Meeting the HOA records retention requirements set out in Florida law is one of the clearest ways a board can shield its community from statutory penalties and owner disputes. We recently hosted an online seminar featuring legal professional Michael Ungerbuehler of Sachs Sax Caplan Kaskel & Schner, PLLC, who walked Florida board members and property managers through what the statutes actually demand when it comes to keeping and producing association documents.
This educational webinar examined how a homeowner association defines an official record, how long each type of document must be kept, and the posting and inspection rules that determine when owners may see them. Attendees left with a practical framework for recognizing official records, applying the correct retention periods, and responding to records requests without triggering costly liability.
Disclaimer: This video is for educational purposes only. You will not receive credits for watching the recording. Credits were issued only to those that attended the course.
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An official record is any document, in any format, that is in writing, concerns the association, and sits in the association's possession. That simple three-part test reaches far past the obvious files. A record can be a physical piece of paper or an electronic file such as a Word document, PDF, or spreadsheet, and it applies just as much to drawings, photographs, and email. When all three conditions are met, the item is an official record the association is legally required to keep.
Florida Statute 720.303 lists dozens of specific items, but the test itself is easier to remember than the list. If something is in writing, is about the association, and is in the association's possession, it qualifies. Governing documents, meaning the declaration, articles, and bylaws, sit at the top of that list, followed by rules and regulations, meeting minutes, the membership roster, insurance policies, contracts, election materials, developer plans and permits, and the full set of financial and accounting records. The statute treats rules and regulations as separate from governing documents, since the state removed rules from its definition even though an association's own documents may still reference them.
The reach of the definition catches many items boards assume are informal. A reimbursement receipt from a hardware store, once handed to the association, becomes a written document in its possession and therefore an official record. Financial records also include a current account and periodic statement for every member, which means the delinquency list is an official record that any owner may review. That right extends to seeing what each board member owes, since the statute gives members visibility into the amounts their neighbors have been assessed.
“It's anything in writing about the association in your possession.” - Michael Ungerbuehler, Sachs Sax Caplan Kaskel & Schner, PLLC
Most official records must be kept for at least seven years, and that single rule now covers the large majority of an association's documents. The state simplified its language in 2024 so that seven years is the default for everything, unless an association's governing documents call for a longer period. When the governing documents do require more time, the association must follow the longer schedule.
Treating seven years as the starting point removes most of the guesswork from a retention schedule. Financial records, contracts, minutes, insurance policies, and the rest of the everyday paperwork all fall under it. The cleanest way to stay compliant is to hold each category for at least seven years and to check the governing documents for anything that must be kept longer.
A few categories fall outside the seven-year rule. Election materials, including ballots and mail-in envelopes, need to be kept for only one year, since the window to challenge an election closes long before that point. Summaries and bids also carry a one-year minimum. Director certificates sit in a gray area, because one statute sets a five-year requirement while the general rule points to seven, so holding them for the full seven years avoids the conflict entirely. Associations with staggered terms may also choose to keep election materials longer than required, which makes it easier to confirm which seats are actually up for a vote.
“So, technically, under one statute, it's just 5 years. Under the other statute, it's 7. Probably couldn't hurt just to keep it for 7 years.” - Michael Ungerbuehler, Sachs Sax Caplan Kaskel & Schner, PLLC
Any HOA with 100 or more homes must maintain a website or mobile app and post a defined set of official records there. Smaller associations are not required to have one, though a voluntary website carries no specific content mandate. Once a portal exists, it changes how records requests work, since the association can direct an owner to the site for anything already posted.
The posting requirement took effect for larger HOAs at the start of 2025 and mirrors a trend already underway for condominiums, where the unit threshold has dropped over time. An association below 100 homes may still choose to post its documents, and doing so often makes sense, but nothing specific is required of a voluntary site. Easing the administrative burden of records requests is one of the strongest reasons to keep a well-maintained portal.
