Florida HOA annual meeting and election notice: the 14-day rule, and the condo 60-day calendar

What this guide covers

Florida splits community associations across two chapters, and a board that reads the wrong one will get the calendar wrong. Homeowners’ associations — parcels in a subdivision under a recorded declaration — run on Chapter 720, where the annual meeting and the election travel together on one notice (Fla. Stat. § 720.306(2), (5)). Condominium associations run on Chapter 718, which adds a two-notice election calendar that starts weeks earlier (Fla. Stat. § 718.112(2)(d)4.a.). This guide takes the HOA rule first, then the condo differences. It does not cover cooperatives or timeshares, and it does not replace your bylaws, which the law repeatedly defers to.

The short answer

• The association holds a members’ meeting every year, and the election of directors — when one is required — is held at or in conjunction with it unless the governing documents say otherwise (Fla. Stat. § 720.306(2)).
• Notice of every membership meeting is mailed, delivered or electronically transmitted to members not less than 14 days before the meeting, and the person who sent it signs an affidavit that is filed in the official records (Fla. Stat. § 720.306(5)).
• Electronic notice is available only to a member who has consented in writing and supplied an email address or fax number (Fla. Stat. § 720.303(2)(c)1.).
• An HOA with 100 or more parcels also posts the meeting notice and agenda on its website or app at least 14 days before the meeting, and any document to be voted on at least 7 days before (Fla. Stat. § 720.303(4)(b)1.l.).
• An election is not required at all unless more candidates are nominated than there are vacancies, and directors are elected by a plurality of votes cast unless the governing documents provide otherwise (Fla. Stat. § 720.306(9)(a)).
• Condominiums: the annual-meeting notice carries an agenda and goes out 14 days before, plus a 14-continuous-day posting; a first election notice goes out at least 60 days before the election, candidates declare at least 40 days before, and the ballot goes out with a second notice 14 to 34 days before (Fla. Stat. § 718.112(2)(d)4., 4.a.).

Step by step

1. Schedule the annual meeting the bylaws call for

The association must hold a meeting of its members annually, at a time, date and place stated in or fixed under the bylaws, for the transaction of any proper business (Fla. Stat. § 720.306(2)). A special meeting is held when the board calls one, or when at least 10 percent of the total voting interests do — unless the governing documents set a different percentage — and business at a special meeting is limited to what the notice describes (Fla. Stat. § 720.306(3)). Unless law or the governing documents require it, the annual-meeting notice need not describe a purpose; a special-meeting notice must (Fla. Stat. § 720.306(4)).

2. Send the 14-day notice and file the affidavit

If the bylaws do not say how members are noticed, the statute supplies the rule: actual notice of every membership meeting, mailed, delivered or electronically transmitted to all parcel owners and members not less than 14 days before the meeting (Fla. Stat. § 720.306(5)). Evidence of compliance is an affidavit executed by the person who gave the notice and filed among the official records when it is signed (Fla. Stat. § 720.306(5)). The association may add a closed-circuit broadcast of the notice and agenda by rule, but broadcast is an addition to mailing or transmission, not a substitute (Fla. Stat. § 720.306(5)).

Notice by electronic transmission is permitted for annual and special meetings only to a member who has provided a fax number or email address for that purpose and has consented in writing to receive notice that way (Fla. Stat. § 720.303(2)(c)1.). A member who has not consented gets paper.

3. Post it on the website if you have 100 or more parcels

An association with 100 or more parcels must post, on its website or a downloadable app, notice of any scheduled meeting of members and the agenda at least 14 days before the meeting, in plain view on the homepage or on a subpage labelled “Notices” that is conspicuously visible and linked from the homepage (Fla. Stat. § 720.303(4)(b)1.l.). Any document the members will consider and vote on, or that appears on the agenda, goes up at least 7 days before the meeting at which it will be considered (Fla. Stat. § 720.303(4)(b)1.l.). The website must have a protected section that only parcel owners and employees can reach, and the association must issue a username and password to any parcel owner who asks in writing (Fla. Stat. § 720.303(4)(b)2.–3.).

4. Run the nomination and the vote by the governing documents

Elections of directors are conducted under the procedures in the governing documents (Fla. Stat. § 720.306(9)(a)). Every member is eligible to serve, and a member may nominate themself at the meeting where the election is held — but if the election process allows nominations in advance, the association need not take nominations at the meeting (Fla. Stat. § 720.306(9)(a)). An election is required only when more candidates are nominated than there are vacancies; where the count is equal or lower and floor nominations are not required, write-ins are not permitted and the qualified candidates simply take their seats, whether or not the annual meeting reaches a quorum (Fla. Stat. § 720.306(9)(a)). Unless the governing documents say otherwise, directors are elected by a plurality of the votes cast, and any challenge to the election process must be started within 60 days after the results are announced (Fla. Stat. § 720.306(9)(a)).

