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 Rules
BILL: SB 7046
INTRODUCER: Regulated Industries Committee and Senator Bradley
SUBJECT: Homeowners’ Associations
DATE: February 13, 2024 REVISED:
ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR REFERENCE ACTION
Oxamendi Imhof RI Submitted as Comm. Bill/Fav
1. Oxamendi Twogood RC Pre-meeting
I. Summary:
SB 7046 relates to the governance of homeowners’ associations.
Regarding fines assessed in homeowners’ associations, the bill:
 Allows association members to make a written request for a detailed accounting of any
amounts owed to the association, and provides that, if the association fails to provide the
accounting within 15 business days of a written request, any outstanding fines of the person
who requested such accounting are waived if the fine is more than 30 days past due and the
association did not give prior written notice of the fines.
 Increases the prohibition against fines of less $1,000 becoming a lien against the parcel to
fines of less than $2,500.
 Requires the association to apply the payment for a fine to the fine amount before satisfying
any other amounts due to the association, and provides that attorney fees and costs may not
continue to accrue after the fine is paid.
 Prohibits certain fines from becoming a lien on a parcel, such as violations related to lawn,
landscaping, grass maintenance, and traffic violations.
 Prohibits homeowners’ associations from issuing fines or imposing a suspension based on:
o Leaving garbage receptacles on the street for a certain time period; and
o Leaving holiday decorations or lights up under certain circumstances.
 Prohibits homeowners’ associations from preventing a homeowner from installing or
displaying vegetable gardens and clotheslines in areas not visible from the frontage or
adjacent parcels.
The bill prohibits homeowners’ associations from retroactively applying a new rule or covenant
against a parcel owner, except against a parcel owner who consented to the new covenant or rule
and a parcel owner who acquires the title to the parcel after the effective date of the new
covenant or rule.
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The bill also provides that homeowners’ associations may not prohibit a homeowner or their
tenant, guest, or invitee from parking:
 A personal vehicle, including a pickup truck, in the property owner's driveway or in common
parking lots.
 A work vehicle, which is not a commercial motor vehicle, in the property owner's driveway.
 Their assigned law enforcement vehicle on public roads or rights-of-way within the
homeowners’ association.
The bill provides the following criminal penalties related to homeowners’ associations, including
matters related to the official records of the association:
 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.
The bill also expands the current criminal prohibitions against fraudulent voting activity to
provide that a person who performs any of the following actions commits a misdemeanor of the
first degree:
 Knowingly aiding, abetting, or advising a person in the commission of a fraudulent voting
activity related to association elections;
 Agreeing, conspiring, combining, or confederating with at least one other person to commit a
fraudulent voting activity related to association elections; or
 Having knowledge of a fraudulent voting activity related to association elections and giving
any aid to the offender with intent that the offender avoid or escape detection, arrest, trial, or
punishment.
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.
Under the bill, any officer or director charged with a criminal violation under ch. 720, F.S., is
deemed removed from office and a vacancy declared. The bill also provides that directors and
officers of a homeowners’ association are subject to the general standards for directors outlined
in the Florida Not For Profit Corporations Act, s. 617.0830, F.S.
The bill takes effect July 1, 2024.
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II. Present Situation:
Homeowners’ Associations
Chapter 720, F.S., provides statutory recognition to corporations that operate residential
communities in Florida as well as procedures for operating homeowners’ associations. These
laws protect the rights of association members without unduly impairing the ability of such
associations to perform their functions.1
A “homeowners’ association” is defined as a:2
Florida corporation responsible for the operation of a community or a
mobile home subdivision in which the voting membership is made up of
parcel owners or their agents, or a combination thereof, and in which
membership is a mandatory condition of parcel ownership, and which is
authorized to impose assessments that, if unpaid, may become a lien on
the parcel.
Unless specifically stated to the contrary in the articles of incorporation, homeowners’
associations are also governed by ch. 607, F.S., relating to for-profit corporations, or by
ch. 617, F.S., relating to not-for-profit corporations.3
Homeowners’ associations are administered by a board of directors that is elected by the
members of the association.4 The powers and duties of homeowners’ associations include the
powers and duties provided in ch. 720, F.S., and in the governing documents of the association,
which include a recorded declaration of covenants, bylaws, articles of incorporation, and duly-
adopted amendments to these documents.5 The officers and members of a homeowners’
association have a fiduciary relationship to the members who are served by the association.6
Unlike condominium associations, homeowners’ associations are not regulated by a state agency.
Section 720.302(2), F.S., expresses the legislative intent regarding the regulation of
homeowners’ associations:
The Legislature recognizes that it is not in the best interest of
homeowners’ associations or the individual association members thereof
to create or impose a bureau or other agency of state government to
regulate the affairs of homeowners’ associations. However, in accordance
with s. 720.311, [F.S.,] the Legislature finds that homeowners’
associations and their individual members will benefit from an expedited
alternative process for resolution of election and recall disputes and presuit
mediation of other disputes involving covenant enforcement and
authorizes the department to hear, administer, and determine these
disputes as more fully set forth in this chapter. Further, the Legislature
1
See s. 720.302(1), F.S.
2
Section 720.301(9), F.S.
3
Section 720.302(5), F.S.
4
See ss. 720.303 and 720.307, F.S.
5
See ss. 720.301 and 720.303, F.S.
6
Section 720.303(1), F.S.
