The Florida Senate
BILL ANALYSIS AND FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
(This document is based on the provisions contained in the legislation as of the latest date listed below.)
Prepared By: The Professional Staff of the Committee on Fiscal Policy
BILL: CS/CS/CS/SB 1178
INTRODUCER: Fiscal Policy Committee; Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and
General Government; Regulated Industries Committee; and Senator Bradley and others
SUBJECT: Community Associations
DATE: February 28, 2024 REVISED:
ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR REFERENCE ACTION
1. Oxamendi Imhof RI Fav/CS
2. Oxamendi/Davis Betta AEG Fav/CS
3. Oxamendi Yeatman FP Fav/CS
Please see Section IX. for Additional Information:
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE - Substantial Changes
I. Summary:
CS/CS/CS/SB 1178 relates to the governance of condominium and cooperative associations and the
practice of community association management. Regarding community association managers
(CAMs) and CAM firms, the bill:
Requires CAMs and CAM firms to return all community association records in their possession
within 20 business days of termination of a services agreement or a written request whichever
occurs first, with license suspension and civil penalties for noncompliance, except that the time
frames applicable to timeshare plans apply to the records of a timeshare plan.
Provides conflict of interest disclosure requirements and a process for associations to follow
when approving contracts with CAMs and CAM firms, or a relative, that may present a conflict
of interest. The requirements are similar to the conflicts of interest provisions for condominium
associations and their officers and directors.
Provides grounds to discipline CAMs and CAM firms for failure to disclose a conflict of interest
as required by the bill.
Regarding the milestone inspection requirements, the bill exempts four-family dwelling with three or
fewer habitable stories above ground. Current law exempts single-family, two-family, and three-
family dwellings from these requirements.
Regarding access to the official records of a condominium association, the bill:
BILL: Fiscal Policy Committee; Page 2
Requires official records be maintained in an organized manner that facilitates inspection by unit
owners.
Prohibits access to unit owner email addresses and facsimile numbers without a unit owner’s
consent, and prohibits the sale or sharing of such personal information to third parties.
Effective January 1, 2026, decreases from 150 units to 25 units the threshold requirement for an
association to maintain specified records available for download on the association’s website or
by an application on a mobile device.
Requires official records to be provided to the unit owner at no charge if the Division of
Condominium, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes (division) subpoenas records an association has
failed to timely provide in response to a unit owner’s written request.
Requires associations to maintain additional financial records (e.g., invoices and other
documentation that substantiates any receipt or expenditure) to be maintained by a condominium
association for inspection by association members as official records.
Permits associations to fulfill records requests by directing unit owners to the records that are
posted on the association’s website.
Requires associations to respond to a records request with a checklist of all records provided.
Authorizes the division to request access to an association’s website to investigate complaints
related to unit owner access to official records on such website.
The bill provides the following criminal penalties related to condominium associations:
Third degree felony for an officer, director, or manager of a condominium association to
knowingly solicit, offer to accept, or accept any thing or service of value or kickback;
First degree misdemeanor for knowingly or intentionally defacing or destroying required
accounting records or knowingly and intentionally failing to create or maintain required
accounting records, with the intent of causing harm to the association or one or more of its
members;
Second degree misdemeanor for any director or member of the board or association to
knowingly, willfully, and “repeatedly” violate (two or more violations within a 12-month period)
any specified requirements relating to inspection and copying of official records of an
association; and
Third degree felony to willfully and knowingly refuse 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.
In addition, the bill provides that a person commits theft by use of a debit card, if the person uses a
debit card issued in the name of, or billed directly to, an association for any expense that is not a
lawful obligation of the association.
The bill expands the requirement that officers and directors charged by information or indictment
with a criminal violation created in the bill are deemed removed from office and a vacancy declared
to include forgery of a ballot envelope or voting certificate, theft or embezzlement involving the
association’s funds or property, destruction of, or refusal to allow inspection or copying of, an
official record in furtherance of any crime, and any criminal violation under ch 718, F.S.
