records | Rembaum's Association Roundup

January 7, 2026January 7, 2026

Posting Official Records on the Association’s Website and Electronic Meeting Posting and Retention Requirements

The purpose of this Roundup article is to clarify which condominium association official records must be posted to the association’s website. This is due to the January 1, 2026, requirement set out in §718.111(12)(g), Florida Statutes, which requires that all condominium associations with 25 or more units that do not contain timeshare units have a password-protected website (or downloadable through an app on a mobile device) upon which to post certain official records. This article will also address a few distinctions as compared to the website and posting requirements for a homeowners’ association governed under Chapter 720, Florida Statutes.

The general requirements for condominium associations are as follows:

- - Where—Post on an independent website or web portal wholly owned and operated by the association; OR a website or web portal operated by a third-party provider with whom the association owns, leases, rents, or otherwise obtains the right to operate a web page, subpage, web portal, or collection of subpages or web portals dedicated to the association’s activities and on which required notices, records, and documents may be posted by the association. It must be accessible through the internet and must contain a subpage, web portal, or other protected electronic location that is inaccessible to the general public and accessible only to unit owners and employees of the association and accessible by a username and password.
  - Password protected—Upon a unit owner’s written request, the association must provide the unit owner with a username and password and access to the protected sections of the association’s website that contain any notices, records, or documents that must be electronically provided.
  - Failure to post—The failure to post the required documents on the website does not, in and of itself, invalidate any action or decision of the association.
  - Estoppel Certificate requests—On the website, each association must designate a person or entity with a street or email address for receipt of a request for an estoppel certificate issued pursuant to §718.116(8), Florida Statutes
  - Protected information—The association must ensure that the information and records that are not accessible to unit owners are not posted on the association’s website (meaning confidential and protected information). If protected information is included in documents that are required to be posted on the association’s website or application, the association must ensure the information is redacted (i.e., “blacked-out”) before posting the documents. Importantly, there is no liability for disclosing information that is protected or restricted unless such disclosures were made with a knowing or intentional disregard of the protected or restricted nature of such information.

Copies of recordings of condominium association board, member, and committee meetings have to be maintained by the association and posted on its website for the time listed below:

- - Pursuant to §718.112(2)(c)(1), Florida Statutes, “If the [board or committee] meeting is conducted via video conference, it must be recorded, and such recording must be maintained as an official record of the association and posted to the website for at least twelve (12) months.”
  - However, while the recording can be removed from the website after 12 months, the electronic recordings of ALL meetings which were not reduced to written and approved minutes must be stored permanently with the official records of the association. Alternatively, if there are approved minutes for a meeting held by video conference, the recordings must be maintained for at least one year after the date the recording is posted to the website.

The following CURRENT documents MUST be posted to the condominium association website (or downloadable through the app) as follows:

1. 1. The recorded declaration of condominium of each condominium operated by the association and any and all amendments thereto
  2. The recorded bylaws of the association and any and all amendments thereto
  3. The articles of incorporation, as filed with the Department of State, or other documents creating the association, and all amendments thereto
  4. The rules of the association
  5. The approved minutes of all board meetings held over the preceding 12 months
  6. The video recording, or a hyperlink to the video recording, for all meetings of the association, the board of administration, any committee, and the unit owners which are conducted by video conference over the preceding 12 months
  7. A list of all executory contracts (meaning an executed contract) and documents to which the association is a party or under which the association or the unit owners have an obligation or responsibility and, after bidding for the related materials, equipment, or services has closed, a list of bids received by the association within the past year. Summaries of bids for materials, equipment, or services which exceed $500 must be maintained on the website or application for one year. In lieu of summaries, complete copies of the bids may be posted.
  8. The annual budget and any proposed budget to be considered at the annual meeting
  9. The financial report and any proposed financial report(s) to be considered at a meeting
  10. The certification of each director
  11. All contracts or transactions between the association and any director, officer, corporation, firm, or association that is not an affiliated condominium association or any other entity in which an association director is also a director or officer and financially interested.
  12. Any contract or document regarding a conflict of interest or possible conflict of interest
  13. The notice of any unit owner meeting and the agenda for the meeting no later than 14 days before the meeting. The notice must be posted in plain view on the front page of the website or application, or on a separate subpage of the website or application labeled “Notices” which is conspicuously visible and linked from the front page. The association must also post on its website or application any document to be considered and voted on by the owners during the meeting or any document listed on the agenda at least seven days before the meeting in which the document, or the information within the document, will be considered.
  14. Notice of any board meeting, the agenda, and any other document required for the meeting, which must be posted no later than the date required for the notice.
  15. All inspection reports related to the structural integrity or life safety inspection of the condominium property.
  16. The association’s most recent structural integrity reserve study (SIRS)
  17. Copies of all building permits issued for ongoing or planned construction
  18. A copy of all affidavits required by Chapter 718, Florida Statutes