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recognizes that certain contract rights have been created for the benefit of
homeowners’ associations and members thereof before the effective date
of this act and that ss. 720.301-720.407[, F.S.], are not intended to impair
such contract rights, including, but not limited to, the rights of the
developer to complete the community as initially contemplated.
The Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes (division) within the
Department of Business the Professional Regulation has limited regulatory authority over
homeowners’ associations. The division’s authority is limited to the arbitration of recall election
disputes.7
The governing documents of a homeowners’ association are:8
 The recorded declaration of covenants for a community and all duly adopted and recorded
amendments, supplements, and recorded exhibits thereto; and
 The articles of incorporation and bylaws of the homeowners' association and any duly
adopted amendments thereto.
Section 720.301(3), F.S., defines a “community” as the real property that is or will be subject to
a declaration of covenants which is recorded in the county where the property is located. The
term “includes all real property, including undeveloped phases, that is or was the subject of a
development-of-regional-impact development order, together with any approved modification
thereto.”
Other Relevant Topics
For ease of reference to each of the topics addressed in the bill, the Present Situation for each
topic will be described in Section III of this analysis, followed immediately by an associated
section detailing the Effect of Proposed Changes.
III. Effect of Proposed Changes:
Official Records – Homeowners’ Associations
Present Situation
Florida law specifies the official records that homeowners’ associations must maintain.9
Generally, the official records must be maintained in Florida for at least seven years.10 Certain
types of these records must be accessible to the members of an association.11 Additionally,
certain records are protected or restricted from disclosure to members, such as records protected
by attorney-client privilege, personnel records, and personal identifying records of owners.12
7
Section 720.306(9)(c), F.S.
8
Section 720.301(8), F.S.
9
See s. 720.303(5), F.S.
10
Id.
11
Id.
12
Id.
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The official records that the association must make available to the members for inspection and
copying include, in relevant part, a copy of the:13
 Bylaws of the association and of each amendment to the bylaws.
 Articles of incorporation of the association and of each amendment thereto.
 Declaration of covenants and a copy of each amendment thereto.
 Current rules of the homeowners' association.
Effect of Proposed Changes
The bill amends s. 720.303(5), F.S., to provide the following additional criminal prohibitions and
penalties for violations related to the official records:
 Second degree misdemeanor14 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 the inspection and copying of official records
of an association;
 First degree misdemeanor15 to knowingly or intentionally deface or destroy required
accounting records or knowingly and intentionally fail to create or maintain required
accounting records, with the intent of causing harm to the association or one or more of its
members; and
 Third degree felony16 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.
The bill provides that officers and directors charged with a criminal violation created in the bill
are deemed removed from office and a vacancy declared.
Financial Accounting – Homeowners’ Associations
Present Situation
Every homeowners’ association is required to prepare an annual budget that sets out the annual
operating expenses. The budget must:17
 Reflect the estimated revenues and expenses for that year and the estimated surplus or deficit
as of the end of the current year.
 Set out separately all fees or charges paid for by the association for recreational amenities,
whether owned by the association, the developer, or another person.
13
Section 720.303(4), F.S.
14
Section 775.082, F.S., provides that a misdemeanor of the second degree is punishable by a term of imprisonment not to
exceed 60 days. Section 775.083, F.S., provides that a misdemeanor of the second degree is punishable by a fine not to
exceed $500.
15
Section 775.082, F.S., provides that a misdemeanor of the first degree is punishable by a term of imprisonment not to
exceed one year. Section 775.083, F.S., provides that a misdemeanor of the first degree is punishable by a fine not to exceed
$1,000.
16
Section 775.082, F.S., provides that a felony of the third degree is punishable by a term of imprisonment not to exceed five
years. Section 775.083, F.S., provides that a felony of the third degree is punishable by a fine not to exceed $5,000.
17
Section 720.303(6)(a), F.S.
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The homeowners’ association must provide each member with a copy of the annual budget or a
written notice that a copy of the budget is available upon request at no charge to the member. In
addition to annual operating expenses, the budget may include reserve accounts for capital
expenditures and deferred maintenance for which the homeowners’ association is responsible.18
Depending on the association’s governing documents, an association’s budget may provide for
reserve accounts.19 Upon approval by the membership, the board of directors must include the
required reserve accounts in the budget in the next fiscal year following the approval and each
year thereafter.20
The financial and accounting records of a homeowners’ association are required official records
and must be maintained by the association and made available to its members for inspection and
copying.21 Additionally, the homeowners’ association is required to maintain the current account
and a periodic statement of the account for each member, designating the name and current
address of each member who is obligated to pay assessments, the due date and amount of each
assessment or other charge against the member, the date and amount of each payment on the
account, and the balance due. These records must also be available upon written request for a
member of the association to inspect and copy.
Effect of Proposed Changes
The bill creates s. 720.303(14), F.S., to provide that a parcel owner or any occupant, licensee, or
invitee of the parcel owner may, at any time, make a written request to the board for a detailed
accounting of any amounts he or she owes to the association, and the board must provide such
information within 15 business days after receipt of the written request. After a person makes a
written request for a detailed accounting, he or she may not ask for another detailed accounting
for 90 calendar days.
Under the bill, the board’s failure to respond to a written request for a detailed accounting
constitutes a complete waiver of any outstanding fines of the person who requested such
accounting which are more than 30 days past due and the association did not give prior written
notice of the fines.
Debit Cards – Homeowners’ Associations
Present Situation
Section 718.111(15)(a), F.S., prohibits persons from using a debit card issued in the name of, or
billed directly to, a condominium associ