“Year End Audit Rules Changed for 2025” – News-Press
Q: In 2024, you wrote about that year’s amendments to the condominium statute regarding personal delivery of audit reports to all owners. This is very expensive and seems to be an excessive burden to condominium associations, since most owners are not interested in these lengthy reports. Have any changes been made to this statute? Can the audit report be delivered by personal e-mail? Does availability on the management company’s website portal meet this requirement? (G.L., via e-mail)
A: Yes, the law has been changed.
As you note, Section 718.111(13) of the Florida Condominium Act was amended effective July 1, 2024, to require that condominium associations deliver to each unit owner by United States mail or personal delivery at the mailing address, property address, e-mail address, or facsimile number provided to fulfill the association’s notice requirements, a copy of the most recent financial report, “and” a notice that a copy of the most recent financial report will be mailed or hand delivered to the unit owner, without charge, within 5 business days after receipt of a written request from the unit owner.
There was an obvious glitch in the 2024 statute. Having to deliver a copy of its most recent financial report to each unit owner, and then also send a notice that they were entitled to a free copy of the document they had just received made no sense.
This part of the statute was amended effective July 1, 2025. The law now requires that associations only do one or the other—deliver the report or deliver a notice—not both. Other changes were made as well.
The statute now provides that within 21 days after the final financial report is completed by the association or received from a third party preparer (typically a CPA), but not later than 180 days after the end of the fiscal year or other date as provided in the bylaws, the association shall deliver to each unit owner by United States mail or personal delivery at the mailing address, property address, e-mail address, or facsimile number provided to fulfill the association’s notice requirements, a copy of the most recent financial report, “or” a notice that a copy of the most recent financial report will be, as required by the owner, mailed, hand delivered, or electronically delivered via the Internet to the unit owner, without charge, within 5 business days after receipt of a written request from the unit owner. The statute was also amended in 2025 that the association must prove its method of delivery by an affidavit.
Posting the year-end report on the association’s website is not sufficient delivery. Effective January 1, 2026, any association operating a condominium of 25 units or more will be required to have a website up and running, and the year-end financial report will have to be posted on the website. This is currently the law for associations operating condominiums of 150 units or more. However, unless the law is changed again, the posting on the website will not supplant the requirement for delivering the report or notice that it is available within the statutory deadline.
As an aside, not all associations are required by the statute to have year-end audits. This only applies to associations with revenues in excess of $500,000. For associations with revenues between $300,000 and $500,000, a review is sufficient. Revenues between $150,000 and $300,000 only require a compilation. Associations with revenues of less than $150,000 can prepare a cash statement of receipts and expenditure.
Further, the law permits associations to take an owner vote to “waive down” to a lower level of financial report. A “waive down” vote cannot be taken for more than one consecutive year. For example, if your community defaults to an audit requirement under the statute, an audit waiver vote could only be taken every other year.
A “waive down” vote requires approval of a majority of all voting interests; there is usually one voting interest allocated to each condominium unit. This is also a 2025 change – the law previously permitted the waiver vote to be approved by the “majority of the quorum.”
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.