The following additional important information must be posted in regard to condominium association board and member meetings:

- - Board meetings—Additionally, a digital copy of the board meeting notice, agenda, and any other documents required for the meeting must be posted on the website no later than the date required for notice (i.e., depending on the type of board meeting, for 48 continuous hours, or 14 days before the meeting).
  - Member meetings—The association must post on the website a digital copy of member meeting notices and agendas in plain view on the front page of the website, or on a separate subpage of the website labeled “Notices” which is conspicuously visible and linked from the front page at least 14 days before the meeting. The association must also post on its website any document to be considered and voted on by the unit owners during the meeting or any document listed on the agenda at least seven (7) days before the meeting.

The following are distinctions as relevant to homeowners’ associations governed under Chapter 720 of the Florida Statutes:

- - Interestingly, the website posting requirements set out in the Homeowners’ Association Act, Chapter 720, Florida Statutes, are not nearly as well developed as those set out in Chapter 718, Florida Statutes. As of January 1, 2025, a homeowners’ association that has 100 or more parcels must post certain documents on its website or make them available through an app that can be downloaded on a mobile device. As to which documents must be posted to the homeowners’ association website, the requirements are generally the same, with some key differences not addressed herein due to space limitations, and there is no guidance provided as to how long the electronic recordings of the various meetings must be maintained. In addition, there is no requirement to post the electronic recordings of the various association meetings on the association’s website, either. Because the Homeowners’ Association Act does not address how long electronic meetings must be maintained, it is a good idea to work with the association’s legal counsel to adopt rules and regulations governing such retention policies.
  - A key distinction between condominium and homeowners’ associations is that the condominium association is required to provide a checklist of all documents provided and not provided to the requesting member in response to the official request while the homeowners’ association does not have a similar checklist requirement.

If you have additional questions regarding your association’s website and posting requirements, please reach out to the association’s attorney.

April 4, 2022April 5, 2022

Board Member to Board Member Emails—Are They Official Records? | Division of Condominiums Muddies The Waters

Board Member to Board Member Emails—Are They Official Records? Division of Condominiums Muddies The Waters

On January 6, 2022, the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR), through the Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes (Division), entered a Final Order Granting Petition for Declaratory Statement in the matter of In re: Petition for Declaratory Statement, James Hanseman, Petitioner (the Hanesman Declaratory Statement). In this Final Order, the Division Director (Chevonne Christian) stated that all board member to board member emails are official records of the association. Unfortunately, this Order was entered i) without regard to who owns the device from which the email was sent;

ii) without regard to whether the manager was included in the email chain; iii) without regard to whether the email was sent to a minority or majority of board members; and iv) without regard to the board members’ constitutional right of privacy. The decision does not consider the sacrosanct requirement that a quorum of board members is needed to conduct business. If a board member can enter into a conversation with a minority of the board without triggering a required meeting notice, then a board member should also be able to communicate, by any means, with a minority of the board, including email, without it rising to the level of being considered an official record of the association. However, given the scope of the Order, this will likely require an act of the Florida legislature to accomplish.

