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: CS/SB 7044
INTRODUCER: Rules Committee; Regulated Industries Committee; and Senator Bradley
SUBJECT: Homeowners’ Associations
DATE: February 14, 2024 REVISED:
ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR REFERENCE ACTION
Oxamendi Imhof RI Submitted as Comm. Bill/Fav
1. Oxamendi Twogood RC Fav/CS
Please see Section IX. for Additional Information:
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE - Substantial Changes
I. Summary:
CS/SB 7044 relates to the governance of homeowners’ associations and the practice of the
community association managers who manage those communities. Regarding community
association managers (CAMs) and CAM firms, the bill requires CAMs and CAM firms to:
 Attend in person at least one member meeting or board meeting of the homeowners'
association annually;
 Provide to community association members certain information, including the contact person
and contact information, and the hours of availability;
 Provide the community’s members upon request a copy of the contract between the
association and the CAM or CAM firm; and
 Complete at least five hours of continuing education that pertains specifically to
homeowners’ associations, three hours of which must relate to recordkeeping.
Regarding the official records of a homeowners’ association, the bill requires homeowners’
associations with 100 or more parcels to:
 Effective January 1, 2026, maintain a digital copy of specified official records for download
on the association’s website or through an application on a mobile device;
 Require that official records be accessible through a secure portal and the username and
password be made available to parcel owners upon request;
 Ensure that the private information and records that are not allowed to be accessible to parcel
owners are not posted on the website or application or are redacted; and
 Provide a copy of records or otherwise make the records available that are subpoenaed by a
law enforcement agency within five days of receiving a subpoena.
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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 anything or service of value or kickback;
 First degree misdemeanor for knowingly and 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 with the intent of causing harm to the association or one or more of its members;
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.
 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.
Regarding the budgeting, the bill requires homeowners’ associations with 1,000 or more parcels
to have audited financial statements, and prohibits associations from reducing the required type
of financial statement (compiled, reviewed, or audited financial statements) for consecutive
years.
The bill provides education requirements for the officers and directors of homeowners’
associations to:
 Require a newly elected or appointed director to, within 90 days after being elected or
appointed to the board, complete and submit a certificate of having satisfactorily completed
the educational curriculum administered by a department-approved education provider.
 Provide that the certification of completion is valid up to four years.
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 Require that the educational curriculum must include training relating to financial literacy
and transparency, recordkeeping, levying of fines, and notice and meeting requirements.
 Require a director of an association that has:
o Fewer than 2,500 parcels to complete at least four hours of continuing education
annually.
o 2,500 or more parcels must complete at least eight hours of continuing education
annually.
Regarding the enforcement of homeowners’ association covenants and rules, the bill requires
associations or an architectural, construction improvement, or other similar committee of the
association to:
 Uniformly apply and enforce the architectural and construction improvement standards
against all parcel owners authorized by the association’s governing documents; and
 Provide written notice to the parcel owner stating with specificity the rule or covenant on
which the association or its committee relied upon when denying the request or application
for the construction of a structure or other improvement on a parcel.
The bill allows members of a homeowners’ association to consent to electronic voting by using
an electronic means of consent. Current law requires the consent to electronic voting to be made
in writing.
The bill takes effect July 1, 2024.
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
1
See s. 720.302(1), F.S.
2
Section 720.301(9), F.S.
3
Section 720.302(5), F.S.
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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
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.”
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.
7
Section 720.306(9)(c), F.S.
8
Section 720.301(8), F.S.
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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:
Community Association Managers
Present Situation
Community association managers (CAMs) are licensed and regulated by the Department of
Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR or department) pursuant to part VIII of ch. 468,
F.S.
Section 468.431(2), F.S., defines “community association management” to mean:
any of the following practices requiring substantial specialized knowledge,
judgment, and managerial skill when done for remuneration and when the
association or associations served contain more than 10 units or have an annual
budget or budgets in excess of $100,000: controlling or disbursing funds of a
community association, preparing budgets or other financial documents for a
community association, assisting in the noticing or conduct of community
association meetings, and coordinating maintenance for the residential
development and other day-to-day services involved with the operation of a
community association.
A license is not required for persons who perform clerical or ministerial functions under the
direct supervision and control of a licensed manager or who only perform the maintenance of a
community association and do not assist in any of the management services.9
Community association managers are regulated by the seven-member Regulatory Council of
Community Association Managers (council). Five of the members must be licensed CAMs, one
of whom must be a CAM for a timeshare. The other two must not be CAMs. Members are
appointed to four-year terms by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate.10
To become licensed as a CAM, a person must apply to the department to take the licensure
examination and submit to a background check. Upon determination that the applicant is of good
moral character, the applicant must attend a department-approved in-person training prior to
taking the examination.11 Community association managers must successfully complete an exam
and pay a fee to become licensed. They must also complete continuing education hours as
approved by the council to maintain their licenses.12
9
Section 468.431(2), F.S.
10
Section 468.4315(1), F.S.
11
Section 468.433, F.S.
12
Sections 468.4336 and 468.4337, F.S.
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Section 468.4334, F.S., delineates the professional practice standards for CAMs and CAM firms,
including the duty to “discharge the duties performed on behalf of the association as authorized
by [ch. 468, F.S.], loyally, skillfully, and diligently; dealing honestly and fairly; in good faith;
with care and full disclosure to the community association; accounting for all funds; and not
charging unreasonable or excessive fees.”
In addition, if a CAM or CAM firm has a contract with a community association that has a
building on the association’s property that is subject to s. 553.899, F.S., the CAM or firm must
comply with that section as directed by the board.
A CAM or CAM firm may be disciplined, including a suspension or revocation of their license,
or denial of a license renewal, for the grounds specified in s. 468.436, F.S., including
contracting, on behalf of an association, with any entity in which the CAM or CAM firm has a
financial interest that is not disclosed to the association.
Effect of Proposed Changes
The bill amends s. 468.4334, F.S., to require CAMs and CAM firms to:
 Attend in person at least one member meeting or board meeting of the homeowners'
association annually;
 Provide to community association members:
o The name and contact information for each CAM or representative of the CAM firm
assigned to the community association.
o The CAM’s or representative’s hours of availability.
o A summary of the duties for which the CAM or representative is responsible.
The bill requires the CAM to post this information on the association’s website or make
available through a mobile application. The CAM or CAM firm must update the community and
its members within 14 business days after any change to such information.
Upon an association member’s request, the bill requires a CAM or CAM firm to provide the
member a copy of the contract between the association and the CAM or CAM firm. In addition,
the CAM or CAM firm must maintain the contract as an official record of the association.
The bill amends s. 468.4337, F.S., to require CAMs who provide services to a homeowners’
association to complete, every two years, at least five hours of continuing education that pertains
specifically to homeowners’ associations, three hours