Fines & Violations

Reflects Florida law as of August 2026, including the 2024 amendments to both fining statutes.

Can my HOA fine me?

The details matter, because associations routinely skip steps. The HOA's written notice must identify the alleged violation, describe how the violation may be cured if it can be cured, and provide the information necessary to attend the hearing. The notice should state the date, time, location, or remote-access information for the hearing and identify the owner, occupant, tenant, licensee, or invitee the association seeks to fine or suspend. The hearing must be held within 90 days after the required written notice is issued. The hearing may be conducted in person, by telephone, or through other electronic means authorized by the statute or association procedures. The fining committee must consist of at least three members appointed by the board. Committee members may not be officers, directors, or employees of the association, and may not be the spouse, parent, child, brother, or sister of an officer, director, or employee. The committee's only job is to confirm or reject the fine the board proposed; it cannot increase it. Within seven days after the hearing, the committee must send written notice of its findings to the owner and, where applicable, the occupant, tenant, licensee, or invitee involved. The notice must state whether the committee approved or rejected the fine or suspension, explain any available cure, identify the payment deadline for an approved fine, and state how a suspension may be completed or lifted. An HOA fine may not be due less than 30 days after the committee's written notice is provided. If you cure a curable violation before the fining-committee hearing in the manner described in the notice, the HOA may not impose a fine or suspension for that violation. Preserve dated photographs, receipts, correspondence, or other proof showing when and how the violation was cured.

An HOA generally may not charge attorney fees or costs for actions taken by the board before an approved fine becomes due. Attorney fees and costs relating to collection of the fine may begin to accrue only after the fine-payment deadline has passed. An HOA may not impose a fine or suspension for:

• Leaving a garbage receptacle at the curb or end of a driveway within 24 hours before or after the designated collection day or time.
• Leaving holiday decorations or lights up longer than the governing documents allow unless they remain up for more than one week after the association gives written notice of the violation.

Can my condo association fine me?

The condominium fining committee may confirm or reject the board's proposed fine or suspension; it may not increase the amount proposed by the board. If the committee does not approve the proposed fine or suspension by majority vote, it may not be imposed.

If the committee approves the fine, payment is due five days after written notice of the approved fine is provided to the unit owner and, where applicable, the tenant, licensee, or invitee involved.

The condominium statute does not contain the HOA-specific provisions requiring a hearing within 90 days, a written post-hearing decision within seven days, or automatic elimination of a fine when a curable violation is corrected before the hearing.

A condominium association must still provide the required 14-day notice and a genuine opportunity for a hearing before a properly constituted independent committee. A committee that includes prohibited officers, directors, employees, or close relatives does not satisfy the statute.

How much can the fine be?

For condominiums, Florida law caps a fine at $100 per violation and $1,000 in the aggregate for a continuing violation. The condominium declaration cannot authorize a higher amount.

For HOAs, the statutory default is also $100 per violation, up to $1,000 in the aggregate for a continuing violation. But section 720.305 allows the governing documents to authorize a different fine amount. Review the declaration, bylaws, rules, and amendments before assuming that the $1,000 aggregate cap applies.

A continuing violation, such as an unapproved fence that remains in place, may be subject to a daily fine. The association must still follow the required notice-and-hearing process, and the applicable aggregate cap limits the total fine unless the HOA's governing documents lawfully authorize a different cap.

Can a fine become a lien or lead to foreclosure?

A condominium fine cannot become a lien against a unit and cannot support a foreclosure.

In an HOA, a fine generally cannot become a lien unless the fine is at least $1,000 and the association followed the required notice, hearing, committee-approval, and lien procedures. An HOA fine lien may be enforceable through foreclosure when the statutory and governing-document requirements are met.

If a claim of lien includes nonlienable fines, request the account ledger and lien documents immediately. The inclusion of improper charges may reduce the amount the association can recover and may provide a defense or basis to challenge the lien.

A fine should not be treated as an assessment simply because it appears on the same owner ledger. Interest, late fees, collection charges, lien rights, and foreclosure rights depend on the legal basis for each charge.

If the association combines a disputed fine with your assessment balance and applies your payments in a way that makes current assessments appear delinquent, request a detailed ledger and dispute the allocation in writing. Continue to preserve proof of all assessment payments and objections.

In an HOA, you may send the board a written request for a detailed accounting of amounts allegedly owed in connection with your parcel. The association must provide the accounting within 15 business days.

If the association fails to provide the required accounting, certain fines that are more than 30 days past due and were not previously disclosed to the owner in writing may be waived under section 720.303(14).

What else can the association do besides fine me?

Both condominium and HOA associations may suspend an owner's, tenant's, guest's, or invitee's right to use common areas and facilities for a reasonable period when the governing documents are violated. A suspension for a rule violation generally requires the same notice-and-hearing process as a fine.

An association may not suspend access to the home itself, utilities, vehicular or pedestrian ingress and egress, or other access rights protected by statute. A condominium association also may not suspend the use of limited common elements or elevators.

Suspensions for nonpayment follow different rules. An association may suspend common-area use rights and voting rights for a delinquency that is more than 90 days old, without a fining-committee hearing, if the board acts at a properly noticed meeting and complies with the applicable statute.

For an HOA, the statute generally permits suspension when any monetary obligation is more than 90 days delinquent. For a condominium, common-element use rights may be suspended when any monetary obligation is more than 90 days delinquent, but voting rights may be suspended only when the delinquency exceeds $1,000 and is more than 90 days old, and only after the statutory notice has been given. The suspension ends when all current and overdue monetary obligations are paid. Sections 718.303(4)–(6) and 720.305(3)–(5).

