“Wrap-Up of 2025 Condominium Law Changes” – News-Press
Today’s column is the sixth and final installment discussing House Bill 913, the numerous changes to the Florida statutes that became effective July 1, 2025. Today, a potpourri of miscellaneous changes to the statutes:
Managers and Management Companies
Through a series of changes to Chapter 468 of the Florida Statutes, additional legal obligations have been placed on Community Association Managers (commonly called “CAMs”) and management companies. For example, the law specifically states that a CAM may not perform an act which knowingly violates the law, even if directed to do so by the board of directors of an association.
There are also heightened disclosure requirements regarding contracts where a management company proposes to provide non-management services and a right by associations to terminate contracts where certain provisions of the statute have been violated. CAMs and management companies are precluded from the waiver or limitation of liability for legal compliance through a management contract.
Hurricane Shutters
In the third change to the law in as many years, the statute now states that if an association must remove an owner’s hurricane shutters to do structural work on a building, the association must pay for the cost of removal and reinstallation. However, an exception to this rule is made for cases where the declaration of condominium as originally recorded, or as amended, places this financial liability on the unit owner.
Jurisdiction of the Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares and Mobile Homes
The Division has jurisdiction to investigate complaints made by unit owners against their associations and take various actions in connection with such investigations, including the levy of civil penalties of up to five thousand dollars per violation. The Division’s jurisdiction to investigate complaints in unit owner-controlled associations was substantially curtailed a couple of decades ago, in part due to a large volume of complaints made by a small number of owners.
In the past several years, there has been a slow creep to grant more enforcement authority to the jurisdiction of the Division. The 2025 changes expand the Division’s complaint jurisdiction to include compliance with director education requirements, fidelity bonding requirements, and compliance with the laws applicable to structural integrity reserve studies.
Online Account with the Division
Effective October 1, 2025, every condominium association in the State of Florida is required to establish an online account with the Division. Under the statute, the Division is required to collect various information from each association, including contact information, physical construction details, and various financial data. As of this time, the Division has not yet set up the portal necessary for associations to comply.
Cooling Off Period/Condo Unit Resales
For many years, the Florida Condominium Act has contained a 3 day “cooling off period,” which states that a unit purchase and sale agreement is not binding until the buyer has received a variety of information about the condominium and the association, as listed in the statute. After the receipt of all required information, the buyer then has 3 days to rescind (cancel) the contract, without penalty or forfeiture.
The 2025 changes to the statute increase the cooling off period from 3 days to 7 days and adds to the association’s most recent budget to the list of required disclosure documents.
Insurance
For many years, the Florida Condominium Act has stated that subject to reasonable deductibles, a condominium “shall” insure the condominium property for replacement value, based on an insurance appraisal that must be updated at least every three years. The new law states that insurance “may” be based on the appraised replacement value. I am not sure what this change was seeking to accomplish, whatever it was seems to have fallen victim to a poor choice of words.
Homeowners’ Associations and Cooperatives
There were no changes for 2025 to Chapter 720 of the Florida Statutes, the Florida Homeowners’ Association Act.
Chapter 719 of the Florida Statutes was amended to reflect, essentially verbatim, some of the 2025 changes to the condominium statutes. These include investment of funds, various reserve rules, a change to the cooling off period, and the requirement for setting up an online account with the Division.
Next week, we will resume our normal Q&A format for the column.
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.