In general, a petition for declaratory statement may be used to resolve questions or doubts as to how the statutes, rules, or orders may apply to the petitioner’s particular circumstances. These statements are only binding upon the parties who join in the proceeding. The Division issues “declaratory statements” when requested by parties who are unclear about the applicability of portions of the Condominium Act, Chapter 718, Florida Statutes. Declaratory statements are formal written positions taken by the Division on the laws and rules the Division is authorized to enforce and interpret. Importantly, with regard to the Hanesman Declaratory Statement’s precedential value, it has none whatsoever. It only applies to the parties named in the Hanesman Declaratory Statement, which includes the petitioner, Mr. Hanseman, and the Wildewood Springs II-B Condominium Association Inc. This decision is merely persuasive authority, at best. In fact, the Division does not even have to follow their own written precedent. Yet, it is predictive as to how the Division will rule should a similar fact pattern be presented. So, beware!

The Hanesman Declaratory Statement could stand for the broader proposition that all director emails are official records of the association, or perhaps it stands for the narrower proposition that board member emails are not automatically excluded as an official association record merely because the emails were sent from a director’s private email address and privately owned computer. Time will tell, I hope. In the meantime, applying its broadest interpretation means that the Division has now opined that all director-to-director emails are official records. This broad interpretation means such emails must be produced in response to a member’s official records request, unless later excluded from production due to matters of privilege. This broad interpretation also means that for all requests to inspect the official records of the association, directors will have to search their own hard drives and provide copies to the manager or whoever is coordinating the inspection. If this broad interpretation is to be applied, it is yet another burdensome requirement for board members and could be viewed as an extreme overreach of a governmental administrative agency. In light of this possible interpretation and obligation to turn over board member to board member emails, who will want to serve on the board, now?

Let us examine the history of this important topic. On March 6, 2002, Sue Richardson, the Chief Assistant General Counsel of the DBPR, issued an opinion which provided that “[c]ondominium owners do have the right to inspect email correspondences between the board of directors and the property manager as long as the correspondence is related to the operation of the association and does not fall within the…statutorily protected exceptions…[The DBPR does not have] regulations expressly requiring archiving emails, but…if the email correspondence relates to the operation of the association property, it is required to be maintained by the association, whether on paper or electronically, under chapter 718, Florida Statutes.”

In Humphrey v. Carriage Park Condominium Association Inc. Arb. Case No. 2008-04-0230 (Final Order, March 30, 2009), the arbitrator of the Division ordered that

“…emails…existing…on the personal computers of individual directors…are not official records of the association…Even if directors communicate among themselves by email strings or chains, about the operation of the association, the status of the electronic communication on their personal computer would not change. Similarly, an email to an individual director or to all directors as a group, addressed only to their personal computers, is not a written communication to the association.”

The arbitrator reasoned that “[t]his must be so because there is no obligation to turn on [the] personal computer with any regularity, or to open and read emails before deleting them.”

Then, on July 1, 2014, the Florida Legislature amended s. 718.112(2)(c) to provide that board members may communicate via email. Just because the legislature clarified that directors may do so does not mean that such email communications should automatically be considered official records of the association. Board members are not publicly elected officials. Yet, the Division’s recent Hanseman Declaratory Statement creates a basis to conclude that the Division desires to hold a director’s email communications to the same standards.

A condominium association is a privately owned entity whose members elect representatives to effectuate the orderly operations of the association. Serving as a board member of a condominium association is not at all akin to holding public office, and in our opinion, board members should not be held to the same standard as that of elected officials. The last thing a community association board member needs is to be micromanaged by one or more cantankerous owners and the vocal minority.

In the Hanesman Declaratory Statement, Ms. Christian takes the position that because §718.111(12)(a), Fla. Stat., provides, in relevant part, that the “official records of the association” include “all of the written records of the association not specifically included in the foregoing which are related to the operation of the association,”

that nothing exempts records when created or transmitted with a board member owned device rather than association owned device.

