Florida’s newer HOA laws: what Port St. Lucie HOA owners and board members need to know

If your single-family neighborhood has a homeowners’ association, its state rules are in Chapter 720 of the Florida Statutes. Condos follow a different law. A large HOA bill, House Bill 1203, took effect July 1, 2024. Here is what changed since then, and what owners and boards can do.

Board members must get trained

A new HOA board member has 90 days after being elected or appointed to turn in a certificate. It shows they finished a state-approved course. The course must cover money and openness, record keeping, fines, and meeting notice rules. The certificate is good for up to 4 years. Board members also need yearly classes: at least 4 hours in HOAs with fewer than 2,500 parcels, and at least 8 hours in larger ones. A director who misses the 90-day deadline is suspended from the board until they finish.

Bigger HOAs need a website or app

Since January 1, 2025, an HOA with 100 or more parcels must post key papers on a website or phone app. That includes the rules, budget, money reports, insurance policies, contracts and meeting notices. Part of the site must be locked so only owners can see it. If you ask in writing, the HOA must give you a username and password.

How fines and hearings work now

An HOA may fine up to $100 per violation, or up to $1,000 total for a violation that keeps going, unless its own documents say otherwise. A fine under $1,000 cannot become a lien on your home. Before any fine, the owner must get at least 14 days’ written notice of the right to a hearing. A committee of at least three owners, not board members, officers, employees or their close family, holds the hearing. The hearing must happen within 90 days of the notice, and it can be by phone or video.

• If you fix the problem before the hearing, no fine can be charged.
• If most of the committee does not agree, there is no fine.
• The committee must send its written findings within 7 days.
• You get at least 30 days to pay, and the HOA cannot charge lawyer fees for steps taken before that date.
• No fines for trash cans at the curb within 24 hours before or after pickup day.
• No fines for holiday lights left up too long, unless they stay up more than one week after written notice.

Limits on what the HOA can control

An HOA cannot ban parking your personal car or pickup truck in your own driveway. It also cannot ban parking a work vehicle there, as long as it is not a commercial motor vehicle under state law. You may hire a worker who is not on the HOA’s preferred vendor list. The HOA cannot make that worker show a license just to come onto your lot.

The HOA also cannot stop you from keeping items that cannot be seen from the street in front of your lot, a neighbor’s lot, the common area, or a community golf course. Examples include flags, boats, RVs, vegetable gardens and clotheslines. If the HOA turns down a building request, it must say in writing which rule it used and what part of your plan does not fit.

Hurricane protection and a 2026 permit change

Under a 2024 law, every Florida HOA board must adopt hurricane protection standards. Those standards can cover color and style, but they must follow the building code. It covers shutters, impact windows and doors, reinforced garage doors, some roof systems and fixed generators. If your plan meets the HOA’s standards, the board cannot say no. It may still ask you to match the look of the neighborhood.

Starting July 1, 2026, House Bill 803 says an HOA cannot require you to already have a city or county building permit before it reviews your plans. The HOA can approve your plan on the condition that you get any permit you need later.

The big 2025 law, House Bill 913, was mostly about condos. A 2026 HOA bill, House Bill 657, died in the Senate. But House Bill 797 rewrote Florida’s nonprofit corporation law on July 1, 2026. Most HOAs are nonprofit corporations, so boards should ask their lawyer how it affects meetings and proxy voting.

Where to turn for help

The state’s Department of Business and Professional Regulation says its condo division has no power to investigate HOA complaints. It does arbitrate HOA election and recall disputes, which must be filed within 60 days after the results or the recall period. Most other fights go to mediation or court.

What to do

1. Board members: check that every director turned in a course certificate within 90 days, and plan this year’s 4 or 8 hours of classes.
2. Board members: if your HOA has 100 or more parcels, check that the website or app is posted, current, and has an owners-only login.
3. Board members: adopt written hurricane protection standards if you have not, and stop requiring a permit before review.
4. Board members: send every fine through the three-person hearing committee, with written notice and written findings.
5. Owners: ask for records in writing. Use certified mail, and keep a copy and the date.
6. Owners: if you get a violation notice, fix it before the hearing if you can, and go to the hearing.
7. Owners: ask in writing for a detailed accounting of what you owe. The HOA has 15 business days to answer.
8. Everyone: read the statutes on flsenate.gov, and see a Florida lawyer before a dispute grows.