Florida HOA fine rules

Fla. Stat. § 720.305(2)(b): "A fine or suspension levied by the board of administration may not be imposed unless the board first provides at least 14 days' written notice of the parcel owner's right to a hearing to the parcel owner at his or her designated mailing or e-mail address in the association's official records and, if applicable, to any occupant, licensee, or invitee of the parcel owner, sought to be fined or suspended. Such hearing must be held within 90 days after issuance of the notice before a committee of at least three members appointed by the board who are not officers, directors, or employees of the association, or the spouse, parent, child, brother, or sister of an officer, director, or employee. The committee may hold the hearing by telephone or other electronic means. The notice must include a description of the alleged violation; the specific action required to cure such violation, if applicable; and the hearing date, location, and access information if held by telephone or other electronic means. A parcel owner has the right to attend a hearing by telephone or other electronic means." The committee's post-hearing notice is delivered the same way — § 720.305(2)(d) requires written notice "to the parcel owner at his or her designated mailing or e-mail address in the association's official records and, if applicable, any occupant, licensee, or invitee of the parcel owner."

Florida sets no fixed number of cure days. The pre-hearing notice must state "the specific action required to cure such violation, if applicable" (Fla. Stat. § 720.305(2)(b)). § 720.305(2)(e): "If a violation has been cured before the hearing or in the manner specified in the written notice required in paragraph (b) or paragraph (d), a fine or suspension may not be imposed." § 720.305(2)(f): "If a violation is not cured and the proposed fine or suspension levied by the board is approved by the committee by a majority vote, the committee must set a date by which the fine must be paid, which date must be at least 30 days after delivery of the written notice required in paragraph (d). Attorney fees and costs may not be awarded against the parcel owner based on actions taken by the board before the date set for the fine to be paid."

Fla. Stat. § 720.305(2)(b) — the board must first provide "at least 14 days' written notice of the parcel owner's right to a hearing," and "Such hearing must be held within 90 days after issuance of the notice before a committee of at least three members appointed by the board who are not officers, directors, or employees of the association, or the spouse, parent, child, brother, or sister of an officer, director, or employee"; the statute sets no deadline by which the owner must request the hearing, because the board must offer it. § 720.305(2)(c) — "If the committee, by majority vote, does not approve a proposed fine or suspension, the proposed fine or suspension may not be imposed. The role of the committee is limited to determining whether to confirm or reject the fine or suspension levied by the board." § 720.305(2)(d) — "Within 7 days after the hearing, the committee shall provide written notice to the parcel owner ... of the committee's findings related to the violation, including any applicable fines or suspensions that the committee approved or rejected, and how the parcel owner or any occupant, licensee, or invitee of the parcel owner may cure the violation, if applicable, or fulfill a suspension, or the date by which a fine must be paid." Under § 720.305(3) and (4), "The notice and hearing requirements under subsection (2) do not apply" to a suspension of common-area use rights or of voting rights for a monetary obligation more than 90 days delinquent.

Fla. Stat. § 720.305(2): "An association may levy reasonable fines for violations of the declaration, association bylaws, or reasonable rules of the association. A fine may not exceed $100 per violation against any member or any member's tenant, guest, or invitee for the failure of the owner of the parcel or its occupant, licensee, or invitee to comply with any provision of the declaration, the association bylaws, or reasonable rules of the association unless otherwise provided in the governing documents. A fine may be levied by the board for each day of a continuing violation, with a single notice and opportunity for hearing, except that the fine may not exceed $1,000 in the aggregate unless otherwise provided in the governing documents. A fine of less than $1,000 may not become a lien against a parcel. In any action to recover a fine, the prevailing party is entitled to reasonable attorney fees and costs from the nonprevailing party as determined by the court." Both dollar figures are default ceilings that the governing documents may displace. Two categories are excluded from fining altogether by § 720.305(7): "Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in an association's governing documents, an association may not levy a fine or impose a suspension for any of the following: (a) Leaving garbage receptacles at the curb or end of the driveway within 24 hours before or after the designated garbage collection day or time. (b) Leaving holiday decorations or lights on a structure or other improvement on a parcel longer than indicated in the governing documents, unless such decorations or lights are left up for longer than 1 week after the association provides written notice of the violation to the parcel owner."

Fla. Stat. § 720.303(5)(a): "Unless otherwise provided by law or the governing documents of the association, the official records must be maintained within this state for at least 7 years and be made available to a parcel owner for inspection or photocopying within 45 miles of the community or within the county in which the association is located within 10 business days after receipt by the board or its designee of a written request from the parcel owner." The same paragraph permits compliance "by having a copy of the official records available for inspection or copying in the community or by making the records available to a parcel owner electronically via the Internet or by allowing the records to be viewed in electronic format on a computer screen and printed upon request," and requires the association to "allow a member or his or her authorized representative to use a portable device, including a smartphone, tablet, portable scanner, or any other technology capable of scanning or taking photographs, to make an electronic copy of the official records," with no fee for that use. § 720.303(5)(b): "The failure of an association to provide access to the records within 10 business days after receipt of a written request submitted by certified mail, return receipt requested, creates a rebuttable presumption that the association willfully failed to comply with this subsection." § 720.303(5)(c): "A member denied access to official records is entitled to the actual damages or minimum damages for the association's willful failure to comply with this subsection. The minimum damages are to be $50 per calendar day up to 10 days, the calculation to begin on the 11th business day after receipt of the written request." § 720.303(5)(g): the association "may adopt reasonable written rules governing the frequency, time, location, notice, records to be inspected, and manner of inspections, but may not require a parcel owner to demonstrate any proper purpose for the inspection, state any reason for the inspection, or limit a parcel owner's right to inspect records to less than one 8-hour business day per month," and "may charge up to 25 cents per page for copies made on the association's photocopier," with personnel costs allowed only where retrieval and copying exceeds one-half hour, capped at "$20 per hour," and not chargeable "for records requests that result in the copying of 25 or fewer pages." § 720.303(5)(g) also lists records that are "not accessible to members or parcel owners," including lawyer-client and work-product privileged records, information obtained in connection with approval of a lease, sale or transfer of a parcel, personnel records, medical records, and personal identifying information.