BILL: Fiscal Policy Committee; Page 3
Regarding condominium association budgets, financial reporting, and reserves, the bill:
Revises the term “deferred maintenance” to “planned maintenance.”
Prohibits associations from reducing the required type of financial statement (compiled,
reviewed, or audited financial statements) for consecutive years.
Revises reserve maintenance requirements to:
o Require an association to provide unit owners with a notice that the structural integrity
reserve study (SIRS) is available for inspection and copying within 45 days of completion of
the study. The notice may be provided electronically.
o Clarify that the turnover report required under s. 718.301(4)(p), F.S., consists of a SIRS.
o Allow a temporary pause in the funding of reserves or a reduction in reserve funding if the
entire condominium building is uninhabitable due to a natural emergency, as defined in
s. 252.34, F.S., as determined by the local enforcement agency, upon the approval of a
majority of the members. Any reserve account funds held by the association may be
expended, pursuant to the board’s determination, to make the condominium building and its
structures habitable. Upon the determination by the local building official that the
condominium building and its structures are habitable, the association must immediately
resume contributing funds to its reserves.
In addition, the bill requires condominium associations to notify the division within 45 days after the
structural integrity reserve study is completed, and requires the division to maintain, by January 1,
2025, a database on its website of associations that have completed the SIRS. The bill also requires
the division to include an internet link to a list of associations that have completed the SIRS in its
annual report.
Regarding meetings of the boards of administration for condominium associations, the bill:
Requires condominium associations of 10 or more units to meet at least once each quarter for the
purpose of responding to inquiries from members and informing members on the status of the
condominium, including the status of any construction or repair projects, the status of the
association's revenue and expenditures during the fiscal year, or other issues affecting the
association.
Requires associations to include a copy of the proposed contract if the notice for a board meeting
relates to the approval of a contract.
The bill provides education requirements for the officers and directors of condominium associations
to:
Require newly elected or appointed directors to submit both the written certification that they
have read the association’s governing documents, will work to uphold the documents to the best
of their ability and will faithfully discharge their duties, and submit a certificate of completion of
an approved condominium education course;
Provide that the written certification and educational certificate are valid for seven 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 a seven-year period.;
Require directors to annually complete continuing education about recent changes to the
condominium laws and rules;
Extend the time an association must retain a copy of an officer or director’s educational
certificate from five years to seven years;
BILL: Fiscal Policy Committee; Page 4
Require association directors to certify that all directors have completed the required written
certification and educational certificate requirements; and
Allow associations to pay, as an expense of the association, for the cost of a director’s required
educational curriculum and certificate; and require the education curriculum to be at least four
hours long and include instruction on milestone inspections, structural integrity reserve studies,
elections, recordkeeping, financial literacy and transparency, levying of fines, and notice and
meeting requirements.
Regarding voting in condominium associations, the bill:
Provides criminal penalties related to fraudulent voting activities that are punishable as first
degree misdemeanors, including preventing members from voting, and menacing, threatening, or
using bribery to directly or indirectly influence or deter a member from voting.
Requires associations to notify a unit owner or member that his or her voting rights may be
suspended due to nonpayment of a fee or other monetary obligation at least 90 days before an
election.
Allows condominium and cooperative unit owners to consent to electronic voting in
condominium association elections by using an electronic means of consent. Current law
requires the consent to electronic voting to be made in writing.
The bill revises the requirements for the installation of hurricane protection in a condominium
building to:
Create a uniform definition for “hurricane protection,” to include 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;
Require condominium declarations to delineate the responsibilities of unit owners and
associations for the costs of maintenance, repair, and replacement of hurricane protections,
exterior doors, windows, and glass apertures;
Provide when a majority vote of the unit owners is required to install hurricane protection;
Provide a uniform procedure for approval of hurricane protection by the unit owners, including
requiring the board to record a certificate in the public records evidencing that the association
has voted to install hurricane protection; and
Provide that, unless otherwise provided in a declaration of condominium recorded in the public
record before July 1, 2024, unit owners are not responsible for the cost of removal and
reinstallation of hurricane protection if the removal is necessary to repair condominium property.
