Most Florida community associations are governed by one of two state statutes: Chapter 718, the Condominium Act, or Chapter 720, the Homeowners' Association Act. They share a family resemblance — both create elected boards, dictate meeting notice rules, and impose financial reporting standards — but they diverge in material ways that decide who pays for a roof, when a lien expires, and whether a state regulator can investigate your board.
The cost of getting it wrong is real. A condo board that thinks it can waive reserves the way an HOA can may face a Division of Condominiums investigation. An HOA board that posts a 14-day notice for a special assessment but skips the contract attachment its lawyer told it about will discover the contract rule is a Chapter 718 requirement that does not apply to it. A buyer's title company that reads the wrong estoppel statute may overcharge a seller and have to refund the difference under the new HB 1203 rules.
This guide compares the two statutes across 18 compliance areas, walks through the five places boards most often confuse them, and summarizes what changed in 2024-2026. It is written for board members, CAMs, and engaged owners who need to know which rules actually apply to their community before they make a decision.
Why getting this right matters
Misidentifying which statute governs your association is not an academic mistake. It changes:
- Whether you must commission a Structural Integrity Reserve Study. SIRS is a Chapter 718 obligation under FS 718.112(2)(g) — it does not apply to HOAs.
- How a board election can be conducted. Condo elections under FS 718.112(2)(d) require written ballots and prohibit proxies; HOA elections under FS 720.306 generally permit proxies that expire 90 days after the meeting.
- What records you must publish on a website. After January 1, 2026, condos with 25 or more units must post records online; HOAs only have to do so at 100 or more parcels under HB 1203.
- Whether the Department of Business and Professional Regulation can investigate operational disputes. DBPR's Division of Condominiums has broad post-turnover jurisdiction over Chapter 718 associations; its authority over HOAs is limited to election arbitration and director education.
The mistake runs in both directions. Boards apply Chapter 718 rules to a Chapter 720 community and force a SIRS that is not legally required, build a website that statute does not mandate, or refuse to file a fining lien that Chapter 720 actually permits. The opposite mistake — applying Chapter 720 to a condo — is more dangerous because it is more likely to attract a regulator.
The fundamental difference: ownership
Everything else flows from this. Chapter 718 and Chapter 720 differ at the most basic level on what an owner actually owns.
In a condominium (Chapter 718), each owner owns a "unit" — typically the airspace and finishes inside their walls — plus an undivided share of the "common elements." Common elements are everything not within the units: structural components, conduits, building exteriors, hallways, elevators, the roof. The unit owners collectively are tenants in common in the common elements. The condominium association does not own the common elements; the owners do, and the association manages them on the owners' behalf. This is why a condo association cannot sell the roof or the lobby — the unit owners own those, fractionally.
In an HOA (Chapter 720), each owner owns a "parcel" — usually a fee-simple lot with a single-family home or attached dwelling. The HOA itself owns and maintains the common areas as a separate legal entity. Owners hold a membership interest in the HOA, not an undivided fee in common areas. The HOA can buy, sell, or pledge common areas (within the limits of its declaration) because it owns them outright.
This distinction shapes nearly every downstream rule. Because condo owners co-own structural elements, Chapter 718 imposes an aggressive insurance and reserve regime — Florida law cannot let the people who collectively own a 30-year-old roof choose to underfund it. Because HOA owners own only their parcels, Chapter 720 mostly leaves common-area maintenance to the declaration and lets owners decide how aggressively to fund reserves.
It also shapes liability. After a structural defect, condo owners are exposed because they own the defective common element. HOA owners typically are not, because the HOA owns the common-area asset that failed. This is why Florida's response to Surfside — SB 4-D in 2022 — created milestone inspections only for condominiums and cooperatives, not for HOAs.
Chapter 720 vs Chapter 718 side by side
The table below compares 18 compliance areas where boards most need to know which statute applies. Citations are to current Florida Statutes as of May 2026. For mobile readers, the table reflows so each row stacks the topic with its condo and HOA descriptions.
