Prepared by Attorney Erum Kistemaker for the BAM Annual Meeting, October 20, 2026.
Where Things Stand
The 2026 session made no major changes to the Condominium Act (Ch. 718) or HOA Act (Ch. 720), so 2027 starts with managers still implementing the 2024 and 2025 reforms.
- HB 657, the large HOA and condo overhaul, died. It passed the House and died in the Senate Rules Committee on March 13, 2026.
- Citizens insurance changed. SB 1028 became law (Ch. 2026-150). It restricts Citizens from issuing new commercial residential coverage, the category that includes association master policies, in certain circumstances, and adds a clearinghouse for personal lines.
- The nonprofit corporation law was rewritten. HB 797 (Ch. 2026-168), effective July 1, 2026, renamed Chapter 617 the Florida Nonprofit Corporation Act. Almost every association is a Chapter 617 corporation (see below).
- Still in full effect: HB 1021 (2024) condo website rule for 25+ units; HB 1203 (2024) HOA director education and records rules; HB 913 (2025) SIRS and reserve-funding changes and expanded manager duties.
Three Chapter 617 Changes Managers Should Know
- Meetings and voting. The Act now allows remote meetings and sets default rules for proxy voting, including how a proxy is given and revoked.
- Directors. A court may now remove a director for fraud, gross abuse of position, or intentional harm; the suit must be brought by a member, officer, or director, and members need at least 10% of the voting power (s. 617.08091). Conflict votes are limited to "qualified directors."
- Records and lawsuits. Records duties were updated, and a new framework governs derivative suits (ss. 617.0741-617.0747).
How each change interacts with Chapters 718 and 720 depends on the issue, so have counsel review governing documents before relying on a Chapter 617 default.
What to Watch for 2027
The 2027 session runs March 2 to April 30, 2027. Bills that died in 2026 can be refiled, and several would directly change how associations are managed.
Issue | What the 2026 bill proposed |
|---|---|
HOA dissolution | Owners could petition to dissolve an HOA (20% as filed; 50% in the House-passed version), with two-thirds approval of a termination plan and penalties for directors who obstruct |
Community association courts | Specialized court programs for condo, co-op, and HOA disputes |
End of presuit mediation | HOA disputes could go straight to court instead of mandatory mediation |
Mandatory professional management | As filed, associations with $500,000+ in annual revenue would have had to hire a CAM firm; the Senate version raised this to $750,000+ and 100+ units and allowed a certified manager instead; the chambers never agreed |
HOA ombudsman | A state HOA ombudsman inside DBPR, funded by a per-parcel fee |
Turnover transparency | Condo turnover certificates filed in a statewide DBPR database |
Meeting modernization | Audioconference meetings, with recordings kept as official records |
Final bill numbers and details will not be known until 2027 bills are filed.
Key Dates and Action Items
Date | What happens |
|---|---|
Dec. 31, 2026 | Last day to complete a structural integrity reserve study (SIRS) done together with a milestone inspection |
Jan. 4, 2027 | Fannie Mae raises minimum reserve funding from 10% to 15% of budgeted assessment income (Full Review, loan applications dated on or after this date) |
Mar. 2 to Apr. 30, 2027 | 2027 legislative session |
Checklist for Managers
- Confirm every condo SIRS is complete and reported to DBPR through the association's online account.
- Check 2027 condo budgets against Fannie Mae's 15% reserve floor and the $50,000 per-unit master deductible cap, so units stay eligible for conventional loans.
- Ask counsel about the status of DBPR's 2026 amendments to its reserves rule (61B-22.005) before adopting 2027 condo budgets.
- Ask insurance agents now how SB 1028's Citizens changes will affect 2027 master-policy renewals.
- Audit association websites: condos with 25+ units, HOAs with 100+ parcels.
- Confirm every HOA director's annual education is current.
- Plan CE early. In the cycle that ended September 30, 2026, CAMs serving HOAs needed 17 hours, including 5 HOA-specific hours (3 on recordkeeping).
Questions? Contact Erum Kistemaker directly at ekistemaker@e-kbusinesslaw.com.
Kistemaker Business Law Group · Erum Siddiqui Kistemaker, Esq., Managing Partner · 120 East Granada Blvd., Ormond Beach, FL 32176 · (386) 310-7997
General educational information, not legal advice. Pending legislation and rules change often; confirm current status at flsenate.gov and flrules.org.
