter lets the board reject a conforming installation. The HOA statute, FS 720.3035(6)(b), spells this out: the board "may not deny an application for the installation, enhancement, or replacement of hurricane protection by a parcel owner which conforms to the specifications adopted by the board or committee." The condo statute carries the same prohibition through the framework of 718.113(5)(d). Owners get the right to install — the board gets the right to set the standard. The trade is binding.
The condo board's authority and the vote
Once the specifications are adopted, the condo statute gives the board two paths to installation on the building itself.
Path one: majority vote. Under FS 718.113(5)(a), the board may install hurricane protection — or require unit owners to install — upon approval of a majority of the voting interests of the condominium. The vote is recorded in a certificate that includes the date the protection must be installed, and the board records the certificate in the county public records and mails or hand-delivers a copy to the owners. The statute is explicit that failure to record the certificate does not invalidate the vote, but recording is the safe practice.
Path two: no vote. The same statute carves out a meaningful exception: a vote is not required if the maintenance, repair, and replacement of hurricane protection is the responsibility of the association under the declaration, or if owners are required to install hurricane protection by the declaration. Many recent declarations already assign that responsibility — if yours does, the board can move on installation through its ordinary fiduciary authority without a fresh owner vote.
Two related points matter. First, the (5) framework expressly states that "the installation, maintenance, repair, replacement, and operation of hurricane protection in accordance with this subsection is not considered a material alteration or substantial addition to the common elements or association property within the meaning of this section." That carve-out is what frees boards from FS 718.113(2)'s default 75% material-alteration threshold — majority vote, not super-majority. Second, if compliant hurricane protection has previously been installed, the board may not install the same type over it — or require owners to install the same type — "unless the installed hurricane protection has reached the end of its useful life or unless it is necessary to prevent damage to the common elements or to a unit except upon approval by a majority vote." This is the no-duplication rule that protects owners who already paid once. Installation also runs through competitive bidding for contracts that cross the threshold, since hurricane-protection installation is a typical capital project.
Who pays: common expense, individual assessment, and the owner credit
Cost allocation runs through FS 718.115(1)(e). Where the declaration makes the association responsible for hurricane protection — or owners have voted under 718.113(5) to have the association install — the cost of installation, replacement, operation, repair, and maintenance is a common expense funded through assessments. Where the declaration places that responsibility on individual unit owners, the cost is not a common expense; it is charged individually to each owner based on the cost of installation appurtenant to that owner's unit, enforceable as an assessment under FS 718.116 if not paid — a structure that can drive a special assessment conversation if the work is substantial.
Then comes the owner-credit rule, FS 718.115(1)(e)2., and it is one of the most-violated provisions in the statute:
"Notwithstanding s. 718.116(9), and regardless of whether the declaration requires the association or unit owners to install, maintain, repair, or replace hurricane protection, the owner of a unit in which hurricane protection that complies with the current applicable building code has been installed is excused from any assessment levied by the association or shall receive a credit if the same type of hurricane protection is installed by the association."
Three things to pull out of that. First, the rule is mandatory — "shall." A board that fails to excuse or credit a previously-installed owner has violated the statute, not merely a community policy. Second, the credit is keyed to the same type of protection — impact glass for impact glass, accordion shutters for accordion shutters. An owner with old non-compliant shutters is not entitled to a credit against a new impact-glass installation. Third, the credited owner still pays a pro-rata share of any hurricane protection installed on common elements and association property by the board, and still pays a pro-rata share of ongoing replacement, operation, repair, and maintenance. The credit reaches the original installation, not the building's lifecycle costs.
The HOA framework: FS 720.3035(6)
Before HB 293 in 2024, an HOA's authority over hurricane shutters lived in the declaration and the architectural-review process. Boards routinely required ARB applications, restricted colors, and sometimes — in stretched readings of "unified appearance" provisions — tried to delay or deny shutter installations until a storm was already named. That posture is now untenable.
FS 720.3035(6) imposes the same mandatory-specifications-and-no-denial framework as the condo statute, with three meaningful HOA-specific points. First, the HOA "hurricane protection" definition is broader, reaching roof systems, polycarbonate panels, reinforced garage doors, exterior fixed generators, fuel storage tanks, and erosion controls in addition to shutters and impact glass. That means the same architectural-review process that historically governed shutter color now reaches a much larger universe of property-protection devices. Second, the HOA statute does not contain a 718.113(5)-style vote-and-install-as-common-expense path. HOA hurricane protection is generally an owner-installs, association-regulates regime — the board sets specifications, the owner installs at their own expense, the board cannot deny a conforming application. Third, the statute preserves the board's right to require adherence to "an existing unified building scheme regarding the external appearance of the structure or other improvement on the parcel" — so the board still has aesthetic leverage, just not the power to ban hurricane protection outright. Our architectural review guide covers the rest of the ARC framework that surrounds these rules.
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Removal and reinstallation costs (HB 913)
One of the messiest fact patterns in a condo is when the association needs to do a repair — replace a roof, restore stucco, repair a structural slab uncovered by a milestone inspection — that requires removing hurricane protection the owner installed years ago. Who pays for the removal and reinstallation? Older declarations were often silent. HB 913 (Chapter 2025-175, effective July 1, 2025) added a default rule:
- If the declaration is silent, the board decides whether the removal or reinstallation will be completed by the owner or by the association.
- If the association completes the removal and reinstallation, those costs may not be charged to the unit owner.
- If the owner completes the work, the association must reimburse the owner or apply a credit toward future assessments in the amount of the owner's cost.
