Reflects Florida law as of August 2026. The grandfathering rules for condominiums and HOAs are different and are explained separately below.
Can my association restrict renting?
Yes, but not every rental restriction applies to every owner. Florida associations may impose minimum lease terms, rental-frequency limits, waiting periods, tenant-approval or screening requirements, and leasing prohibitions when the restriction is authorized by the governing documents and validly adopted.
Whether a particular restriction applies to you can depend on the type of community, the declaration's amendment procedure, when the restriction became effective, when you acquired title, whether you consented to the amendment, and statutory grandfathering protections.
Two questions decide most rental disputes. First, where is the restriction? A rental restriction contained in a recorded declaration is generally enforceable if it was validly adopted and does not conflict with Florida law. An owner may still challenge a restriction based on its language, ambiguity, improper adoption, statutory grandfathering, waiver, estoppel, selective enforcement, discrimination, or another applicable defense. A board-adopted leasing rule must be authorized by the governing documents, adopted through the required procedure, and consistent with the declaration and applicable law. A board cannot use a rule to eliminate or materially impair a leasing right that the declaration affirmatively grants unless the declaration authorizes that result. In Mohnani v. La Cancha Condominium Ass'n, 590 So. 2d 36 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991), a board rule barring new owners from leasing for two years was struck down because the declaration allowed leasing after 30 days with board approval. Second, when was the restriction adopted relative to your purchase? That is the grandfathering question, and the answer is different for condominiums and HOAs.
Condominiums: which owners a new rental amendment binds
For condominiums, section 718.110(13) provides that an amendment prohibiting unit owners from renting, altering the duration of the rental term, or specifying or limiting the number of times a unit may be rented during a stated period applies only to owners who consent to the amendment and owners who acquire title after the amendment's effective date.
This statute limits the retroactive effect of certain rental restrictions that otherwise could be enforceable against existing owners under the general amendment principles discussed in Woodside Village Condominium Ass'n v. Jahren.
In Woodside Village Condominium Ass'n v. Jahren, 806 So. 2d 452 (Fla. 2002), the Court held that a properly adopted amendment restricting rentals binds owners who bought before it passed. Investor-owners in a Clearwater condominium had bought under a declaration permitting one-year leases; two-thirds of the owners then amended it to limit leasing to nine months in any twelve and to bar leasing in the first year of ownership. The Court enforced the amendment against them: owners "were on notice that the unique form of ownership they acquired when they purchased their units ... was subject to change through the amendment process, and that they would be bound by properly adopted amendments."
Section 718.110(13) now provides that an amendment "prohibiting unit owners from renting their units or altering the duration of the rental term or specifying or limiting the number of times unit owners are entitled to rent their units during a specified period applies only to unit owners who consent to the amendment and unit owners who acquire title to their units after the effective date of that amendment."
Section 718.110(13) protects existing condominium owners from three specific categories of rental amendments:
- An amendment prohibiting rentals.
- An amendment changing the permitted duration of a lease, such as a new minimum or maximum lease term.
- An amendment limiting how many times a unit may be rented during a stated period.
Other leasing-related amendments may fall outside the statute's express protection. Examples may include a tenant-approval process, screening requirement, occupancy-related rule, or waiting period before the first lease. Whether one of those amendments applies to an existing owner depends on the declaration, the amendment power, the restriction's wording, Woodside, other applicable statutes, and the particular facts. Unlike the HOA statute, section 718.110(13) does not contain an express exception for small associations or for rental restrictions involving lease terms shorter than six months or a stated number of rentals per year.
For a condominium rental amendment covered by section 718.110(13), an owner who votes for the amendment or signs a written consent is generally bound by it. An owner who did not consent and who acquired title before the amendment's effective date is generally protected while continuously holding title.
Whether a ballot, proxy, written consent, title change, trust transfer, entity transfer, inheritance, or change in co-ownership affects grandfathered status depends on the amendment record, chain of title, and the facts of the transfer.
Section 718.110(13) does not contain an express exception for a transfer to a trust, LLC, family member, heir, or entity with the same beneficial ownership. A transfer or change in title may therefore affect grandfathered status.
Before transferring a grandfathered condominium unit to a trust, LLC, new co-owner, family member, or other entity, obtain advice about whether the transfer could cause the rental amendment to apply.
HOAs: the 2021 grandfathering rule
Before the 2021 enactment of section 720.306(1)(h), Chapter 720 did not provide this specific statutory protection for HOA rental amendments. Whether an earlier amendment applies to an existing owner depends on the declaration, the amendment procedure, and available legal defenses, including improper adoption, waiver, estoppel, and selective enforcement. Section 720.306(1)(h), effective July 1, 2021, changed that for future amendments. Subject to statutory exceptions, a governing document or amendment enacted after July 1, 2021, that prohibits or regulates rental agreements applies only to a parcel owner who acquires title after its effective date or who consents, individually or through a representative, to the governing document or amendment.
