Florida's HOA ombudsman bill died without a hearing — and so did the fee that would have paid for it
Florida's HOA ombudsman bill died without a hearing — and so did the fee that would have paid for it
2026-09-10 · Florida · Legislation · Did not pass
What happened. Two linked bills by Sen. Ileana Garcia — one creating a state ombudsman for Florida homeowners' association members, the other creating the fee that would have paid for it — both died in the Senate Regulated Industries Committee on 13 March 2026 without ever being placed on an agenda.12
The office that was proposed
SB 906 would have created an Office of the Homeowners' Association Ombudsman inside the Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares and Mobile Homes at DBPR. It specified the ombudsman's powers and duties, expanded the Division's responsibilities over residential parcels and complaints, authorised the Division to issue citations and adopt rules, and required a toll-free hotline for parcel owners.
The bill was filed 15 December 2025 and formally introduced 13 January 2026. It was never agendaed in its first committee.
Why this is a real gap and not a technicality
Florida condominium owners have had a statutory Condominium Ombudsman since 2004. Owners in homeowners' associations have never had one. That asymmetry is the whole point of SB 906, and it survives the session intact.
The practical consequence is narrow and specific. DBPR's own position is that “the division does not have authority to investigate complaints under Chapter 720.” The Division's only Chapter 720 role is arbitrating election and recall disputes. In March 2026 the Department went further and repealed Rule 61B-85.001, its last remaining HOA rule, on the stated ground that the statute behind it had been repealed in 2017 — leaving Chapter 61B-85 an empty chapter.3
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Related Florida HOA Topics
- SB 906 (2026), Homeowners' Associations — bill record and history, Florida Senate ↩
- SB 908 (2026), Fees/Homeowners' Associations — bill record and history, Florida Senate ↩
- Rule 61B-85.001, F.A.C., repealed effective 5 March 2026 — Florida Administrative Code ↩
- HOA & Condo Fraud Investigative Unit, City of Homestead Police Department ↩
- Bills filed for the 2027 Regular Session, Florida Senate ↩
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