HOA, Condo Association, or Co-op: Which Florida Statute Governs Your Community
Three separate Florida statutes govern community associations, and they impose very different obligations. Chapter 718 governs condominiums, Chapter 719 governs cooperatives, and Chapter 720 governs homeowners’ associations. The difference determines whether your board must complete a structural integrity reserve study, whether owners can vote to waive reserves, when you need an official website, and how many hours of education each director owes the state. Ownership structure is what decides it, not the community’s name.
Your Community’s Name Tells You Nothing
There are HOAs in Tampa Bay called “condominium associations.” There are condominiums marketed as “villages.” There are cooperatives sitting inside communities that everyone in the neighborhood calls an HOA.
None of that matters. What matters is what each owner actually holds title to, because that is what determines which chapter of the Florida Statutes your board answers to.
Get this wrong and the consequences are not theoretical. A board that believes it is governed by Chapter 718 when it is actually a Chapter 720 association may spend twenty thousand dollars on a study the law never required. A board that believes the reverse may miss a hard statutory deadline and expose every director personally.
Here is how to settle it.
The Five-Minute Test
Pull the declaration and answer one question: what does an owner own?
If an owner holds fee simple title to a lot or parcel, and the association owns the common areas separately, you are a homeowners’ association under Chapter 720. Single-family communities, most townhome communities, and villa communities usually land here.
If an owner holds fee simple title to a unit plus an undivided share of the common elements, you are a condominium under Chapter 718. Note that “condominium” is a form of ownership, not a building type. Florida has single-story detached condominiums. The building’s shape tells you nothing.
If an owner holds shares in a corporation that owns the entire property, along with a proprietary lease or occupancy agreement for a specific unit, you are a cooperative under Chapter 719.
Cooperatives are the forgotten category in Florida community management, and Tampa Bay has more of them than most boards realize. A significant share of the region’s older waterfront buildings and a large number of manufactured and mobile home communities are organized as cooperatives. Their boards are frequently handed condominium advice that does not fit their statute.
If your declaration is ambiguous, the recorded instrument type and the property appraiser’s ownership records will resolve it. If it is still unclear, that is a question for association counsel and it should be answered before your next budget cycle, not after.
Side by Side
| HOA (Ch. 720) | Condominium (Ch. 718) | Cooperative (Ch. 719) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What owners hold | Fee simple lot or parcel | Fee simple unit plus share of common elements | Shares in the corporation plus proprietary lease |
| Structural Integrity Reserve Study | Not required | Required for buildings 3+ habitable stories | Required for buildings 3+ habitable stories |
| Reserve funding | Only if established by developer or member vote | Cannot waive or reduce SIRS component reserves | Cannot waive or reduce SIRS component reserves |
| Milestone inspection | Not required | Required at 30 years, then every 10 | Required at 30 years, then every 10 |
| Official website threshold | 100 or more parcels | 25 or more units | Analogous provisions under Ch. 719 |
| Director initial certification | 4 hours within 90 days | 4 hours within 90 days | Follows cooperative provisions |
| Director annual CE | 4 hours, or 8 at 2,500+ parcels | 1 hour on Chapter 718 changes | Follows cooperative provisions |
| DBPR division oversight | Limited | Division of Condominiums, Timeshares and Mobile Homes | Division of Condominiums, Timeshares and Mobile Homes |
Reserves: The Difference That Costs the Most Money
This is where the three chapters diverge hardest, and it is the single most consequential thing a Florida board can misunderstand.
Condominiums and cooperatives
Under Fla. Stat. 718.112(2)(g), and the analogous provisions at Fla. Stat. 719.106, every residential condominium and cooperative building with three or more habitable stories must obtain a Structural Integrity Reserve Study at least every ten years. The requirement applies regardless of the building’s age. A three-story building completed last year needs one.
The SIRS must address the roof, load-bearing walls and other primary structural members, the floor, the foundation, fireproofing and fire protection systems, plumbing, electrical systems, waterproofing and exterior painting, windows and exterior doors, plus any other component with a deferred maintenance or replacement cost above the statutory threshold. That threshold is adjusted annually for inflation and sits at roughly $25,675 for 2026.
The initial SIRS deadline was December 31, 2025. Associations required to complete a milestone inspection on or before December 31, 2026 were permitted to complete the SIRS alongside it, but in no event may a SIRS be completed after December 31, 2026 for associations that existed on or before July 1, 2022.
And here is the part that changed everything: for budgets adopted on or after December 31, 2024, unit owners can no longer vote to waive or reduce reserve funding for SIRS components. The waiver vote that many Florida boards relied on for two decades is gone for structural items. HB 913, effective July 1, 2025, permits the funding to come from regular assessments, special assessments, loans, or lines of credit, but the obligation itself cannot be eliminated.
Components with a remaining useful life of more than 25 years do not have to be funded, and reserve funding applies only to items that are an association responsibility.
Failure by a board to obtain a milestone inspection, obtain a SIRS, or fund SIRS reserves can trigger presuit mediation and creates direct exposure for directors.
Homeowners’ associations
Chapter 720 imposes none of that.