She then applied what she referred to as the plain meaning of the term “writing,” referring to the definition of the term from Black’s Law Dictionary (11th ED. 2019), which provided “emails constitute a form of writing.”

In fact, had the Florida Legislature intended for emails from one board member to another to be considered official records subject to inspection, then when it amended Chapter 718.112, eff. July 1, 2018, to provide that “members of the board of administration may use email as a means of communication but may not cast a vote on an association matter via email,” the legislature could have clarified that such emails were considered a part of the official records. Obviously, the legislature did not do so. This can only mean that the legislature had no intent whatsoever for a director’s email sent from their personal computer to a minority of other board members to be considered an official record.

What is the end game of the Hanesman Declaratory Statement? The implications are far-reaching, indeed. Does this mean that text messages must be disclosed? What about communications on messaging apps such as WhatsApp and Signal? If not, why not? The logic is arguably the same. What about conversations held with a board member outside of a meeting—must the board member make a disclosure he or she had such conversation at the next noticed meeting? Where does it end?

It is rather common knowledge that there is already a mechanism in the law to acquire documents of every kind. It is called a “subpoena duces tecum” and is used in active litigation to compel production of documents. In this author’s opinion, that is the only circumstance in which a board member’s private emails must be produced, unless and until the Florida Legislature or an appellate court squarely addresses this issue.

As the phrase goes, “one step forward and two steps back.” In other words, while a board member can use email to communicate with a fellow board member, it may come with the steep price of later required disclosure. So, if you want to avoid email disclosure, you may want to consider using a phone to discuss matters. If you want to play it really safe, then be sure to only chat to a minority of board members, too. Until there is an appellate court decision or statutory law that squarely addresses email disclosure, please be sure to discuss these matters with your association’s attorney. In the meantime, perhaps consider using dedicated association-hosted email addresses for association-related emails.

June 9, 2021October 14, 2022

Should Emails Between Board Members & Managers Be Considered Official Records Subject to Members Inspection?

Disclaimer: In January 2022 the The Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation issued an opinion which drastically alters the information provided herein. Please consult with an attorney of your choosing to obtain the latest guidance in this ever evolving area.

In today’s instant world, email allows us to express our thoughts anytime, anywhere. So often, emails serve as a substitute for making phone calls. If a phone call is made from a board member to a manager, absent a deposition of either party or a contemporaneous note documenting the conversation, the content of the communication remains private. But, if the board member sends an email rather than calling the manager, that email is considered a written record of the association and is required to be produced as a part of a member’s official record request, with limited exception as discussed below.

With the sheer volume of emails received by a manager from owners, board members, purchasers, contractors, and lawyers, etc., there is no practical method of separating the emails which must remain confidential. This includes emails with respect to attorney-client privileged matters, personnel matters, information obtained in connection with a sale or lease, social security numbers, and medical information, etc., and separating these emails cannot occur without the manager or hired professional spending hours and hours and hours preparing such records for a member’s requested official record inspection primarily at the association’s expense. Moreover, if an outside professional is needed to prepare the emails for inspection, then the association will not be able to recoup the expenditure. While a condominium association cannot charge any amount to prepare for the inspection, a homeowners’ association is limited to $20.00 per hour for administrative time expended to retrieve requested records. Clearly, this needs a legislative remedy!

Generally speaking, for an association’s needs to be met, there must be solid communication between the board and the manager. However, requiring all but privileged and confidential emails to be official records subject to membership inspection stifles that free flow of communication. That said, it is understandable that some emails should be subject to a member’s inspection request, such as with regards to a bid package or contract.

More often than not, the emails to and from the manager are actually the property of the management company by whom the manager is employed. Absent discovery that takes place during litigation, typically a company’s emails are the private property of the company. A shareholder of General Mills’ stock cannot demand to see the president’s emails to its manager, so why should the community association president’s email to the manager be required to be produced? After all, overwhelmingly, community associations are “not-for-profit” corporations. At the end of the day, the need for transparency needs to be balanced against the practicality and costs of producing the emails.

