Condo vs. HOA in Florida: what changes between §718 and §720

Florida community associations come in two statutory flavors — condominium associations governed by Chapter 718 and homeowners associations governed by Chapter 720. At a glance the two chapters feel interchangeable: similar notice clocks, similar fine structures, similar director requirements. The gaps are where boards get into trouble, because the gaps are the places Florida courts have had the most to say. The full statute reference hub is at /florida/statutes.

What each chapter actually governs

Chapter 718 covers ownership of individual units within a building that shares common elements — walls, roofs, elevators, structural components. The owner holds title to a defined interior space; the association holds or manages the common elements around it. Chapter 720 covers parcels — typically platted lots — where the private property belongs entirely to the owner, and the association governs common areas and enforces the governing documents that run with every deed in the community. The practical consequence of that distinction reaches further than most boards expect.

Records and the 10-day clock

Both chapters give members a 10-business-day window from written request to records availability. The categories maintained under each chapter track closely: minutes, bylaws, financial records, member rosters, insurance policies, contracts. But Chapter 718 carries an obligation that Chapter 720 does not: associations with 25 or more non-timeshare units must operate a dedicated website or application with a protected owners-only section, and they must post a defined list of documents there. See §718.111 for the full posting list.

No equivalent website mandate appears in §720.303. An HOA board that decides to build an owner portal is not required to do so by the statute, and the document-posting obligations that flow from the condo website rule simply do not apply. Boards that manage both a condo association and an HOA within the same development need to track this separately — the website obligation follows the condo, not the HOA.

Meeting notice clocks

Board meeting notice is 48 hours for both chapters — conspicuously posted on the property. The budget notice is 14 days for both chapters, delivered in writing. The divergence shows up in a narrower place: Chapter 720 offers an alternative for boards that lack a physical posting board. Under §720.303, a board may mail meeting notice at least 7 days in advance as an alternative to the 48-hour posted notice. No parallel alternative appears in §718.

For a small HOA that meets in a member's home or a rented community room with no common property on which to post notice, the 7-day mail path has real operational value. Condo boards do not have that option in the statute; if notice goes by mail, the 48-hour clock still applies to the physical posting.

Fines and liens — the divergence that matters most

Both chapters cap individual fines at $100 per violation and the aggregate at $1,000. Both require at least 14 days of written notice before a fine takes effect, and both require confirmation by an independent committee of members without conflicts. Where the two statutes come apart is what happens at the end of that process.

Under §718.303, a fine may not become a lien against a unit — ever. That sentence is a ceiling. There is no dollar amount, no governing-document language, and no board vote that changes it. A condo association collecting an unpaid fine is collecting a debt, not foreclosing.

Under §720.305, a fine of $1,000 or more may become a lien against the parcel when the governing documents permit. This is a meaningful divergence, and the threshold has procedural weight. A board that reaches the lien point needs to have the committee record, the hearing documentation, and the proper recording at the county clerk in order. An HOA that has crossed $1,000 in accumulated fines against a parcel, confirmed the process, and has governing-document authority to lien is in a different legal position than any condo board can be.

Quorum and voting interests

Chapter 718 ties quorum and elections to the declaration's own rules and to the statutory election procedures in §718.112. Chapter 720 sets a statutory default for quorum that fills the gap when the bylaws are silent: 30 percent of total voting interests. Decisions at that meeting then require a majority of the voting interests present.

Amendment votes follow a similar pattern. Chapter 720 defaults to two-thirds of voting interests for a governing-document amendment unless the bylaws specify a different threshold — and some older bylaws do. The Chapter 718 amendment process is set by the declaration itself, which means the threshold varies by community rather than by statute. Boards reviewing whether a proposed amendment will pass need to read the right chapter before counting votes. The glossary entry for voting interest clarifies how the base is calculated in each context.

Milestone inspections and structural reserves

The milestone inspection requirement under §553.899 applies to condominium and cooperative buildings three or more stories above grade. Single-family parcels governed by a Chapter 720 HOA fall outside the milestone inspection framework — the statute names condominiums and cooperatives specifically.

There is a carve-out worth noting. If an HOA owns a multi-story amenity building — a clubhouse, a fitness facility, a parking structure — that building may independently trigger milestone inspection obligations based on its own use and height classification, separate from the residential parcels in the community. Boards of HOAs with significant amenity infrastructure should not assume that Chapter 720 governance automatically insulates every building they own from Chapter 553 requirements.

Director education and certification

Both chapters require new directors to complete education within 90 days of taking a seat. The Chapter 718 standard is the 4-hour course. The Chapter 720 path under §720.3033 adds two layers that §718 does not: continuing education each year (4 hours for associations with fewer than 2,500 parcels, 8 hours for larger associations), and a specific conflict-of-interest disclosure framework that requires written notice at least 14 days before any vote or contract involving a conflict. The 4-year certificate renewal cycle also appears in §720.3033 without a direct §718 equivalent.

A board that leans on Chapter 718 familiarity when serving on a Chapter 720 association will miss the continuing education requirement until a director challenge or a Division inquiry surfaces it.

The honest short answer

The two chapters share a common shape — the notice clocks, the fine process, the meeting mechanics. The divergence is concentrated in four places: the website mandate (§718 only), the lien authority for fines (§720 only above $1,000), the 7-day mail alternative for meeting notice (§720 only), and the continuing education requirement (§720 only). Those four gaps are where the wrong playbook produces the wrong outcome.

For deadlines and obligations across both chapters, the compliance calendar tracks each statute's clock alongside the operational step it governs.

This post describes the software-management side of Florida community association compliance. It is not legal advice. Boards with questions about which chapter governs their association, or where the two chapters interact, should consult qualified Florida counsel.