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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to condominium associations; amending 2
s. 718.111, F.S.; authorizing the person or entity 3
completing the financial report for an association to 4
rely on a specified inspection report; restricting an 5
association from waiving a financial report for more 6
than a specified period; amending s. 718.112, F.S.; 7
requiring an association to provide a candidate's 8
certification form to unit owners for specified 9
purposes; amending s. 718.113, F.S.; requiring the 10
board to have certain condominium buildings inspected 11
every 5 years by an architect or engineer; requiring 12
the architect or engineer to provide a certain report 13
back to the board; providing an exception; providing 14
an effective date. 15
16
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 17
18
Section 1. Subsection (13) of section 718.111, Florida 19
Statutes, is amended to read: 20
718.111 The association. — 21
(13) FINANCIAL REPORTING. —Within 90 days after the end of 22
the fiscal year, or annually on a date provided in the bylaws, 23
the association shall prepare and complete, or contract for the 24
preparation and completion of, a financial report for the 25
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preceding fiscal year. Within 21 days after the final fin ancial 26
report is completed by the association or received from the 27
third party, but not later than 120 days after the end of the 28
fiscal year or other date as provided in the bylaws, the 29
association shall mail to each unit owner at the address last 30
furnished to the association by the unit owner, or hand deliver 31
to each unit owner, a copy of the most recent financial report 32
or a notice that a copy of the most recent financial report will 33
be mailed or hand delivered to the unit owner, without charge, 34
within 5 business days after receipt of a written request from 35
the unit owner. The division shall adopt rules setting forth 36
uniform accounting principles and standards to be used by all 37
associations and addressing the financial reporting requirements 38
for multicondominium associations. The rules must include, but 39
not be limited to, standards for presenting a summary of 40
association reserves, including a good faith estimate disclosing 41
the annual amount of reserve funds that would be necessary for 42
the association to ful ly fund reserves for each reserve item 43
based on the straight -line accounting method. This disclosure is 44
not applicable to reserves funded via the pooling method. The 45
person or entity preparing the financial report may rely on an 46
inspection report prepared for or provided to the association to 47
meet the fiscal and fiduciary standards of this chapter. In 48
adopting such rules, the division shall consider the number of 49
members and annual revenues of an association. Financial reports 50
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shall be prepared as follows: 51
(a) An association that meets the criteria of this 52
paragraph shall prepare a complete set of financial statements 53
in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. The 54
financial statements must be based upon the association's total 55
annual revenues, as follows: 56
1. An association with total annual revenues of $150,000 57
or more, but less than $300,000, shall prepare compiled 58
financial statements. 59
2. An association with total annual revenues of at least 60
$300,000, but less than $500,000, shall pr epare reviewed 61
financial statements. 62
3. An association with total annual revenues of $500,000 63
or more shall prepare audited financial statements. 64
(b)1. An association with total annual revenues of less 65
than $150,000 shall prepare a report of cash recei pts and 66
expenditures. 67
2. A report of cash receipts and disbursements must 68
disclose the amount of receipts by accounts and receipt 69
classifications and the amount of expenses by accounts and 70
expense classifications, including, but not limited to, the 71
following, as applicable: costs for security, professional and 72
management fees and expenses, taxes, costs for recreation 73
facilities, expenses for refuse collection and utility services, 74
expenses for lawn care, costs for building maintenance and 75
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repair, insurance costs, administration and salary expenses, and 76
reserves accumulated and expended for capital expenditures, 77
deferred maintenance, and any other category for which the 78
association maintains reserves. 79
(c) An association may prepare, without a meeting of o r 80
approval by the unit owners: 81
1. Compiled, reviewed, or audited financial statements, if 82
the association is required to prepare a report of cash receipts 83
and expenditures; 84
2. Reviewed or audited financial statements, if the 85
association is required to prepare compiled financial 86
statements; or 87
3. Audited financial statements if the association is 88
required to prepare reviewed financial statements. 89
(d) If approved by a majority of the voting interests 90
present at a properly called meeting of the association, an 91
association may prepare: 92
1. A report of cash receipts and expenditures in lieu of a 93
compiled, reviewed, or audited financial statement; 94
2. A report of cash receipts and expenditures or a 95
compiled financial statement in lieu of a reviewe d or audited 96
financial statement; or 97
3. A report of cash receipts and expenditures, a compiled 98