The list of what must appear online runs longer for HOAs than for condominium associations, most notably because HOAs must post their full insurance policies while condominiums are not held to that standard. Every version of the governing documents belongs on the site, meaning the original declaration, articles, and bylaws along with every amendment ever adopted, not only the current text. The site also needs the most recent rules and regulations, a list of the association's contracts and vendors rather than the contracts themselves, the proposed and adopted budgets, the current financial report, all director certificates, any conflict-of-interest contracts, and every meeting notice and agenda. Board meeting notices must appear at least 48 hours in advance and member meeting notices at least 14 days in advance, both in the community and on the website.
An association must provide access to its records within ten business days of a written request, but access is all the law requires. Members have the right to come in, inspect the documents, and have copies made, not to have records mailed or emailed on demand. Owners may photograph records with their own device at no charge, and when the association makes copies, it may recover a modest per-page fee along with staff time when retrieval runs long.
The obligation is to open the records for inspection, not to deliver them in a particular format. An owner who is traveling or otherwise unavailable is still responsible for arranging a time to inspect once access has been offered inside the ten-day window. When copies are requested, the association can charge 25 cents per page and, if pulling the records takes more than half an hour, a capped hourly charge for staff time. A practical safeguard is to collect any permitted fees before handing over copies, since there is no lien authority to fall back on if an owner declines to pay.
Failing to provide timely access exposes the association to escalating consequences. Statutory damages run to $50 per day up to a $500 maximum, and an owner forced to pursue the records can recover attorney's fees after demanding mediation and, if necessary, filing suit. A newer provision raises the stakes further, making it a crime to intentionally deny timely access as a way of harming an owner when it happens twice within a year. No document in an association's files is worth that kind of exposure, which is why prompt, routine compliance is always the cheaper path.
“There is nothing that your records have that should subject you to a second of jail time.” - Michael Ungerbuehler, Sachs Sax Caplan Kaskel & Schner, PLLC
Several categories of documents are exempt from inspection even though the association must still keep them. These exemptions protect legal strategy, personal privacy, and the association's own security, and they hold regardless of how insistent a request may be.
Attorney-client communications between the association's law firm and its board, and often its manager, are always exempt from inspection. Work product created in anticipation of litigation is also protected, though only until the lawsuit or the threat of one has passed, after which those documents can become subject to inspection. Information gathered while reviewing or approving a sale or lease is likewise off-limits to other members.
Personnel records are exempt, although that carve-out does not sweep in financial records such as the management contract or figures showing total compensation. Medical information about residents, which can surface through accommodation requests, stays private, as does anything in the identity-theft category, including Social Security numbers, driver's license numbers, credit card numbers, and personal contact details not used for official notice. The passwords and security measures the association relies on are never open to inspection either.
Records compliance rarely fails because a board misunderstands a single rule. It slips when documents are treated as an afterthought, scattered across inboxes and file boxes until an owner request or a lawsuit forces the issue. Associations that fold retention, posting, and inspection into a steady routine, keeping the seven-year baseline in mind, honoring the shorter windows where they apply, and maintaining a clean portal, turn an area of real legal risk into a quiet strength. When the records are organized and easy to produce, answering any request becomes a matter of routine rather than a scramble, protecting the board, the membership, and the association's standing for years to come.
No. A meeting recording is not treated as a writing for an HOA, so it is not an official record subject to inspection. Condominium associations are handled differently when a recording is made for meeting-minutes purposes.
No. An owner is never required to own a device, so when someone cannot reach the online portal, the association must offer access to a computer at the office. The owner can then identify what they want and pay only for any pages printed.
The association itself is legally responsible for maintaining and producing its records. Professional management assists with the work and with providing access, but the underlying legal responsibility stays with the board.
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Ashley Dietz is the VP of Marketing at Campbell Property Management and has led the company’s educational and marketing initiatives since 2013. A Florida Atlantic University graduate with a bachelor’s degree in communications, Ashley specializes in community association education, digital outreach, and industry engagement for Florida HOAs and condominiums.