| Topic | Condo (Chapter 718) | HOA (Chapter 720) |
|---|---|---|
| Statute | FS 718, the Condominium Act | FS 720, the Homeowners' Association Act |
| What you own | Unit + undivided share of common elements (tenants-in-common) | Parcel + membership interest in HOA (HOA owns common areas separately) |
| Reserve study | SIRS mandatory every 10 years for buildings 3+ stories. Reserves not waivable post-2025 budgets. | No statutory reserve study. Reserves only required if developer set them up or members voted to establish. |
| Board education | 4-hour DBPR-approved course within 90 days of election; 1 hour CE annually. Certificate valid 7 years. | DBPR-approved course within 90 days; 4 hours CE per year (8 hours if 2,500+ parcels). Certificate valid 4 years. |
| Board meeting notice | 48-hour conspicuous posting + agenda. If approving a contract, the contract must be attached to the notice. | 48-hour conspicuous posting + agenda. No contract-attachment rule. |
| Board elections | Written ballot required; proxies prohibited in elections. | Proxies generally permitted; expire 90 days after the meeting; revocable at any time. |
| Membership voting | One vote per unit unless declaration weights otherwise. Quorum default majority unless bylaws lower. | One vote per parcel unless documents say otherwise. Quorum default 30%. |
| Records access | 10 working days. CAMs face $1,000/day penalty for late return after termination. Criminal penalty for destruction. | 10 business days. $50/day damages for willful failure (capped at 10 days). No statutory criminal penalty. |
| Website records posting | Required for buildings of 25+ units (effective Jan 1, 2026, lowered from 150 by HB 913). | Required for HOAs of 100+ parcels (effective Jan 1, 2025, under HB 1203). |
| Audit threshold | Revenue tiers: $150K compiled, $300K reviewed, $500K audited. HB 1021 narrowed waiver options. | Same revenue tiers PLUS audit mandatory for any HOA with 1,000+ parcels regardless of revenue (HB 1203). |
| Master insurance | Mandatory full replacement-cost policy. Independent appraisal every 36 months. Fidelity bond required. | Largely silent. Coverage driven by the declaration. |
| Pre-lien notice | 30-day pre-lien written notice required. | 45-day pre-lien written demand by registered or certified mail required. |
| Lien expiration | Lien expires 1 year after recording if foreclosure not commenced. | 5-year statute of limitations under FS 95.11 to file foreclosure. |
| Estoppel certificates | $299 base fee cap; $100 expedite; $150 if delinquent. 10 business days to deliver. | Same fee structure ($299 / $100 / $150) and 10-business-day delivery. |
| Fines | $100 per violation, $1,000 aggregate cap. Fines do not become a lien on the unit. | $100 per violation, $1,000 aggregate cap. Fines of $1,000+ can become a lien on the parcel. |
| Amendment threshold | As declaration provides; 2/3 default. Some matters require unanimous consent. | 2/3 default under FS 720.306(1)(b) unless documents specify otherwise. |
| Milestone inspection | Required for condos and co-ops 3+ stories under FS 553.899. Phase 1 + Phase 2 process. | Not applicable. FS 553.899 does not cover HOA-governed buildings. |
| DBPR oversight | Division of Condominiums has broad post-turnover authority over financials, elections, records, SIRS, and disputes. | Limited to election/recall arbitration and director-education program. |
| Pre-suit dispute resolution | Parties may elect DBPR non-binding arbitration or pre-suit mediation under FS 718.1255. | Pre-suit mediation under FS 720.311 mandatory for most disputes. |
Side-by-side comparison of Florida Chapter 718 (Condo Act) and Chapter 720 (HOA Act) as of May 2026, reflecting HB 1021, HB 1203, and HB 913.
Five places boards most often confuse them
The comparison table covers the headline differences. The list below covers the ones boards most frequently get wrong in practice — the ones we see come up in board minutes, attorney correspondence, and resident complaints to the DBPR.
1. "We voted to waive reserves" — what works for an HOA may not work for a condo
For decades, the unwritten rule for many Florida community associations was that reserves were optional: the developer could fund or not fund them, the membership could vote to waive them, and many boards used that flexibility to keep monthly assessments low. The 2022 SB 4-D and the 2024 HB 1021 closed that loophole for condominiums.
Under FS 718.112(2)(g), for budgets adopted on or after January 1, 2025, condo associations with buildings 3 or more stories tall cannot waive or reduce reserves for the eight structural items identified by the SIRS. Becker and other law firms covering the change emphasize that even a unanimous owner vote cannot waive these reserves. Non-SIRS condo reserves under FS 718.112(2)(f) — paint, paving, deferred-maintenance items over $25,000 — can still be waived by a majority vote at a duly called meeting.
Chapter 720 HOAs face a different regime. FS 720.303(6) only requires reserves if the developer initially set them up or if members affirmatively voted at any time to establish them. If neither has happened, the HOA has no statutory reserve obligation. If reserves do exist, they may be reduced or waived by majority vote at a member meeting. There is no "structural reserve" equivalent in Chapter 720.
If you are reading this as a condo board member who has watched your HOA neighbor down the street waive reserves and assume you can too, you cannot. For the full picture, see our deep-dive on the 2026 SIRS funding rules.
2. Records access — different timing, different penalties, different website rule
Both statutes give owners a right to inspect official records. The timing rules look identical until you read carefully:
- Chapter 718: 10 working days under FS 718.111(12). After HB 1021, CAMs face a $1,000/day civil penalty (capped at 10 days) for failing to return records within 20 business days of contract termination, plus license suspension. Knowing destruction of records is a first-degree misdemeanor; denial of access is a second-degree misdemeanor (HB 913 dropped the prior "repeated" violation requirement).
