Can your Florida condo borrow to fund its reserves? Loans, lines of credit and the owner vote

For years, the money for a condo building's big repairs came from two places: the regular monthly or quarterly assessment, or a special assessment when the bill came due. A 2025 law, House Bill 913, added two more choices to the list in Florida's condo law: a loan and a line of credit.

If your board has mentioned borrowing, this article explains what the law allows, what vote owners get, and what has to be disclosed. It is a guide to the law, not legal advice. Your association attorney is the right person for questions about your building.

What the law says

The rules are in section 718.112(2)(f) of the Florida Statutes. HB 913 took effect July 1, 2025. Under the law, the reserves for the items in a building's SIRS "may be funded by regular assessments, special assessments, lines of credit, or loans."

There is a catch. Using a special assessment, a line of credit or a loan for those reserves "requires the approval of a majority vote of the total voting interests of the association." That is a high bar. In a 100-unit building with one vote per unit, it means at least 51 yes votes, no matter how many owners come to the meeting.

The law also speaks to associations that must have a SIRS and are run by the owners, not the developer. They may secure a line of credit or a loan to fund capital expenses required by a milestone inspection or a SIRS. The statute says the money must be "immediately available for access by the board" to pay for the required repair, maintenance or replacement "without further approval by the members of the association." In plain words: once the borrowing is in place, the board does not need a new owner vote each time it draws on it. Exactly which votes are needed before the borrowing is set up can depend on what it pays for and on your declaration and bylaws, so ask the association attorney.

Who the borrowing rule does not cover

The statute says this part of the law does not apply to associations controlled by a developer. It also excludes associations where owners other than the developer have been in control for less than a year, and associations controlled by a bulk assignee or bulk buyer, which are investors who bought many units from a developer. If your building is newly turned over, ask the association attorney how the rule applies.

What owners must be told

A loan or line of credit used this way has to be out in the open. The statute says it must be included in the annual financial statement that owners receive under section 718.111(13). It must also appear in the disclosures that go to people buying a unit under section 718.503. So if you are selling, expect a buyer to see it.

The SIRS has to keep up too. The law says the study must take into account the funding method the association uses, whether that is regular assessments, special assessments, lines of credit or loans. If the SIRS was done before the association approved a special assessment or got a loan or line of credit, the study must be updated to reflect the method chosen. And the association must get an updated SIRS before adopting a budget whose reserve funding does not line up with the funding plan in the most recent study.

What borrowing does and does not change

Borrowing does not make the repair bill smaller. A loan spreads the cost over time, and owners pay it back through their assessments, usually with interest and fees. A special assessment asks for the money sooner but avoids borrowing costs. The statute does not rank these choices or say which one is better. That decision belongs to the board and the owners, with advice from the association's attorney, its accountant and the engineer who did the SIRS or milestone inspection.

Borrowing also does not change the rule that, for budgets adopted on or after December 31, 2024, owners of an owner-controlled association that must have a SIRS cannot vote to skip or cut the reserves the SIRS calls for. A loan is one way to pay for those reserves. It is not a way around them.

What to do

If you are a unit owner:

• If you get a notice about a vote on a loan or line of credit, read it closely. Look for the amount, the lender's terms if they are attached, and what it would add to your assessment.
• Vote, or send in a proxy or ballot if your documents allow it. Because the law counts all voting interests, not just those present, staying home has the same effect as a no vote.
• Ask at an open meeting how the borrowing compares with a special assessment over the life of the loan, including interest.
• Check the next annual financial statement for the loan or line of credit. It should be there.

If you are on the board:

• Talk with the association attorney before choosing a funding method, and check whether your declaration or bylaws add their own rules about borrowing.
• Ask the SIRS provider whether the study must be updated to reflect the funding method, and do it before the next budget if needed.
• Make sure the loan or line of credit appears in the annual financial statement and in the documents given to buyers.
• Put the numbers in writing for owners: amount, term, interest, and what it means for each unit's assessment.

Owners with questions about their rights can also contact the Department of Business and Professional Regulation's Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes, or the state's Condominium Ombudsman.