SB 1498 Florida Senate · 2026 Regular Session

Community Associations

Summary

Community Associations; Revising conditions that constitute a violation of certain provisions related to certain records of a condominium association; revising how associations that have not adopted electronic voting are required to receive electronically transmitted ballots; revising a requirement that a developer, before turning over control of a cooperative association to unit owners, have a turnover inspection report for all buildings on the cooperative property, rather than only for buildings that are three stories or higher; providing that the official records of a homeowners’ association are open to inspection by certain persons at all reasonable times, etc.

Bill status died 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Jan 22, 2026 Last action Mar 13, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

S 1498 Filed → S 1498 c1 · 10 edits

MAJOR

This bill updates Florida's community association laws to expand transparency requirements, strengthen structural integrity reserve study standards, and enhance enforcement mechanisms for record access violations. It also clarifies definitions for common areas and governing documents in homeowners' associations while adding new prohibited clauses and assessment limitations.

Scope change

Expanded scope to include additional provisions for homeowners' associations (HOAs) beyond condominiums and cooperatives, including new requirements for record access, prohibited clauses, and assessment limits.

REQUIREMENT

Extended turnover inspection report requirements to cover all buildings on condominium and cooperative properties, not just those three stories or higher.

Updated structural integrity reserve study requirements to include additional items like waterproofing, exterior painting, windows, doors, and deferred maintenance items exceeding $25,000.

New requirement for associations to provide records to law enforcement or prosecuting agencies within 5 business days of receiving a subpoena or written request.

Added prohibited clauses preventing associations from requiring mandatory club membership fees or restricting members' ability to seek legal remedies for violations.

New limitation requiring assessments payable to developers or common area owners to not exceed members' proportional share of approved annual budget expenses.

New requirement for associations to provide checklists of all available records when responding to written inspection requests, with a 7-year retention requirement.

ENFORCEMENT

Added criminal penalties for willful violations of record access requirements, including misdemeanors for denying access and felonies for destroying records to avoid legal detection.

DEFINITION

Added new definitions for 'common area' and 'governing documents' in homeowners' association statutes to clarify what properties and documents are covered.

TIMELINE

Extended deadline for existing associations to complete structural integrity reserve studies to December 31, 2026, with provisions to align with milestone inspections.

ELIGIBILITY

Expanded eligibility for electronic ballot transmission to include unit owners who consent to electronic voting without requiring additional compliance with ballot secrecy rules.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Feb 4, 2026

Upper · Passed

Now in Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and General Government

upper

Feb 4, 2026

Upper · Passed

Pending reference review under Rule 4.7(2) - (Committee Substitute)

upper

Jan 29, 2026

Upper · Passed

On Committee agenda-- Regulated Industries, 02/03/26, 1:00 pm, 412 Knott Building

upper

Jan 22, 2026

Introduced

upper

Jan 16, 2026

Committee

Referred to Regulated Industries; Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and General Government; Rules

upper

1 primary · 2 co-sponsors