The association may also file a court action seeking damages, an injunction, or other relief to enforce the governing documents. In a covered owner-versus-association action, the prevailing party may be entitled to attorney fees under section 718.303(1) or section 720.305(1).

For an HOA, many covenant-enforcement disputes require Chapter 720 presuit mediation before a lawsuit. For a condominium, disputes involving the board's authority to require an owner to take or refrain from taking an action involving a unit or its appurtenances may be subject to Chapter 718's alternative-dispute-resolution process, including Division nonbinding arbitration or presuit mediation.

What happens when the process is skipped

The fining process is not a formality. A fine imposed without the required procedure may be unenforceable. If the dispute becomes litigation, the prevailing party may be entitled to attorney fees and costs under the applicable statute and governing documents.

Paint, fences, and other exterior changes

A large share of violation notices concern exterior changes: paint, fences, roofs, driveways, sheds, solar panels, shutters, landscaping, and additions. For HOAs, section 720.3035 sets the ground rules. For an HOA, the association and architectural-review committee have only the authority stated or reasonably inferred from the declaration and authorized published architectural standards. They must apply architectural standards reasonably and equitably to all parcel owners. If the declaration or authorized architectural guidelines provide owners with specified options for materials, sizes, designs, or locations, the association may not deny an option that the declaration or authorized standards permit. When an HOA denies an architectural application, the denial should be in writing and should identify the specific declaration provision, rule, guideline, or standard relied on, along with the specific part of the application that does not comply. Florida law limits HOA architectural control in several important ways:

• An HOA generally may not enforce a covenant or rule that restricts improvements or other items on a parcel that are not visible from the parcel's frontage, an adjacent parcel, an adjacent common area, or a community golf course, subject to statutory exceptions.
• An HOA generally may not review or control interior improvements that are not visible from those locations. The statute also protects certain replacement air-conditioning systems that are substantially similar to an approved system and are not visible from those locations.
• Effective July 1, 2026, an HOA or architectural-review committee may not require a parcel owner to first obtain a government-issued building permit before the association reviews the owner's proposed construction application.

Hurricane protection that meets the board's adopted specifications cannot be denied. See What an HOA cannot restrict.

If an owner builds an improvement without required approval, the association may seek an injunction requiring removal, modification, or compliance. Courts are more likely to enforce a clear architectural restriction when the association acted within its authority and applied the restriction consistently.

If you already completed work without approval, consider promptly seeking after-the-fact approval, gathering evidence of comparable improvements, and documenting any prior approvals or communications. Do not assume that an after-the-fact application will eliminate the violation, but addressing the issue early may help avoid escalating fines or litigation.

Common improper fines

Fines are challenged successfully most often for one of these reasons:

• The conduct is not actually prohibited by the declaration or a validly adopted rule.
• The "rule" was never adopted at a properly noticed meeting, or conflicts with the declaration.
• No 14-day notice was sent, or the notice did not describe the violation or the cure.
• No hearing was offered, or the committee included directors, employees, or their relatives.
• The fine exceeds the statutory or document cap.
• The violation was cured before the hearing (HOA).
• The fine was imposed by the manager or the board without committee approval.
• The association treated a fine as though it were an assessment and added interest, late fees, collection charges, or attorney fees without legal authority. Fines, assessments, and collection charges have different legal rules, and an owner should request the ledger and dispute improper allocation or collection in writing.
• The association has ignored the same conduct by other owners for years. That defense has its own page: Selective Enforcement.

How to respond to a violation notice

1. Read the notice against the documents. Find the exact section of the declaration or rule it cites, and confirm the rule exists and applies to the conduct described. Ask for a copy of the rule and the minutes of the meeting at which it was adopted if you have any doubt.
2. If the violation is real and can be cured easily, consider curing it promptly and documenting the cure with dated photographs, receipts, contractor records, or other proof. In an HOA, curing a curable violation before the fining-committee hearing in the manner stated in the notice prevents the association from imposing a fine or suspension for that violation.
3. Respond in writing before the hearing. State your position, attach your evidence, and identify any procedural defects in the notice. Keep proof of delivery.
4. Attend the hearing, in person or by phone if offered. Bring photographs, the relevant document provisions, and evidence of how the association has treated other owners. Ask who the committee members are and how they were appointed.
5. Request records. Useful records may include the board minutes approving the proposed fine, the committee-appointment records, notices sent to you, your owner ledger, applicable rules, and nonprivileged violation or fine records involving comparable violations. Many of these materials may be official records, subject to privacy protections, attorney-client privilege, litigation-work-product rules, and other statutory exemptions. Make a focused written request identifying the violation, the relevant rule, and the date range. See Official Records Requests.
6. If a fine is approved and you believe it is invalid, dispute it promptly in writing. Request a detailed owner ledger and ask the association to identify the legal basis for every charge. Continue paying regular assessments when due, but keep records showing the amount paid, the date paid, and your written objection to any disputed fine or charge.

What to preserve

• Every notice, letter, and e-mail from the association or manager, with envelopes or headers showing dates.
• The declaration, bylaws, and rules in effect on the date of the alleged violation, and any later amendments.
• Dated photographs of the condition cited and of comparable conditions elsewhere in the community.
• Your written responses and hearing submissions, with proof of delivery.
• Names of committee members and any relationship to the board or management.
• Account statements showing where the fine was posted and what was added to it.
• Any prior approvals, including e-mails or verbal approvals you can corroborate.

When to get a lawyer

A single fine is rarely worth litigating on its own. The calculus changes when the association is fining daily, when the fine is being collected with assessments and attorney fees, when a lien has been recorded, when the association is demanding removal of an improvement, or when you are being singled out. Because the prevailing party in these disputes recovers attorney fees, an association that has skipped the statutory process is exposed, and a well-documented challenge often ends the matter before suit.