The bill revises the prohibitions against “strategic lawsuits against public participation" or “SLAPP
suits,” which occur when association members are sued by individuals, business entities, or
governmental entities for matters arising out of a unit owner's appearance and presentation before a
governmental entity on matters related to the condominium association.
The bill specifically includes condominium associations in the SLAPP suit prohibition, and protects
unit owners from reporting complaints to government agencies or law enforcement, or making
public statements critical of the operation or management of an association by:
Prohibiting associations from retaliating against unit owners, such as by increasing assessments,
threatening to bring an action for possession or other civil action, including a defamation, libel,
slander, or tortious interference action; and
BILL: Fiscal Policy Committee; Page 5
Prohibiting associations from spending association funds in support of defamation, libel, or
tortious interference actions against a unit owner.
Regarding officers and directors of a condominium association, the bill provides that the attendance
of an officer or director at a meeting of the board is sufficient to constitute a quorum for the meeting
and for any vote taken in his or her absence when the director is required to leave the room during
the discussion and the taking of a vote on a contract in which the director, or his relative, has an
interest.
The bill expands the division’s post-turnover jurisdiction to include to include procedure and records
related to financial issues under specified provisions, elections under specified provisions (including
electronic voting), allegations of criminal violations under ch. 718, F.S., procedural aspects of
meetings under specified provisions, disclosure of conflicts of interest, removal of directors and
officers for specified criminal violations, and any written inquiries by unit owners to the association.
In addition, the bill:
Requires that the division must refer to local law enforcement authorities any person whom the
division believes has engaged in fraud, theft, embezzlement, or other criminal activity or has
cause to believe that fraud, theft, embezzlement, or other criminal activity has occurred.
Authorizes the division to issue citations and promulgate rules to provide for citation bases and
citation procedures in accordance in the division’s authority, responsibilities, and duties outlined
in s. 718.501, F.S.
Authorizes the division to impose a civil penalty for a violation of ch. 617, F.S., relating to
corporations not for profit.
Provides that the division director or any officer or employee of the division, and the
condominium ombudsman or employee of the office of the condominium ombudsman may
attend and observe any meeting of the board or any unit owner meeting, including any meeting
of a subcommittee or special committee, that is open to members of the association, for the
purpose of performing the duties of the division or the office of the ombudsman under ch. 718,
F.S.
The bill requires the division to submit findings by January 1, 2025, to the Governor, the President
of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the chairs of the legislative
appropriations committees and appropriate substantive committees, of its review of the website or
application requirements for official records under s. 718.111(12)(g), F.S., and make
recommendations regarding any additional official records of a condominium association that should
be included in the record maintenance requirement.
The bill provides that the statute of limitations and statute of repose for certain actions available to a
condominium association or a cooperative association, will not begin to run until the unit owners
have elected a majority of the members of the board of administration.
The bill also requires the Florida Building Commission division to submit a report by December 1,
2024, to the Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and
the chairs of the legislative appropriations committees and appropriate substantive committees, of its
review of the standards to prevent water intrusion through the tracks of sliding glass doors.
Regarding cooperative associations, the bill:
BILL: Fiscal Policy Committee; Page 6
Revises the term “deferred maintenance” to “planned maintenance.”
Requires an association to provide unit owners with a notice that the structural integrity reserve
study is available for inspection and copying within 45 days of completion of the study. The
notice may be provided electronically.
Clarifies that the turnover report required under s. 719.301(4)(p), F.S., consists of a structural
reserve study.
The bill has a significant negative fiscal impact on state expenditures. For the 2024-2025 fiscal year,
the bill appropriates $6,122,390 in recurring and $1,293,879 in nonrecurring funds from the General
Revenue Fund to the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, and 65 full-time
equivalent positions with an associated salary rate of 3,180,319 are authorized, for the p