Florida HOA Assessment Limits

Section 1: Overview

Florida regulates community-association assessments not through a single percentage ceiling, but through two separate statutory systems. Under Chapter 718, condominium boards set the annual budget, and the so-called 115 percent rule works as a substitute-budget trigger — not a cap. When a board's proposed budget requires assessments above 115 percent of the prior year, owners can demand a meeting to consider a substitute budget, but the board may still adopt the higher number.¹ Homeowners' associations operate under Chapter 720, where assessment authority and any increase limits flow from the recorded declaration, and reserves are largely opt-in.²

The Surfside collapse reshaped a significant part of Florida's condominium law. On June 24, 2021, 98 people died when the 12-story Champlain Towers South partially collapsed. What followed was a mandatory structural-reserve regime that applies to condominiums — and that drives sharp cost increases that fall entirely outside the 115 percent trigger.³

On the national map, Florida belongs in the comprehensive non-UCIOA category of states: it controls assessments through detailed condominium and HOA statutes rather than a statutory percentage cap like California or an owner-veto ratification mechanism like UCIOA states. Cooperatives fall under Chapter 719 and receive only brief mention here. The sections below detail authority, increase limits, special assessments and reserves, procedural rules, and recent legislative and judicial activity.

Section 2: The assessment framework

2A. Authority to levy and allocate assessments

For condominiums, Section 718.115 gives the association the authority to levy assessments for common expenses; the declaration fixes each unit's share.⁴ Section 718.116 then secures the levied assessment with a statutory lien that relates back to the recording of the declaration for most interests — though it remains subordinate to a first mortgage recorded before the claim of lien.⁵ The board sets the assessment by adopting the annual budget; no owner vote is required in the ordinary case, and the declaration — not the statute — controls how the total divides among units.¹

For homeowners' associations, assessment authority flows from the governing documents. Section 720.308 confirms that assessments are set by the budget and addresses the developer's assessment obligations and guarantees.⁶ The HOA lien, governed by Section 720.3085, likewise relates back to the recorded declaration when the governing documents authorize it.⁷ In both regimes, the board holds the power to set the regular assessment through the budget process, and the declaration — not the statute — determines how the total divides among units or parcels.

2B. Limits on regular assessment increases

For condominiums, Section 718.112(2)(e) governs the increase process. The board adopts the annual budget at least 14 days before the fiscal year starts. If the adopted budget requires assessments above 115 percent of the prior year, owners holding at least 10 percent of the voting interests have 21 days after adoption to submit a written request for a special meeting to consider a substitute budget. That meeting must occur within 60 days, and a substitute budget takes effect only if a majority of all voting interests approves it — failing that, the board's budget stands.¹

This is the central point of confusion in Florida practice: the 115 percent figure triggers an owner-initiated substitute-budget process. It does not cap what the board may adopt. The 115 percent calculation also excludes certain items — currently, statutorily required reserves, anticipated expenses the board does not expect to incur regularly, and insurance premiums.¹ The only true statutory cap applies during developer control: while the developer controls the board, assessments may not exceed 115 percent of the prior year unless a majority of all voting interests approves.¹

For homeowners' associations, Chapter 720 contains no equivalent 115 percent mechanism. Increase limits, if any, come from the declaration, and Section 720.303 governs the budget-adoption process and reserve disclosures.² An HOA board may raise the budget by whatever amount the declaration permits — the statute sets no percentage ceiling.

In both regimes, the declaration may impose additional limits or owner-approval requirements above the statutory floor; where the declaration is stricter than the statute, the stricter control applies. A defectively adopted budget or increase — for instance, one adopted without the required notice or affidavit — may be challenged by an owner, and an improperly levied assessment can be contested as an invalid debt.⁸

2C. Special assessments, reserves, and emergency assessments

For condominiums, a special assessment is any assessment other than the one the annual budget requires. The board generally has authority to levy one without an owner vote unless the declaration requires otherwise.⁸ The post-Surfside reserve regime works alongside this authority: under Section 718.112(2)(g) and the milestone-inspection statute, Section 553.899, condominium and cooperative buildings three habitable stories or higher must complete a structural integrity reserve study (SIRS) and fund the structural reserves it identifies.³ Those SIRS reserves are mandatory and, for budgets adopted on or after the statutory cutoff, generally cannot be waived or reduced by owner vote. The principal exceptions are condominium termination and a Division-approved alternative funding method for certain multi-condominium associations.¹ Milestone repairs and SIRS shortfalls frequently produce large special assessments that fall outside the 115 percent trigger. At Champlain Towers South, the board had approved a roughly $15 million assessment — ranging from about $80,190 for a one-bedroom unit to $336,135 for the four-bedroom penthouse — before the collapse.³

For homeowners' associations, special assessments follow the declaration and Section 720.303, with a statutory 14-day notice. HOA reserves are largely opt-in: under Section 720.303(6), reserves are established only if the developer creates them or a majority of the total voting interests votes to provide for them; once established, they must be funded, maintained, or waived in the statutory manner.² For emergencies, condominium boards may act on items not on the notice by a vote of a majority plus one, subject to ratification at the next regular meeting, and both statutes include emergency-powers provisions tied to declared emergencies.⁸

In practice, condominium owners face a mandatory, non-waivable reserve floor that HOA owners do not. HOA owners carry a correspondingly higher risk of surprise special assessments.

