Florida HOA Records: What Homeowners Are Entitled To (§720.303)

When a board treats the association's books as off-limits, it's often relying on members not knowing §720.303 of the Florida Statutes. Under that statute, official records are not the board's private property — they belong to the membership, and homeowners have a statutory right to inspect and copy them. Here's what the law provides, as general information rather than legal advice; for a records dispute of your own, a licensed Florida attorney is the right resource.

What records can I get from my HOA in Florida?

Generally, any record the association has that relates to operating the community. Under §720.303(4), official records include the declaration, bylaws, articles and current rules, member and board minutes, insurance policies, contracts, financial records, budgets, the most recent financial report, a member roster, and bids for work. Narrow exceptions, such as attorney-client privileged material or certain personnel records, apply.

The list under §720.303(4) is broad. It includes, among other things:

• The declaration, bylaws, articles of incorporation, and current rules
• Meeting minutes for the members and the board
• Current insurance policies
• Contracts to which the association is a party
• Financial records, budgets, and the most recent financial report
• A current roster of members and their addresses
• Bids for work to be performed

If the association has it and it relates to the operation of the community, it's generally an official record unless a narrow statutory exception applies (like attorney-client privileged material or certain personnel records).

How long does a Florida HOA have to provide records?

Ten business days. Under §720.303, once a member makes a written request, a Florida association must make the records available within 10 business days after receiving it, at a location within 45 miles of the community or within the county where the association is located. The clock starts on receipt.

Once a member makes a written request, the association must make the records available within 10 business days after receiving it. The records are made available at a location within 45 miles of the community or within the county in which the association is located.

How the request is sent can matter for the penalty below — many homeowners use certified mail, return receipt requested because it documents when the association received it, and the clock starts on receipt.

Is there a penalty if a Florida HOA doesn't provide records?

Yes. Under §720.303(5)(c), a willful failure to provide access entitles the member to actual damages or minimum damages of $50 per calendar day for up to 10 days, starting the 11th business day after receipt. A request sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, and not met within 10 business days creates a rebuttable presumption of willfulness (§720.303(5)(b)).

Under §720.303(5)(b), where a request was sent by certified mail, return receipt requested and the association fails to provide access within 10 business days, the law creates a rebuttable presumption that the association willfully failed to comply. Under §720.303(5)(c), a member denied access is entitled to actual damages or minimum damages for the association's willful failure to comply, and minimum damages are $50 per calendar day for up to 10 days, beginning on the 11th business day after receipt:

"The minimum damages are to be $50 per calendar day up to 10 days, the calculation to begin on the 11th business day after receipt of the written request." — §720.303(5)(c), Fla. Stat.

That's a real financial consequence the statute attaches to a stonewalling board.

What a request usually includes

The statute's 10-business-day clock runs from receipt of a written request by the board or its designee, so the request itself is the starting point. Written requests commonly identify the owner and the parcel, cite §720.303, list the specific records sought, and carry a date. Naming particular documents makes it easier to tell later whether the association produced what was asked for than a broad, open-ended request does.

The member's side of the process

The association can adopt reasonable written rules governing the time, location, notice, and manner of inspections, and may impose reasonable costs for copies. It cannot use those rules to effectively deny access — and following the documented procedure leaves less room for the association to blame the member for a delay.

Frequently asked questions

Does a Florida HOA still have to provide records it has posted online?

Posting and inspection are separate duties in §720.303. The posting rule in §720.303(4)(b) applies to associations with 100 or more parcels and covers a set list of documents, such as the governing documents, budgets, financial reports and a list of current contracts, not every official record. The inspection right in §720.303(5)(a) applies to official records generally, and the statute lets the association meet it in more than one way, including "by making the records available to a parcel owner electronically via the Internet." For the site's protected owners' section, §720.303(4)(b)3 requires the association, on a parcel owner's written request, to "provide the parcel owner with a username and password and access to the protected sections" of the website or app. Whether a posted copy answers a given request depends on the facts; a licensed Florida attorney can address a specific dispute.

Can a Florida HOA member request board or executive committee voting records?

Two provisions cover voting records. For board votes, §720.303(3) says: "A vote or abstention from voting on each matter voted upon for each director present at a board meeting must be recorded in the minutes." Those minutes are official records (§720.303(4)(a)6). For member votes, §720.303(4)(a)12 lists "Ballots, sign-in sheets, voting proxies, and all other papers and electronic records relating to voting by parcel owners," kept for at least 1 year. "Executive committee" is not a term chapter 720 uses. For an association incorporated under Florida's nonprofit corporation law (§720.302(5)), §617.0825(1) lets the board "create an executive committee" unless the articles or bylaws provide otherwise. Chapter 720's minutes rule names only member and board meetings, so a committee's records turn on the catch-all for "All other written records of the association" related to its operation (§720.303(4)(a)14) and on the governing documents, which a licensed Florida attorney can address.

Sources

• §720.303, Florida Statutes — Association powers and duties; meetings of board; official records; budgets; financial reporting
• §720.302, Florida Statutes — Purposes, scope, and application
• §617.0825, Florida Statutes — Board committees and advisory committees