“New Condominium Laws Regarding Annual Meetings” – News-Press
Today’s column is the third installment of our annual legislative review examining the significant changes to the Florida Condominium Act that became effective July 1, 2025. Today’s focus is the annual meeting of the association members required by law for the election of directors and conducting any other business legally required by the bylaws or desired to be conducted by the association.
Remember, if the annual meeting is to be held by video conference, the notice meeting must include a hyperlink to the video conference and provide the physical location of the meeting for in person attendance.
If the annual membership meeting is conducted by video conference, a quorum of the board must be present at the physical location of the annual meeting. The new law does not explain why this was thought to be necessary, nor what the consequences may be if the association does not have a quorum of its board physically in attendance for the annual meeting. This could present a problem for some associations, particularly condominiums that are primarily used for rental purposes and where owners often never use the units. This will certainly raise legal issues and bylaw interpretations relative to reimbursement of directors for travel expenses related to annual meeting attendance.
If a membership meeting is conducted by video conference, unit owners may vote electronically in the same manner provided in the electronic voting statute. The new law states that a board resolution to authorize “electronic voting” (voting by logging onto a third-party website and casting votes for the election of directors or other unit owner voting items) no longer requires 14-days written notice. “Regular” notice given for board meetings (48 hours’ posting and agenda identification, and adherence to any individual bylaw requirements) is sufficient under the statute. The new statute also provides a way for members to petition the board of directors to adopt electronic voting.
Due to changes made to the statutes in 2024, any association that has authorized electronic voting must offer it for any election, though apparently not for other votes. There are reasons why an association may choose not to offer electronic voting in an election (cost issues, meeting notice errors, lack of interest by owners, etc.), but that is what the law now says.
A condominium association that has not adopted electronic voting will now be required to accept ballots cast for the election of directors by email, if an owner chooses to vote in that manner. An association must designate an email address for submission of election ballots, and a unit owner may submit their completed ballot to the email address designated by the association no later than the scheduled date and time of the meeting.
All electronically transmitted election ballots must include spaces for the unit owner to fill in their unit number, as well as their first and last name, which also functions as the signature of the unit owner for purposes of signing the ballot. All ballots must include a statutory disclaimer statement explaining to the unit owner their right to waive the secrecy of their election ballot.
If the association is obligated to maintain a website, then video recordings for annual meetings conducted by video conference or hyperlinks to all recordings of meetings conducted by video conference must be posted on the association website. Associations operating a condominium with 150 or more units are currently required to have a website. As of January 1, 2026, this requirement will apply to associations operating a condominium with 25 or more units.
Whether or not an association has authorized electronic voting will now significantly impact how meetings must be noticed, what kind of voting methods must be accepted, and the manner of owner participation by “video conference.” It is arguable that the apparent goal of making annual meetings more transparent will actually be thwarted by this law and could result in associations shying away from the use of remote communication technology to avoid all the new rules that have been imposed as a requirement of using it.
Joe Adams is an attorney with Becker & Poliakoff, P.A., Fort Myers. Send questions to Joe Adams by e-mail to jadams@beckerlawyers.com. Past editions may be viewed at floridacondohoalawblog.com.