Section 3: Assessment limits and procedures in practice

A. Regular assessment increase procedure

Condominiums (Chapter 718): The board adopts the budget at least 14 days before the fiscal year begins, after mailing, delivering, or electronically transmitting notice and the proposed budget to owners at least 14 days before the budget meeting. If the budget exceeds 115 percent of the prior year, the owner-initiated substitute-budget process under Section 718.112(2)(e) applies.¹ HOAs (Chapter 720): Budget adoption follows the declaration and the notice rules of Section 720.303, with no statutory percentage trigger.²

B. Special assessment procedure

Both: Notice of a meeting at which a non-emergency special assessment will be considered must go out and be posted at least 14 days in advance, stating the estimated cost and purpose. For condominiums, Section 718.112(2)(c) also requires an affidavit of notice compliance in the official records and, under Section 718.116(10), an invoice stating the amount and purpose; member approval is required only if the declaration so provides.⁹ HOAs (Chapter 720): Section 720.303(2) requires the same 14-day notice of amount and purpose but does not require the affidavit or invoice.²

C. Caps, ceilings, and override mechanisms

Condominiums (Chapter 718): The 115 percent figure is a substitute-budget trigger, not a cap. The only true cap is the developer-control cap, which holds assessments to 115 percent of the prior year absent a majority vote of all voting interests.¹ SIRS structural reserves are mandatory and cannot be waived for budgets adopted on or after the statutory cutoff, with narrow exceptions.¹ HOAs (Chapter 720): No statutory percentage cap applies; limits flow from the declaration, and reserves are opt-in under Section 720.303(6).²

D. Notice, documentation, and disclosure

Both: Budget-meeting and special-assessment notice rules apply as above. The estoppel certificate — which discloses amounts owed on a unit or parcel at transfer — carries statutory fee caps. Section 718.116(8) for condominiums and Section 720.30851 for HOAs both set a base cap (statutorily $250, adjusted by the Department of Business and Professional Regulation to $299), plus a $119 additional fee for an expedited certificate and up to $179 for a delinquent account. The next DBPR adjustment is due by July 1, 2027, and no fee is permitted if the association fails to deliver the certificate within 10 business days.¹⁰

Section 4: Recent legislative and judicial activity

A. Recent bills

The 2024 and 2025 sessions produced two significant laws that reshape how Florida condominium associations manage budgets and structural reserves.

B. Recent appellate rulings

Two recent decisions from Florida's appellate courts highlight the procedural precision associations must bring to lien foreclosures.

C. Active legislative debates

Legislative attention since 2022 has centered on balancing condominium structural safety against the affordability of the resulting reserve and special-assessment burden. The 2025 session's reserve-pause and funding-flexibility provisions reflect that tension — and it carries into the 2026 cycle.

Section 5: National positioning and related coverage

Florida sits in the comprehensive non-UCIOA category of states. Statutory-cap states, led by California, impose hard percentage limits: under California Civil Code Section 5605(b), a board "may not impose a regular assessment that is more than 20 percent greater than the regular assessment for the association's preceding fiscal year or impose special assessments which in the aggregate exceed 5 percent of the budgeted gross expenses of the association for that fiscal year without the approval of a majority of a quorum of members."¹⁵ Ratification-mechanism UCIOA states — including Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Vermont, and Washington — control increases through an owner veto: the board adopts a budget, which then stands unless owners reject it.

Florida uses neither model. It relies on detailed condominium and HOA statutes, where the 115 percent substitute-budget trigger and the mandatory post-Surfside reserves are distinctive features rather than caps. For multi-state operators entering Florida, budget compliance turns on process and the declaration — not a numerical ceiling. Florida is also unusual in regulating condominiums through a dedicated agency: the DBPR Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes. Federal frameworks — including the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, and the bankruptcy treatment of assessments — bear on Florida assessment practice regardless of the state framework.

1. Fla. Stat. § 718.112(2)(e), (f), (g) (2025), budget adoption, 115 percent substitute-budget trigger, developer-control cap, reserves ↩
2. Fla. Stat. § 720.303 (2025), HOA budgets, reserves, and notice ↩
3. Fla. Stat. § 553.899, mandatory structural milestone inspections for condominium and cooperative buildings ↩
4. Fla. Stat. § 718.115, common expenses and common surplus ↩
5. Fla. Stat. § 718.116, assessments; liability; lien and priority; interest; collection ↩
6. Fla. Stat. § 720.308, assessments and charges ↩
7. Fla. Stat. § 720.3085, payment for assessments; lien claims ↩
8. Fla. Stat. § 718.112(2)(c), board authority, emergency action, and assessment notice ↩
9. Fla. Stat. § 718.112(2)(c), special-assessment meeting notice and affidavit of compliance ↩
10. Fla. Stat. § 718.116(8) (condominiums) and § 720.30851 (HOAs), estoppel certificate fee caps; see Fla. House Staff Analysis CS/CS/HB 979 (Feb. 21, 2024) for the 2022 CPI-adjusted $299/$119/$179 amounts ↩
11. CS/CS/HB 913 (2025), Condominium and Cooperative Associations; see Florida Senate 2025 Bill Summary, HB 913 ↩
12. HB 1021 (2024), Community Associations, Chapter 2024-244, Laws of Florida ↩
13. Winston Towers 100 Ass'n, Inc. v. Antonioli, No. 3D24-1077 (Fla. 3d DCA 2025) ↩
14. Orfanos v. 45 Ocean Condominium Ass'n, Inc., 368 So. 3d 995 (Fla. 4th DCA 2023) ↩
15. Cal. Civ. Code § 5605(b), regular assessment 20 percent and special assessment 5 percent limits ↩