Florida HOA compliance software — what Chapter 720 actually requires

Chapter 720 vs. Chapter 718 — why it matters for software

Florida homeowners associations are governed by Chapter 720. Florida condominiums are governed by Chapter 718. The two chapters overlap on records, fines, and director education, but diverge on several obligations that software must handle differently.

The divergence is not abstract. A tool built only for Chapter 718 condos will produce artifacts a Chapter 720 HOA board does not owe (e.g., the §718.111(12)(g) statutory disclosure website, the milestone-inspection workflow under §553.899), while missing artifacts the HOA board does owe (e.g., the §720.305 governing-document fine-cap override, the §720.303(4) records-retention categories specific to HOAs). The condo compliance software reference covers the Chapter 718 side.

The core Chapter 720 obligations

1. §720.303(5)(a) — records-request response

When a member submits a written records request, the association must make the records available for inspection or copying within 10 working days (the statute's term). HOA Rocket's implementation applies the §110.117 state- holiday calendar to the count; that cross-reference is our implementation choice, not a directive in the §720.303 text itself.

2. §720.305(2)(b) — fining-committee composition and procedure

A Florida HOA fining committee must have at least three members, none of whom is an officer, director, employee, or the spouse, parent, child, brother, or sister of any officer, director, or employee. The committee must give the homeowner at least 14 days' written notice before the hearing and may only confirm or reject the proposed fine. If the committee does not approve by majority vote, the fine may not be imposed. See the HOA fine cap reference for the dollar thresholds and the governing-document override.

3. §720.3033 — director certification and education

Every newly elected or appointed HOA director must complete a department-approved education course within 90 days. The certificate is valid for up to four years. Smaller associations require four hours of continuing education annually; associations of 2,500 or more parcels require eight hours. Directors who fail to certify within 90 days forfeit their board seat. See the §720.3033 statute page for the full obligation list.

4. §720.303(4) — records retention

Official records must be maintained for specified periods: financial records for the current year plus the prior seven fiscal years, minutes of all meetings of the board and members, the articles, bylaws, declaration, and all amendments, the current roster of members, contracts, insurance policies, and the records of member votes. The records-retention schedule compares the §720.303(4) HOA tiers side-by-side with §718.111(12)(b) condo tiers.

5. Where Chapter 720 differs from Chapter 718

Three things Chapter 718 mandates that Chapter 720 does not (as of the current statute text):

• Statutory disclosure website. §718.111(12)(g) requires condo associations of 25+ non-timeshare units to maintain a statutory website. Chapter 720 was amended by HB 1203 (effective January 1, 2025) to require HOAs of 100+ parcels to post governing documents online, but the scope differs.
• Milestone inspections. §553.899 applies to condo buildings of three or more stories. Single-family-home HOAs are not subject to milestone inspections.
• SIRS. Structural Integrity Reserve Studies are a Chapter 718 obligation. Chapter 720 does not require SIRS.

And one thing Chapter 720 permits that Chapter 718 does not:

• Fine-cap override via governing documents.§720.305(2) allows the association's declaration or bylaws to set fining thresholds higher than the statutory $100 per-violation / $1,000 aggregate defaults. §718.303(3) does not include the same override clause for condos.

What HOA Rocket does for Chapter 720 boards

HOA Rocket runs Chapter 718 and Chapter 720 statutory workflows side by side. For a Chapter 720 HOA board, the product covers:

• Records-request workflow under §720.303 — 10-working-day deadline counter, statutory cover- letter template, denial-reason references.
• Fining-committee charter under §720.305 — composition validation (blocks officers/directors/employees/relatives), 14-day hearing-notice clock, confirm-or- reject vote tracking.
• Director-training tracker under §720.3033 — 90-day post-election clock, 4-year certificate renewal, annual continuing-education hours.
• Records-retention audit — 7-year financial records, permanent governance documents, indexed against the §720.303(4) categories.
• No payments processor, no GL, no vendor payables. Bring your own ledger.

Adjacent pages

For the Chapter 718 (condo) version of this page, see Chapter 718 compliance software. For the multi-tool comparison with statute-coverage matrix, see Best HOA software for Florida. For the full §720.305 fining rules, see HOA fine cap.