One of the most common ways Florida HOA boards end up in legal trouble isn't violations, missed meetings, or dues disputes. It's records. Specifically, failing to produce them when an owner asks — or not having them organized well enough to find in time.
Under Florida statutes 718 and 720, your association is required to keep a defined set of records and make most of them available to owners on request, within strict deadlines that carry real financial penalties if you miss them.
This post focuses specifically on the document and records requirements. If you want a broader view of everything Florida Statute 718 requires from your board, we covered the full law in a separate guide.
What Records Must a Florida Condo Association Keep?
Florida Statute 718.111(12) lists the official records every condo association must maintain:
Governing Documents
- Declaration of condominium and all amendments
- Articles of incorporation
- Bylaws and all amendments
- Rules and regulations
Financial Records
- All current and prior-year financial statements (compiled, reviewed, or audited depending on association revenues)
- Current annual budget
- All contracts the association has entered into
- Invoices and records of all receipts and expenditures (7-year retention)
- Bank records and account statements (7-year retention)
Meeting Records
- Board meeting minutes (7-year retention)
- Committee meeting minutes (7-year retention)
- Annual meeting minutes (7-year retention)
- Agenda for each meeting
- Ballots, voting records, and sign-in sheets from elections (1 year)
Other Required Records
- All insurance policies currently in effect
- A current roster of all unit owners with mailing addresses and email addresses (if consented)
- All written agreements with vendors, contractors, or management companies
What Records Must an HOA Keep Under Florida Statute 720?
Statute 720.303(4) establishes similar requirements for homeowners associations:
- Governing documents (declaration, bylaws, articles, rules)
- Financial records (including budgets and prior-year statements)
- Meeting minutes (7 years)
- Insurance policies
- Contracts (7 years)
- Ballots and election records (1 year)
- Membership roster with mailing addresses
How Long Must Records Be Kept?
| Record Type | Retention Period |
|---|---|
| Governing documents | Permanently |
| Financial records, invoices, bank statements | 7 years |
| Meeting minutes | 7 years |
| Contracts and agreements | 7 years |
| Election ballots and voting records | 1 year |
| Insurance policies | Duration + 7 years |
How Quickly Must the Association Produce Records?
Under Florida Statute 718.111(12)(b), if a unit owner submits a written request to inspect or copy official records, the association must make them available within 10 business days of receiving the request. If the owner made the request at least 60 days before a board meeting, the deadline is 5 business days.
Failure to provide records within the required timeframe can result in a penalty of $50 per day, up to $200 total, paid directly to the requesting owner — plus attorney's fees if the owner has to sue to obtain the records.
What Records Can Associations Withhold?
Some records are not required to be disclosed to owners:
- Attorney-client privileged communications
- Personnel records for employees of the association
- Medical records of unit owners
- Information obtained in connection with the approval of a sale or lease (credit reports, background checks)
- Security system schematics and access codes
What Are the Best Practices for Florida HOA Document Management?
The boards that get into trouble with records aren't usually disorganized because they don't care. They're disorganized because nobody set up a real system when the association was young, and it's been a shared drive with inconsistent naming conventions ever since.
A few things that make a real difference:
Go digital and organize by category. Governing documents, financial records, meeting minutes — keep them separate and labeled. When you get a records request at 4pm on a Friday, you don't want to be hunting through a folder named "Misc HOA stuff 2022."
Give residents access to what they're entitled to see. A resident portal where owners can look up documents themselves eliminates most records requests before they're ever made. If an owner can log in and download the bylaws on their own, they're not filing a formal request that creates a 10-day deadline for you.
Keep versions of amended documents. When you amend the bylaws, don't replace the original — keep both. Document the effective date of every amendment. This matters when a dispute arises about what the rules said at a specific point in time.
If you're running a self-managed association and all of this is starting to sound like a lot of work, our post on self-managed HOA vs. management company covers how to think through the workload question honestly.
RealtyDash includes a document management system built specifically for Florida associations — organized storage, resident-accessible document sharing, and a full audit trail of who accessed what and when.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if we can't produce records within 10 days?
The requesting owner can file a complaint with the Florida DBPR and can sue to compel production of records. The association may be required to pay the owner's attorney's fees.
Does the statute require us to give owners physical copies?
No. Owners are entitled to inspect and copy records, but the association can charge reasonable copying costs (up to 25 cents per page). Many associations now provide digital access, which is faster and cheaper for everyone.
Does the association have to keep records in Florida?
Records must be maintained within Florida and must be available for inspection at the association's principal office.
What about records that predate our current board?
The retention requirements apply regardless of who was on the board when the records were created. You're responsible for maintaining historical records from prior boards.
Are emails considered official records?
Yes — written correspondence received or created in connection with the operation of the association, including emails, is subject to inspection if it relates to the association's official business.