An HOA is required to fund reserves only if reserves were established by the developer or created by a vote of the membership. There is no statutory SIRS. There is no non-waivable structural reserve. There is no milestone inspection requirement.
That is the legal answer. It is not the prudent one.
An HOA carrying private roads, a pool deck, a clubhouse roof, and an amenity center with no reserve plan is one capital cycle away from a special assessment that nobody in the community budgeted for. The statute does not compel funding. Insurance underwriters, lenders reviewing buyer financing, and prospective purchasers reviewing your financials increasingly do. Boards that treat reserve planning as optional because the statute permits it tend to learn the difference during a roof replacement.
Compliance Obligations by Chapter
Websites and digital records. HOAs with 100 or more parcels have been required to maintain an official website or secure member portal under Fla. Stat. 720.303(4) since January 1, 2025. Condominium associations with 25 or more units came under the expanded requirement at Fla. Stat. 718.111(12)(g) on January 1, 2026, including posting recordings of board meetings. Associations with 150 or more units have had the recording and posting obligation since July 2025.
DBPR registration. Condominium and cooperative associations were required to create an online account with the Division of Condominiums, Timeshares and Mobile Homes by October 1, 2025. HOAs are not registered through that division in the same way. If you manage a condo or co-op and have never created the account, you are out of compliance today.
Elections and voting. HB 913 modernized voting for condominium and cooperative associations. Associations without a formal electronic voting system may now accept email ballots, provided the email includes the owner’s name, the unit or parcel number, and a waiver of ballot secrecy. HOA election procedure runs on a separate track under Chapter 720.
Director education. Every HOA director elected or appointed on or after July 1, 2024 must complete a DBPR-approved four-hour curriculum within 90 days under Fla. Stat. 720.3033, then complete four hours of continuing education annually, or eight hours if the association has 2,500 or more parcels. Condominium directors complete a four-hour initial certification plus one hour of annual continuing education covering changes to Chapter 718. Verify that any course provider appears on the current DBPR approved list. A certificate from an unapproved provider does not satisfy the requirement.
Where Tampa Bay Boards Actually Get Confused
Master associations with sub-associations. A master planned community in Pasco or Hillsborough may operate as a Chapter 720 master association with Chapter 718 condominium sub-associations inside it. The master board and the sub-association boards are governed by different statutes and owe different obligations. Both boards need to know which one they are.
Mid-rise buildings inside an HOA. A traditional HOA does not trigger SIRS. A master association that owns and maintains a mid-rise amenity or residential building three or more stories tall may.
Mixed-ownership buildings. Buildings containing both condominium and non-condominium ownership are addressed by the milestone inspection program and require a specific analysis. Do not assume.
Cooperatives being managed as condominiums. The obligations overlap heavily, but the ownership structure, transfer process, financing, and share-based assessments do not. Advice built for Chapter 718 does not transfer cleanly.
Why This Matters When You Hire a Manager
Ask any management company you are interviewing which chapter governs your association and what that specifically changes about how they would run your budget, your records, and your annual meeting.
If the answer is generic, that is your answer. A firm that manages a Chapter 720 HOA the same way it manages a Chapter 719 cooperative is going to be right roughly half the time.
Copper Door Community Services manages homeowners’ associations, condominium associations, and cooperatives across Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas, and Manatee counties. Statutory compliance tracking is built into the engagement by association type, not applied as a template.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between an HOA, a condo association, and a co-op in Florida? The difference is what owners hold title to. HOA owners hold fee simple title to a lot under Chapter 720. Condominium owners hold fee simple title to a unit plus an undivided share of the common elements under Chapter 718. Cooperative owners hold shares in a corporation that owns the property, plus a proprietary lease, under Chapter 719.
Does an HOA need a Structural Integrity Reserve Study in Florida? No. SIRS requirements apply to condominium and cooperative buildings with three or more habitable stories under Chapters 718 and 719. Chapter 720 homeowners’ associations have no statutory SIRS obligation.
Can Florida condo owners still vote to waive reserves? Not for SIRS components. For budgets adopted on or after December 31, 2024, reserve funding for structural integrity components cannot be waived or reduced by owner vote.
Are Florida cooperatives subject to milestone inspections? Yes. Milestone inspections under Fla. Stat. 553.899 apply to residential condominium and cooperative buildings three or more habitable stories in height, generally at 30 years of age based on the certificate of occupancy, then every ten years. Some coastal jurisdictions apply a 25-year trigger.
Which Florida associations are required to have a website? Homeowners’ associations with 100 or more parcels under Fla. Stat. 720.303(4), and condominium associations with 25 or more units under Fla. Stat. 718.111(12)(g).
How do I find out which statute governs my association? Read the recorded declaration and determine what each owner holds title to. If the declaration is ambiguous, association counsel can confirm it from the recorded instrument and the property appraiser’s records.
This article summarizes publicly available Florida statutes as of July 2026. It is not legal advice. Confirm how these requirements apply to your specific community with your association’s counsel.
With over 30 years in community association management across the U.S., Annette Byrd brings executive leadership, legislative advocacy, and a passion for serving HOA and condo boards with integrity and expertise. She is the visionary behind CopperDoor’s commitment to exceptional service and practical guidance for communities.