Two eligibility rules come from the law itself rather than from the documents. A person who is delinquent in any fee, fine or other monetary obligation to the association on the last day they could be nominated may not seek election and is left off the ballot; a sitting director who becomes more than 90 days delinquent is deemed to have abandoned the seat (Fla. Stat. § 720.306(9)(b)). A person convicted of a felony may not seek election unless their civil rights have been restored for at least 5 years as of the date they seek election (Fla. Stat. § 720.306(9)(b)). An election dispute between a member and the association goes to binding arbitration with the state division or to court (Fla. Stat. § 720.306(9)(c)).

For quorum, unless the bylaws set a lower number, 30 percent of the total voting interests constitutes a quorum at a members’ meeting, and decisions requiring a member vote pass on a majority of the voting interests present in person or by proxy (Fla. Stat. § 720.306(1)(a)). Any parcel owner may record membership meetings, subject to reasonable board rules (Fla. Stat. § 720.306(10)).

5. If you are a condominium, start 60 days out

The condo bylaws must provide the method of calling unit-owner meetings, and written notice of the annual meeting must include an agenda, be mailed, hand delivered or electronically transmitted to each unit owner at least 14 days before the meeting, and be posted conspicuously on the condominium property at least 14 continuous days before it (Fla. Stat. § 718.112(2)(d)4.). The annual meeting may be held in person or by video conference, but a video-conference annual meeting still needs a quorum of the board physically present at the location where owners can attend, and the video conference must be recorded and kept as an official record (Fla. Stat. § 718.112(2)(d)2.).

The election runs on its own two-notice clock. At least 60 days before a scheduled election the association sends each unit owner a first notice of the election date, which may ride inside another association mailing such as a newsletter (Fla. Stat. § 718.112(2)(d)4.a.). A unit owner who wants to run gives written notice of intent to the association at least 40 days before the election (Fla. Stat. § 718.112(2)(d)4.a.). Together with the annual-meeting notice and agenda, the association then sends a second notice of the election, with a ballot listing every candidate, not less than 14 days and not more than 34 days before the election day; a candidate who supplies an information sheet at least 35 days before the election gets it included at the association’s cost (Fla. Stat. § 718.112(2)(d)4.a.).

Condo board seats that expire are filled by election by secret ballot unless the bylaws provide otherwise, no election is needed if vacancies equal or exceed candidates, and — outside timeshares and nonresidential condominiums — all board terms expire at the annual meeting unless staggered terms are in place (Fla. Stat. § 718.112(2)(d)3.). A condo board member may not serve more than 8 consecutive years unless two-thirds of the votes cast approve, or there are not enough eligible candidates (Fla. Stat. § 718.112(2)(d)3.).

Common mistakes

• Counting the notice period from the postmark instead of back from the meeting. The notice is mailed, delivered or transmitted not less than 14 days before the meeting, and the affidavit is the proof (Fla. Stat. § 720.306(5)).
• Emailing notice to members who never consented. Electronic transmission requires written consent from the member (Fla. Stat. § 720.303(2)(c)1.).
• Holding a ballot vote when nobody is contested. Where candidates equal or fall below vacancies, there is no election and no write-ins (Fla. Stat. § 720.306(9)(a)).
• Listing a delinquent candidate. A person delinquent on the last nomination day is left off the ballot (Fla. Stat. § 720.306(9)(b)).
• Running a condo election on the HOA calendar. The condo first notice is due 60 days out and the ballot 14 to 34 days out (Fla. Stat. § 718.112(2)(d)4.a.).

Where software fits

Platforms that carry notices, consents and ballots are compared in our best-of roundups; this page stays with what the law says.

When to involve counsel

Get advice before disqualifying any candidate, on any recall, and whenever a member disputes the election in writing — the statute sends HOA election disputes to binding arbitration with the state division or to court, on a clock that starts when results are announced (Fla. Stat. § 720.306(9)(a), (c)).

Corrections and review history

• 2026-09-09: citations checked against the 2025 Florida Statutes on flsenate.gov. Not yet published.

Sources

1. Florida Statutes § 720.306 (2025) — Meetings of members; voting and election procedures; amendments — accessed 2026-09-09
2. Florida Statutes § 720.303 (2025) — Association powers and duties; meetings of board; official records; budgets — accessed 2026-09-09
3. Florida Statutes § 718.112 (2025) — Condominium bylaws (board meetings; unit owner meetings; elections) — accessed 2026-09-09