The HOA statute is broader than the condominium statute because it covers amendments that "prohibit or regulate" rental agreements, not only rental bans, lease-term changes, and rental-frequency limits.
The HOA statute also contains important exceptions. The statutory grandfathering protection does not apply in the following situations:
- The association has 15 or fewer parcels.
- The amendment prohibits or regulates rental agreements for terms of less than six months.
- The amendment prohibits renting a parcel more than three times in a calendar year.
An HOA may adopt an amendment regulating or prohibiting rental agreements for terms of less than six months, or prohibiting the rental of a parcel more than three times in a calendar year, and those amendments may apply to all owners.
A post-July 1, 2021 HOA amendment imposing a longer minimum lease term, leasing prohibition, approval requirement, rental cap, or other rental regulation generally applies only to owners who consented or acquired title after the amendment became effective, unless another statutory exception applies. For HOAs, section 720.306(1)(h) protects certain transfers to an entity with the same beneficial ownership and transfers to heirs. Those transfers do not, by themselves, cause the rental amendment to apply to the transferee. The association may require documentation showing that the transfer qualifies for the statutory protection.
Section 720.306(1)(h) applies to governing documents and amendments enacted after July 1, 2021. Earlier HOA rental amendments are not covered by that specific statutory grandfathering rule.
An owner facing an earlier amendment should review the declaration, the amendment procedure, notice and voting records, and available defenses. Possible defenses may include improper adoption, ambiguity, waiver, estoppel, or selective or arbitrary enforcement.
| Issue | Condominium (section 718.110(13)) | HOA (section 720.306(1)(h)) |
|---|---|---|
| Amendments covered | Amendments prohibiting rentals, changing rental-term duration, or limiting the number of rentals during a stated period | Amendments that prohibit or regulate rental agreements |
| Statutory protection applies to | Owners who did not consent and acquired title before the amendment's effective date | Owners who did not consent and acquired title before the amendment's effective date |
| Effective date | Since 2004 | Applies to governing documents and amendments enacted after July 1, 2021 |
| Exceptions | No express exception for small associations, leases under six months, or annual rental-frequency limits | No protection for associations with 15 or fewer parcels; amendments regulating rentals for terms under six months; or amendments prohibiting rentals more than three times per calendar year |
| Transfers to an entity or heirs | No express statutory exception; a title transfer may affect grandfathered status | Certain transfers to an entity with the same beneficial ownership or to heirs do not, by themselves, eliminate statutory protection |
| Other lease-related restrictions | Tenant approval, screening, occupancy rules, and waiting periods may fall outside section 718.110(13) and require separate analysis | The statute broadly covers amendments that "prohibit or regulate" rental agreements, subject to the statutory exceptions |
Tenant approval and transfer fees
Many associations require tenant approval, screening, or both. The association must have authority for the requirement in the applicable governing documents and must follow the standards, procedures, and time limits stated in those documents.
An association should apply its approval criteria consistently, reasonably, and without unlawful discrimination. A denial based on a protected characteristic, or on a policy that creates an unlawful discriminatory effect, may violate fair-housing law.
In a condominium, an association may charge a fee in connection with a lease only if the association is required to approve the lease or transfer and the declaration, articles of incorporation, or bylaws authorize the fee.
The fee may be preset but may not exceed $150 per applicant, adjusted for inflation every five years. A husband and wife, and a parent with a dependent child, are treated as one applicant. No fee may be charged for renewing a lease of the same unit to the same tenant. Section 718.112(2)(k). Chapter 720 does not contain the same condominium-specific $150 transfer-fee cap. HOA application, approval, screening, and transfer fees must still be authorized by the governing documents and comply with applicable law.
For condominiums, information obtained in connection with approval of a lease, sale, or other transfer is generally protected from inspection by other unit owners. For HOAs, lease-application information may also be protected by statutory exemptions, privacy law, or the association's records policies. Owners requesting records should expect protected personal and screening information to be withheld or redacted.
Tenants, delinquency, and enforcement
If a tenant occupies your property and you become delinquent in amounts owed to the association, the association may send the tenant a statutory written demand requiring future rent payments to be made directly to the association.
A tenant who makes good-faith payments in response to a valid demand is protected from liability to the owner for those payments. If the tenant does not comply, the association may pursue the statutory remedies available to it, including an eviction action where the legal requirements are met. The association cannot use self-help eviction procedures. Sections 718.116(11) and 720.3085(8). See Assessments & Special Assessments.