- Chapter 720: 10 business days under FS 720.303(5). Damages of $50/day capped at 10 days for willful failure, with a rebuttable presumption from a certified-mail demand. No statutory criminal penalty.
The website-posting threshold also differs. After January 1, 2026, condos with 25 or more units must post specified records online (HB 913 dropped the threshold from 150 to 25). HOAs with 100 or more parcels have had to post records online since January 1, 2025 under HB 1203. Roetzel has a useful breakdown of the condo-side changes; Sachs Sax Caplan covers the broader DBPR-enforcement piece.
If your association is on the cusp of the website threshold or is wrestling with a records-access dispute, see our guide to Florida HOA records-request rights and obligations.
3. Liens and foreclosure timelines diverge
This is one of the most expensive places to confuse the two statutes because the timelines run in opposite directions:
- Condo (FS 718.121, 718.116): 30-day pre-lien written notice. 45-day pre-foreclosure notice. The lien itself expires 1 year after recording if foreclosure has not been commenced.
- HOA (FS 720.3085): 45-day pre-lien written demand by registered/certified mail. 45-day pre-foreclosure notice. No 1-year expiration; the 5-year general statute of limitations under FS 95.11 governs filing the foreclosure action.
The practical effect is that a condo association has more pressure to move quickly — miss the 1-year window and the lien evaporates and must be re-recorded. An HOA can sit on a lien for several years (within the statute of limitations) while waiting for a sale or refinance to capture payment. Cobb Gonzalez walks through the timeline difference in detail.
4. Insurance — Chapter 718 is prescriptive, Chapter 720 is silent
If you have ever been frustrated by your condo's insurance budget, this is why. FS 718.111(11) is one of the most prescriptive insurance statutes in U.S. community-association law. It requires:
- A master policy based on full replacement cost.
- An independent property appraisal at least every 36 months to set the policy limits.
- Like-kind, like-quality replacement of original installations.
- Mandatory fidelity bonding for anyone who controls or disburses association funds, in an amount that covers the maximum funds in custody at any time.
Chapter 720 has nothing equivalent. Haber Law notes that HOA insurance is largely a creature of the recorded declaration; the statute imposes few floors. Some HOAs have robust common-area policies because their declaration requires it; others rely entirely on the master policy of a tennis-court vendor or pool-management contractor.
Translation for boards: when your insurance broker tells you that you "have to" do an appraisal every three years, ask whether you are a condo or an HOA. If you are an HOA and your declaration is silent, you do not. (You may want to anyway.)
5. Milestone inspections do not apply to HOAs at all
FS 553.899 — the milestone-inspection statute born from Surfside — covers condominium and cooperative buildings 3 or more habitable stories tall. It expressly does not apply to single-family or multi-family fee-simple buildings under 4 habitable stories. An HOA with three-story townhouses does not have a milestone-inspection obligation under state law, regardless of building age.
A surprising number of three-story-townhouse HOA boards in 2024-2026 have heard from neighbors or vendors that they need to do a milestone inspection by December 31, 2026. They do not. Their declaration may impose its own structural-inspection schedule, but the state statute does not. For the full picture of who is covered, see our milestone-inspection deadline guide.
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Recent 2024-2026 law changes that hit each chapter differently
The last three legislative sessions changed both chapters substantially, but rarely in parallel. Boards comparing themselves to a peer association across town need to know which session affected their statute and which did not.
HB 1021 (2024) — condos
Effective July 1, 2024, with phased provisions later. HB 1021 overhauled the condo side: revamped director education (4-hour course + 1-hour annual CE), expanded the official-records list, added the $1,000/day CAM penalty for record-return failures, criminalized records destruction and denial of access, broadened DBPR jurisdiction post-turnover, and required contracts to be attached to board-meeting notices when approval is on the agenda.
HB 1203 (2024) — HOAs
Effective July 1, 2024, with some pieces phased to January 1, 2025. HB 1203 was the parallel HOA overhaul: mandatory director education with annual CE hours scaled to community size, a website-posting requirement for HOAs with 100 or more parcels, a 15-business-day owner-debt accounting requirement, mandatory audited financials for HOAs with 1,000 or more parcels, restrictions on board fining authority, and prohibitions on certain hurricane-shutter and parking restrictions. Our summary of new Florida HOA laws walks through HB 1203 in more detail.