There is limited guidance from the State of Florida Office of the Attorney General and the Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes regarding the production of such emails. Let us take a look at the limited guidance we do have.

On March 6, 2002, the then-Chief Assistant General Counsel of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (“DBPR”) issued an opinion that “[c]ondominium owners do have the right to inspect e-mail correspondences between the board of directors and the property manager as long as the correspondence is related to the operation of the association and does not fall within the… statutorily protected exceptions… [The DBPR does not have] regulations expressly requiring archiving e-mails, but… if the e-mail correspondence relates to the operation of the association property, it is required to be maintained by the association, whether on paper or electronically, under Chapter 718, Florida Statutes.”

In Humphrey v. Carriage Park Condominium Association, Inc., Arb. Case No. 2008-04-0230 (Final Order / Campbell / March 30, 2009), an arbitrator of the Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes held that “…e-mails… existing… on the personal computers of individual directors… are not official records of the association… Even if directors communicate among themselves by e-mail strings or chains about the operation of the association, the status of the electronic communication on their personal computer would not change. Similarly, an e-mail to an individual director or to all directors as a group, addressed only to their personal computers, is not written communication to the association.” The arbitrator reasoned that “[t]his must be so because there is no obligation to turn on [the] personal computer with any regularity, or to open and read emails before deleting them.”

In Harbage v. Covered Bridge Condominium Association, Inc., Arb. Case No. 19-03-6413 (Emails Are Written Records of Association Order Re-Framing Affirmative Defenses / Simms / January 2, 2020), an owner challenged an association’s failure to provide records requested pursuant to §718.111(12), Florida Statutes. The owner requested to inspect emails between the association and its property manager from 2017–2019. The association refused to provide the records, arguing that the emails were not written records subject to disclosure nor were they written records that are printed in the ordinary course of business. The arbitrator in the case dismissed the association’s argument that the emails were not written records, citing Black’s Law Dictionary, 11th Edition (2019), which explicitly includes emails in the definition of a “writing.” Additionally, the arbitrator pointed to the fact that emails are accepted in litigation as records of regularly conducted business activity pursuant to §90.803(6)(a), Florida Statutes, to dismiss the association’s claim that the emails are not subject to inspection because they are not printed in the ordinary course of business. The arbitrator held that the association’s position was “untenable on both counts,” finding that “emails are a written record subject to disclosure to unit owners.”

Simply stated, if one were to rely on the guidance cited herein, then emails solely between board members, even a board majority, are not part of the official records, but emails between a board member(s) and the manager are part of the official records and subject to member inspection unless containing information that is otherwise privileged or confidential. All other emails not protected by privilege or other duty of confidentiality are also subject to member inspection.

Where does it end? What about text messages and WhatsApp? Will they, too, one day be subject to inspection? Why one without the other? Better still, if text messages are not subject to member inspection, why should emails be subject to inspection? If emails remain subject to inspection, should not phone calls between board members and managers be statutorily required to be recorded? Why not? Because such a requirement is absurd.

In addition, what is missing from today’s legislation are laws protecting the free flow of communication between board members and the manager. Also patently missing from today’s legislation is the ability of the association to require the member requesting the record inspection to prepay for the actual time and cost necessary to prepare the records for inspection.

So, while it may make sense for certain vendor emails to remain as records of the association subject to member inspection, it is this author’s opinion that emails between the board and the association’s manager should remain private property of the sender and recipient, most especially if the manager’s computer is provided by the management company and not the association. However, if emails between board members and managers are going to remain as records which must be produced, absent privilege and confidentiality requirements, then at a minimum the association should at least be allowed to fully recover its expenses incurred in the record inspection. Perhaps a present or future Florida legislator will sponsor a long overdue bill to provide the association the lawful right to do so.

(Reprinted with permission from the May 2021 edition of the Florida Community Association Journal)