A valid rental restriction may be enforced through the remedies authorized by the governing documents and applicable statute. Depending on the community and the violation, those remedies may include a properly imposed fine, suspension of common-area use rights where permitted, or a court action seeking an injunction or other relief. Attorney-fee recovery depends on the governing documents, the statute, the claims asserted, and the outcome of the dispute. See Fines & Violations. Where the association has tolerated materially comparable rental violations by other owners, selective enforcement may be a defense. See Selective Enforcement.
Local and state law may impose separate requirements for short-term or vacation rentals, including registration, licensing, zoning, occupancy, safety, tax, and operational rules. These public-law requirements may apply even if the association permits the rental. Requirements vary by city and county.
How to tell whether a restriction applies to you
- Get the amendment and the recorded declaration from the county's official records, and note the recording date. Review the amendment's text, the declaration, and the recording information to determine its effective date. Recording is generally necessary to make a declaration amendment effective and enforceable, but the amendment itself or governing documents may identify a different effective date or additional conditions.
- Get your deed and note the date you took title. Compare the two.
- Determine whether you consented to the amendment. Request the amendment notice, ballots, proxies, written consents, meeting minutes, vote certification, and other available voting records. If you voted for the amendment or signed a written consent, the statutory grandfathering protection may not apply to you. Make the records request promptly because election and voting materials are subject to statutory retention periods.
- Identify what the amendment does. For a condominium, ask whether it prohibits rentals, changes lease duration, or limits the number of rentals; if it does something else, section 718.110(13) may not protect you. For an HOA, ask whether it falls within one of the three exceptions and whether it was adopted after July 1, 2021.
- Check whether the amendment was properly adopted. Review the declaration's amendment provision, the required voting threshold, the notice of the amendment vote, the ballots or written consents, the meeting minutes, and the recording information. The required approval percentage depends on the declaration, the applicable statute, and the subject of the amendment. Some amendments require special owner approval, mortgagee consent, or additional procedures. An amendment that was not validly adopted or recorded may be unenforceable.
- Consider how title is held before making any transfer. A transfer to a trust, LLC, family member, heir, new co-owner, or entity with the same beneficial ownership can affect grandfathered rental rights differently in condominiums and HOAs. Obtain advice before changing title to a property that may be protected from a rental amendment.
What to preserve
- Your deed and closing documents showing the date you acquired title.
- The declaration and every amendment, with recording information.
- The notice of the amendment vote, your ballot or proxy, and any written consent, or evidence that you did not vote for it.
- Leases going back to your purchase, to show a history of renting under the prior rules.
- Any correspondence with the association about leasing, tenant approvals, or the amendment.
- Evidence of other owners' rentals if the association is enforcing against you and not them.
Questions homeowners ask
I bought before the amendment and never voted. Am I grandfathered?
In a condominium, you are generally protected if you acquired title before the amendment's effective date, did not consent to it, and the amendment prohibits rentals, changes permitted lease duration, or limits the number of times the unit may be rented.
In an HOA, you are generally protected if the amendment was enacted after July 1, 2021, you acquired title before its effective date, you did not consent, and the amendment does not fall within a statutory exception for small associations, leases under six months, or rentals occurring more than three times per calendar year.
Grandfathered protection usually continues only while the protected owner remains in title. A sale or other title transfer can affect the protection, especially in a condominium.
Can the board adopt a leasing rule without a member vote?
A board may adopt a leasing rule only if the governing documents and applicable law authorize it. The rule must remain consistent with the declaration and cannot eliminate a leasing right that the declaration affirmatively grants unless the declaration authorizes that result.
Condominium and HOA rules have different notice and adoption requirements. Owners should review the declaration, bylaws, board-meeting notice, rule text, and applicable statute before deciding whether a leasing rule was validly adopted.
Can the association reject my tenant without giving a reason?
The association must act within the authority and procedures provided by its governing documents and applicable law. It should apply approval criteria consistently and without unlawful discrimination.
A denial based on a protected characteristic, or on criteria that create an unlawful discriminatory effect, may violate federal, state, or local fair-housing law. Ask the association for the stated reason for the denial and the governing-document provision or rule it relies on.
Does the condominium statute protect me from a new tenant-screening requirement?
Not automatically. Section 718.110(13) expressly protects existing owners from amendments prohibiting rentals, changing rental-term duration, or limiting rental frequency. A new tenant-screening or approval requirement may fall outside those three categories.
Whether a screening or approval amendment applies to an existing condominium owner depends on the declaration, the amendment power, the wording of the new requirement, and the facts. A procedure that is unauthorized, unreasonable, discriminatorily applied, or used to deny leasing rights in practice may still be challenged on other grounds.
When to get a lawyer
Rental restrictions affect the value and use of the property in a way few other covenants do, and the grandfathering analysis turns on dates, votes, and the precise wording of the amendment. Advice is worthwhile before you sign a lease that the association says is prohibited, before you transfer title to a trust or entity, when the association denies a tenant, and when an amendment appears to have been adopted without the required vote or notice.