HB 913 (2025) — condos (SIRS relief)
Effective July 1, 2025. HB 913 was the practitioner-pushed relief bill on the condo side: extended the SIRS deadline by one year, raised the per-item reserve threshold from $10,000 to $25,000, allowed up to a 2-year pause to fund critical milestone-inspection repairs, added alternate funding via loans/lines of credit/special assessments by majority vote, exempted four-unit dwellings, and added a baseline-funding-plan requirement plus conflict-of-interest restrictions on inspectors providing follow-on repairs.
SB 4-D (2022) — condos and cooperatives
The original Surfside-response bill. Created the milestone-inspection regime under FS 553.899 and the SIRS framework under FS 718.112(2)(g). SB 4-D applies only to condos and cooperatives.
HB 657 (2026) — HOA termination (failed)
HB 657 would have created a streamlined HOA termination procedure (20% petition, two-thirds vote), introduced statutory Kaufman-language incorporation, created a Community Association Court Program, and eliminated pre-suit mediation under FS 720.311. It passed the House 108-2 on March 5, 2026 but died in Senate Rules committee on March 13, 2026 and was not signed into law. For the full story of HOA-dissolution mechanics under current law, see our guide on how to dissolve a Florida HOA.
Hybrid and master associations: when both chapters apply
Many large Florida communities are not pure condos or pure HOAs. They are master-planned developments with a master association governing common amenities (clubhouse, gates, roads, pools) and sub-associations governing individual neighborhoods or buildings. The sub-associations may be a mix of Chapter 718 condominiums (mid-rise buildings) and Chapter 720 HOAs (single-family or townhouse pods).
The general rule, traced to a 1991 amendment to FS 718.103: a master association whose members are exclusively condominium unit owners is treated as a Chapter 718 condominium association. A master association with mixed membership (condo unit owners + HOA parcel owners + commercial owners) is treated as a Chapter 720 HOA — even if a majority of its members live in condos. Kaye Bender Rembaum walks through the leading cases.
The practical effect is that boards in mixed communities frequently must comply with both chapters at different levels of the structure. A 718 sub-association inside a 720 master is the most common pattern. Each level operates under its own statute: the condo sub follows Chapter 718 for its records, elections, and SIRS; the master follows Chapter 720 for its records, elections, and reserve treatment. Confusion at the boundary is one of the most common reasons mixed communities end up in litigation. Arias Bosinger has a practical write-up on diagnosing your master.
If you are not sure which level you are on, the recorded declaration controls. Look for the title — "Declaration of Condominium" vs "Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions" — and the membership composition. When in doubt, retain counsel before passing any rule that depends on the answer.
How to determine which statute applies to your community
Most board members can figure this out in 15 minutes without a lawyer:
- Read the recorded declaration. If the title page says "Declaration of Condominium," you are governed by Chapter 718. If it says "Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions" or "Declaration of Covenants and Restrictions," you are governed by Chapter 720. The body of the declaration usually states the controlling chapter explicitly within the first few pages.
- Check the property appraiser. County property-appraiser records list each unit's type. Condo units are tagged as "Condominium" with a unit number under a parent building parcel. HOA parcels are tagged as "Single Family," "Townhouse," or similar with a standalone tax parcel ID.
- Search the DBPR condo registry. The Division of Florida Condominiums maintains a public lookup at DBPR Division of Condominiums. If your association appears, you are a Chapter 718 condo. If it does not, you are most likely a Chapter 720 HOA.
- Check the form of ownership documents you signed at closing. A condo closing produces a unit deed plus a declaration of condominium. An HOA closing produces a fee-simple lot deed plus a recorded declaration of covenants.
If after these four steps you still are not sure — most often because you are inside a hybrid master community — retain a community-association attorney. The cost of a 30-minute consult is far less than the cost of applying the wrong statute to a board decision.
Key takeaways
- Ownership model drives everything else. Condo owners co-own the common elements; HOA owners do not. That is why Chapter 718 imposes mandatory reserves, master insurance, and milestone inspections, and Chapter 720 mostly leaves those decisions to the declaration.
- SIRS, milestone inspections, and master-policy appraisal are condo-only. Chapter 720 HOAs are not covered by FS 553.899, FS 718.112(2)(g), or FS 718.111(11), regardless of building height or age.
- HOA fines can lien the parcel; condo fines cannot. Under FS 720.305(2), an HOA fine of $1,000 or more in the aggregate can become a lien on the parcel. Under FS 718.303(3)(d), condo fines never become liens, regardless of amount.
- Lien timelines run in opposite directions. Condos: 30-day pre-lien notice but a 1-year lien-expiration clock. HOAs: 45-day pre-lien notice but a 5-year statute of limitations.
- HB 1021, HB 1203, and HB 913 changed both chapters in 2024-2026 — but rarely in parallel. Make sure your compliance calendar tracks the statute that actually applies to you, not the statute your peer association is operating under.
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