- If removal and reinstallation is the owner's responsibility under the declaration and the association completes it anyway, the association may charge the owner — and the charge is enforceable as an assessment under FS 718.116.
The practical effect: an owner whose installed protection has to come off so the association can fix something is not stuck with the bill by default. The cost-allocation question now has a written answer in nearly every scenario — boards should make sure their counsel has folded the HB 913 framework into their standard maintenance and repair procedures.
Pre-storm deployment and post-storm removal
One question state law does not answer: when can owners actually close the shutters, and when do they have to come down? FS 718.113(5) and FS 720.3035 say nothing about the timing of deployment — the closest statutory rule is FS 718.113(5)(c), which allows a condo board to operate installed common-element protection without owner permission only when necessary to preserve and protect the property. For owner-operated shutters in private residences, the timing rules come from local ordinances and association rules.
Local ordinances vary widely: some Florida counties prohibit deployment except when a storm is pending and require removal within 30 days after the storm passes; others allow shutters on unoccupied units up to 30 days after the end of hurricane season. Association rules typically track or tighten the local floor. A few practical principles for a board drafting a deployment policy:
- Allow deployment as soon as a named storm threatens. A rule that bars deployment until a watch or warning is issued in the county is too restrictive — storms intensify quickly, and owners may be away.
- Require removal within a defined window after the storm passes. 7–30 days is the typical range, depending on local ordinance.
- Allow snowbird and unoccupied-unit deployment through the season with notice to the association — many declarations now do.
- Do not adopt a year-round deployment ban without a stated safety reason; a board that prevents seasonal deployment during the seasonal threat will lose any owner challenge that follows a storm.
The deployment-timing piece is also where pre-season preparation meets the broader hurricane-season readiness checklist — specifications and operating rules need to be in place before June 1, not negotiated after a watch is issued.
Insurance mitigation discounts
The financial argument for hurricane protection lives almost entirely on the insurance side. Under FS 627.0629:
"A rate filing for residential property insurance must include actuarially reasonable discounts, credits, or other rate differentials, or appropriate reductions in deductibles, for properties on which fixtures or construction techniques demonstrated to reduce the amount of loss in a windstorm have been installed or implemented. The fixtures or construction techniques must include, but are not limited to, fixtures or construction techniques that enhance roof strength, roof covering performance, roof-to-wall strength, wall-to-floor-to-foundation strength, opening protection, and window, door, and skylight strength."
The discount engine runs through the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation's Uniform Mitigation Verification Inspection Form (OIR-B1-1802), completed by a qualified inspector. Opening protection — impact-resistant windows, doors, and code-compliant shutters covering all glazed openings — is one of the highest-credit categories, alongside roof attachment, roof covering, and the secondary water resistance layer. For an association master policy on a building fully protected to current code, the savings on the wind portion of the premium are often substantial enough to recover a meaningful share of the installation assessment over a decade. This is the math boards should be doing alongside the construction estimate — the cost of installation is rarely the whole picture once premium savings are factored in.
Common board mistakes
Each of these is a recurring source of owner challenges and avoidable liability:
- Never adopting specifications. The statute uses "must." A board that has not adopted hurricane-protection specifications has no defensible basis to enforce conformity later.
- Treating installation as a material alteration. Applying the 75% threshold (or whatever the declaration sets for material alterations) when 718.113(5) makes it a majority vote — or no vote at all when the declaration assigns responsibility.
- Skipping the certificate. When an owner vote is taken, the certificate must include the installation deadline and be recorded in the county public records. Failure to record is not fatal to the vote, but it creates evidentiary problems.
- Denying a conforming application. Both chapters bar denial of a conforming installation. A "we don't approve shutters" posture is preempted.
- Failing to credit owners with pre-existing compliant protection. FS 718.115(1)(e)2. is mandatory; the credit or excuse from assessment is not a courtesy.
- Re-installing the same type over compliant existing protection. The no-duplication rule applies unless the existing protection has reached the end of its useful life or installation is needed to prevent damage.
- Charging owners for removal during association maintenance. Under HB 913, when the association completes the removal/reinstallation, the cost cannot be charged to the owner unless the declaration places that responsibility on owners.
- Adopting a year-round deployment ban. Aesthetics is a legitimate interest; preventing seasonal deployment during a named storm threat is not defensible.
- HOAs ignoring the 720.3035(6) duty. The HOA framework is recent (2024) and many boards still operate as though no statute existed. Adopt specifications now.
- Not running the insurance math. Boards approve assessments on construction cost alone and miss the premium savings that make the project pencil out.
Key takeaways
- Specifications are mandatory. Every Florida condo and HOA board must now adopt written hurricane-protection specifications — FS 718.113(5) for condos, FS 720.3035(6) for HOAs.
- Definitions differ. The HOA definition of "hurricane protection" is broader and includes roof systems, generators, garage doors, and fuel storage tanks alongside shutters and impact glass.
- Condo installation runs on majority vote — or no vote. Majority of the voting interests, recorded in a certificate; or no vote if the declaration already assigns responsibility to the association.
- It is not a material alteration. Code-compliant hurricane protection installed under 718.113(5) is statutorily excluded from the 75% material-alteration threshold.
- Owners with compliant existing protection get a credit. The board may not double-charge for the same type of installation.
- Conforming applications cannot be denied. Both chapters bar denial of an owner installation that conforms to the adopted specifications.
- HB 913 settled removal and reinstallation. Where the declaration is silent, the board decides who completes the work; if the association does it, the owner is not charged.
- Florida's insurance statute mandates mitigation discounts. FS 627.0629 requires insurers to recognize opening protection in rate filings — the savings are real and should be in every board's project math.
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