financial statement, or a reviewed financial statement in lieu 99
of an audited financial statement. 100
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101
Such meeting and approval must occur before the end of the 102
fiscal year and is effective only for the fiscal year in which 103
the vote is taken, except that the approval may also be 104
effective for the following fiscal year. If the developer has 105
not turned over control of the association, all unit owners, 106
including the developer, may vote on issues related to the 107
preparation of the association's financial reports, from the 108
date of incorporation of the association through the end of the 109
second fiscal year after the fiscal year in which the 110
certificate of a surveyor and map per is recorded pursuant to s. 111
718.104(4)(e) or an instrument that transfers title to a unit in 112
the condominium which is not accompanied by a recorded 113
assignment of developer rights in favor of the grantee of such 114
unit is recorded, whichever occurs first. Thereafter, all unit 115
owners except the developer may vote on such issues until 116
control is turned over to the association by the developer. Any 117
audit or review prepared under this section shall be paid for by 118
the developer if done before turnover of control of the 119
association. An association may not waive the financial 120
reporting requirements of this subsection for more than 3 121
consecutive years. 122
(e) A unit owner may provide written notice to the 123
division of the association's failure to mail or hand deliver 124
him or her a copy of the most recent financial report within 5 125
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business days after he or she submitted a written request to the 126
association for a copy of such report. If the division 127
determines that the association failed to mail or hand deliver a 128
copy of the most recent financial report to the unit owner, the 129
division shall provide written notice to the association that 130
the association must mail or hand deliver a copy of the most 131
recent financial report to the unit owner and the division 132
within 5 business days after it receives such notice from the 133
division. An association that fails to comply with the 134
division's request may not waive the financial reporting 135
requirement provided in paragraph (d) for the fiscal year in 136
which the unit owner's request was made and the following fiscal 137
year. A financial report received by the division pursuant to 138
this paragraph shall be maintained, and the division shall 139
provide a copy of such report to an association member upon his 140
or her request. 141
Section 2. Paragraph (d) of subsection (2) of section 142
718.112, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 143
718.112 Bylaws.— 144
(2) REQUIRED PROVISIONS. —The bylaws shall provide for the 145
following and, if they do not do so, shall be deemed to include 146
the following: 147
(d) Unit owner meeti ngs.— 148
1. An annual meeting of the unit owners must be held at 149
the location provided in the association bylaws and, if the 150
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bylaws are silent as to the location, the meeting must be held 151
within 45 miles of the condominium property. However, such 152
distance requirement does not apply to an association governing 153
a timeshare condominium. 154
2. Unless the bylaws provide otherwise, a vacancy on the 155
board caused by the expiration of a director's term must be 156
filled by electing a new board member, and the election mu st be 157
by secret ballot. An election is not required if the number of 158
vacancies equals or exceeds the number of candidates. For 159
purposes of this paragraph, the term "candidate" means an 160
eligible person who has timely submitted the written notice, as 161
described in sub-subparagraph 4.a., of his or her intention to 162
become a candidate. Except in a timeshare or nonresidential 163
condominium, or if the staggered term of a board member does not 164
expire until a later annual meeting, or if all members' terms 165
would otherwise expire but there are no candidates, the terms of 166
all board members expire at the annual meeting, and such members 167
may stand for reelection unless prohibited by the bylaws. Board 168
members may serve terms longer than 1 year if permitted by the 169
bylaws or articles of incorporation. A board member may not 170
serve more than 8 consecutive years unless approved by an 171
affirmative vote of unit owners representing two -thirds of all 172
votes cast in the election or unless there are not enough 173
eligible candidates to fill t he vacancies on the board at the 174
time of the vacancy. Only board service that occurs on or after 175
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July 1, 2018, may be used when calculating a board member's term 176
limit. If the number of board members whose terms expire at the 177
annual meeting equals or excee ds the number of candidates, the 178
candidates become members of the board effective upon the 179
adjournment of the annual meeting. Unless the bylaws provide 180
otherwise, any remaining vacancies shall be filled by the 181
affirmative vote of the majority of the direct ors making up the 182
newly constituted board even if the directors constitute less 183
than a quorum or there is only one director. In a residential 184
condominium association of more than 10 units or in a 185
residential condominium association that does not include 186
timeshare units or timeshare interests, co -owners of a unit may 187
not serve as members of the board of directors at the same time 188
unless they own more than one unit or unless there are not 189
enough eligible candidates to fill the vacancies on the board at 190
the time of the vacancy. A unit owner in a residential 191
condominium desiring to be a candidate for board membership must 192
comply with sub-subparagraph 4.a. and must be eligible to be a 193
candidate to serve on the board of directors at the time of the 194
deadline for submitting a notice of intent to run in order to 195
have his or her name listed as a proper candidate on the ballot 196
or to serve on the board. A person who has been suspended or 197
removed by the division under this chapter, or who is delinquent 198
in the payment of any assessment due to the association, is not 199
eligible to be a candidate for board membership and may not be 200
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listed on the ballot. For purposes of this paragraph, a person 201
is delinquent if a payment is not made by the due date as 202
specifically identified in the declaration of condominium, 203
bylaws, or articles of incorporation. If a due date is not 204
specifically identified in the declaration of condominium, 205
bylaws, or articles of incorporation, the due date is the first 206
day of the assessment period. A person who has been convicted of 207
any felony in this state or in a United States District or 208
Territorial Court, or who has been convicted of any offense in 209
another jurisdiction which would be considered a felony if 210
committed in this state, is not eligible for board m embership 211
unless such felon's civil rights have been restored for at least 212
5 years as of the date such person seeks election to the board. 213
The validity of an action by the board is not affected if it is 214
later determined that a board member is ineligible fo r board 215
membership due to having been convicted of a felony. This 216
subparagraph does not limit the term of a member of the board of 217
a nonresidential or timeshare condominium. 218
3. The bylaws must provide the method of calling meetings 219
of unit owners, includ ing annual meetings. Written notice of an 220
annual meeting must include an agenda; be mailed, hand 221
delivered, or electronically transmitted to each unit owner at 222
least 14 days before the annual meeting; and be posted in a 223
conspicuous place on the condominium property or association 224
property at least 14 continuous days before the annual meeting. 225
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
Written notice of a meeting other than an annual meeting must 226
include an agenda; be mailed, hand delivered, or electronically 227
transmitted to each unit owner; and be po sted in a conspicuous 228
place on the condominium property or association property within 229
the timeframe specified in the bylaws. If the bylaws do not 230
specify a timeframe for written notice of a meeting other than 231
an annual meeting, notice must be provided at least 14 232
continuous days before the meeting. Upon notice to the unit 233
owners, the board shall, by duly adopted rule, designate a 234
specific location on the condominium property or association 235
property where all notices of unit owner meetings must be 236
posted. This requirement does not apply if there is no 237
condominium property for posting notices. In lieu of, or in 238
addition to, the physical posting of meeting notices, the 239
association may, by reasonable rule, adopt a procedure for 240
conspicuously posting and repeate dly broadcasting the notice and 241
the agenda on a closed -circuit cable television system serving 242
the condominium association. However, if broadcast notice is 243
used in lieu of a notice posted physically on the condominium 244
property, the notice and agenda must b e broadcast at least four 245
times every broadcast hour of each day that a posted notice is 246
otherwise required under this section. If broadcast notice is 247
provided, the notice and agenda must be broadcast in a manner 248
and for a sufficient continuous length of t ime so as to allow an 249
average reader to observe the notice and read and comprehend the 250
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entire content of the notice and the agenda. In addition to any 251
of the authorized means of providing notice of a meeting of the 252
board, the association may, by rule, adop t a procedure for 253
conspicuously posting the meeting notice and the agenda on a 254
website serving the condominium association for at least the 255
minimum period of time for which a notice of a meeting is also 256
required to be physically posted on the condominium p roperty. 257
Any rule adopted shall, in addition to other matters, include a 258
requirement that the association send an electronic notice in 259
the same manner as a notice for a meeting of the members, which 260
must include a hyperlink to the website where the notice is 261
posted, to unit owners whose e -mail addresses are included in 262
the association's official records. Unless a unit owner waives 263
in writing the right to receive notice of the annual meeting, 264
such notice must be hand delivered, mailed, or electronically 265
transmitted to each unit owner. Notice for meetings and notice 266
for all other purposes must be mailed to each unit owner at the 267
address last furnished to the association by the unit owner, or 268
hand delivered to each unit owner. However, if a unit is owned 269
by more than one person, the association must provide notice to 270
the address that the developer identifies for that purpose and 271
thereafter as one or more of the owners of the unit advise the 272
association in writing, or if no address is given or the owners 273
of the unit do not agree, to the address provided on the deed of 274
record. An officer of the association, or the manager or other 275
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person providing notice of the association meeting, must provide 276
an affidavit or United States Postal Service certificate of 277
mailing, to be included in the official records of the 278
association affirming that the notice was mailed or hand 279
delivered in accordance with this provision. 280
4. The members of the board of a residential condominium 281
shall be elected by written ballot or voting machin e. Proxies 282
may not be used in electing the board in general elections or 283
elections to fill vacancies caused by recall, resignation, or 284
otherwise, unless otherwise provided in this chapter. This 285
subparagraph does not apply to an association governing a 286
timeshare condominium. 287
a. At least 60 days before a scheduled election, the 288
association shall mail, deliver, or electronically transmit, by 289
separate association mailing or included in another association 290
mailing, delivery, or transmission, including regularl y 291
published newsletters, to each unit owner entitled to a vote, a 292
first notice of the date of the election. A unit owner or other 293
eligible person desiring to be a candidate for the board must 294
give written notice of his or her intent to be a candidate to 295
the association at least 40 days before a scheduled election. 296
Together with the written notice and agenda as set forth in 297
subparagraph 3., the association shall mail, deliver, or 298
electronically transmit a second notice of the election to all 299
unit owners entitled to vote, together with a ballot that lists 300
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all candidates and each candidate's certification form provided 301
by the division on which the candidate attests that he or she 302
has read and understands, to the best of his or her ability, the 303
governing documents of the association, the provisions of this 304
chapter, and any applicable rules not less than 14 days or more 305
than 34 days before the date of the election. Upon request of a 306
candidate, an information sheet, no larger than 8 1/2 inches by 307
11 inches, which must be furnished by the candidate at least 35 308
days before the election, must be included with the mailing, 309
delivery, or transmission of the ballot, with the costs of 310
mailing, delivery, or electronic transmission and copying to be 311
borne by the association. The association is not liable for the 312
contents of the information sheets prepared by the candidates. 313
In order to reduce costs, the association may print or duplicate 314
the information sheets on both sides of the paper. The division 315
shall by rule establish vo ting procedures consistent with this 316
sub-subparagraph, including rules establishing procedures for 317
giving notice by electronic transmission and rules providing for 318
the secrecy of ballots. Elections shall be decided by a 319
plurality of ballots cast. There is no quorum requirement; 320
however, at least 20 percent of the eligible voters must cast a 321
ballot in order to have a valid election. A unit owner may not 322
authorize any other person to vote his or her ballot, and any 323
ballots improperly cast are invalid. A unit owner who violates 324
this provision may be fined by the association in accordance 325
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with s. 718.303. A unit owner who needs assistance in casting 326
the ballot for the reasons stated in s. 101.051 may obtain such 327
assistance. The regular election must occur on the date of the 328
annual meeting. Notwithstanding this sub -subparagraph, an 329
election is not required unless more candidates file notices of 330
intent to run or are nominated than board vacancies exist. 331
b. Within 90 days after being elected or appointed to the 332
board of an association of a residential condominium, each newly 333
elected or appointed director shall certify in writing to the 334
secretary of the association that he or she has read the 335
association's declaration of condominium, articles of 336
incorporation, bylaw s, and current written policies; that he or 337
she will work to uphold such documents and policies to the best 338
of his or her ability; and that he or she will faithfully 339
discharge his or her fiduciary responsibility to the 340
association's members. In lieu of thi s written certification, 341
within 90 days after being elected or appointed to the board, 342
the newly elected or appointed director may submit a certificate 343
of having satisfactorily completed the educational curriculum 344
administered by a division -approved condominium education 345
provider within 1 year before or 90 days after the date of 346
election or appointment. The written certification or 347
educational certificate is valid and does not have to be 348
resubmitted as long as the director serves on the board without 349
interruption. A director of an association of a residential 350
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condominium who fails to timely file the written certification 351
or educational certificate is suspended from service on the 352
board until he or she complies with this sub -subparagraph. The 353
board may temporarily fill the vacancy during the period of 354
suspension. The secretary shall cause the association to retain 355
a director's written certification or educational certificate 356
for inspection by the members for 5 years after a director's 357
election or the duration of the director's uninterrupted tenure, 358
whichever is longer. Failure to have such written certification 359
or educational certificate on file does not affect the validity 360
of any board action. 361
c. Any challenge to the election process must be commenced 362
within 60 days after the election results are announced. 363
5. Any approval by unit owners called for by this chapter 364
or the applicable declaration or bylaws, including, but not 365
limited to, the approval requirement in s. 718.111(8), must be 366
made at a duly noticed meeting of unit owners and is subject to 367
all requirements of this chapter or the applicable condominium 368
documents relating to unit owner decisionmaking, except that 369
unit owners may take action by written agreement, without 370
meetings, on matters for which a ction by written agreement 371
without meetings is expressly allowed by the applicable bylaws 372
or declaration or any law that provides for such action. 373
6. Unit owners may waive notice of specific meetings if 374
allowed by the applicable bylaws or declaration or any law. 375
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Notice of meetings of the board of administration, unit owner 376
meetings, except unit owner meetings called to recall board 377
members under paragraph (j), and committee meetings may be given 378
by electronic transmission to unit owners who consent to rec eive 379
notice by electronic transmission. A unit owner who consents to 380
receiving notices by electronic transmission is solely 381
responsible for removing or bypassing filters that block receipt 382
of mass e-mails sent to members on behalf of the association in 383
the course of giving electronic notices. 384
7. Unit owners have the right to participate in meetings 385
of unit owners with reference to all designated agenda items. 386
However, the association may adopt reasonable rules governing 387
the frequency, duration, and manner of unit owner participation. 388
8. A unit owner may tape record or videotape a meeting of 389
the unit owners subject to reasonable rules adopted by the 390
division. 391
9. Unless otherwise provided in the bylaws, any vacancy 392
occurring on the board before the expir ation of a term may be 393
filled by the affirmative vote of the majority of the remaining 394
directors, even if the remaining directors constitute less than 395
a quorum, or by the sole remaining director. In the alternative, 396
a board may hold an election to fill the vacancy, in which case 397
the election procedures must conform to sub -subparagraph 4.a. 398
unless the association governs 10 units or fewer and has opted 399
out of the statutory election process, in which case the bylaws 400
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of the association control. Unless otherwis e provided in the 401
bylaws, a board member appointed or elected under this section 402
shall fill the vacancy for the unexpired term of the seat being 403
filled. Filling vacancies created by recall is governed by 404
paragraph (j) and rules adopted by the division. 405
10. This chapter does not limit the use of general or 406
limited proxies, require the use of general or limited proxies, 407
or require the use of a written ballot or voting machine for any 408
agenda item or election at any meeting of a timeshare 409
condominium associat ion or nonresidential condominium 410
association. 411
412
Notwithstanding subparagraph (b)2. and sub -subparagraph 4.a., an 413
association of 10 or fewer units may, by affirmative vote of a 414
majority of the total voting interests, provide for different 415
voting and election procedures in its bylaws, which may be by a 416
proxy specifically delineating the different voting and election 417
procedures. The different voting and election procedures may 418
provide for elections to be conducted by limited or general 419
proxy. 420
Section 3. Subsection (10) is added to section 718.113, 421
Florida Statutes, to read: 422
718.113 Maintenance; limitation upon improvement; display 423
of flag; hurricane shutters and protection; display of religious 424
decorations.— 425
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(10) As to a condominium building that is taller than 426
three stories in height, at least every 5 years, and within 5 427
years if such building is not available for inspection on or 428
before July 1, 2022, the board shall have the condominium 429
building inspected by an architect or engineer authorized to 430
practice in the state. The architect or engineer shall provide a 431
report under his or her seal to the board attesting to the 432
required maintenance, useful life, and replacements costs of the 433
common elements of the condominium building. However, an 434
association may waive this requirement if the decision to waive 435
is approved by a majority of the voting interests present at a 436
properly called meeting of the association. The meeting and 437
approval must occur before the end of the 5 -year period and such 438
approval is effective only for that 5 -year period. 439
Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022. 440