Florida Association Records
Ten business days under § 720.303(5)(a), then $50 per calendar day up to $500. What starts the clock, and what the 5th DCA held in Pecchia.
Ten business days. Section 720.303(5)(a), Florida Statutes, gives a homeowners' association ten business days after it receives a written request to make its official records available to a parcel owner. Miss that, and the statute puts a number on it: $50 per calendar day, for up to ten days, to a maximum of $500.
Business days, not working days Chapter 720 says "business days." Chapter 718, which governs condominiums, says "working days." The two chapters use different terms and a demand letter that cites the wrong one is quoting a deadline that does not apply to the association it was sent to.
The core duty, in the statute's own words:
The official records shall be maintained within this state for at least 7 years and shall be made available to a parcel owner for inspection or photocopying within 45 miles of the community or within the county in which the association is located within 10 business days after receipt by the board or its designee of a written request from the parcel owner.
§ 720.303(5)(a), Fla. Stat. (2025)
That sentence carries three requirements. The records must be kept in Florida. They must be produced within 45 miles of the community or inside the county. And the clock starts when the board or its designee receives the request, not on the day you sent it.
A written request triggers the ten-day duty however you send it. Certified mail is not required for that. But it is required for something else, and that something else is usually what decides a records dispute.
The presumption attaches only to a certified-mail request:
The failure of an association to provide access to the records within 10 business days after receipt of a written request submitted by certified mail, return receipt requested, creates a rebuttable presumption that the association willfully failed to comply with this subsection.
§ 720.303(5)(b), Fla. Stat. (2025)
Willfulness is the element that gets you to damages. Without the presumption you have to prove the association's state of mind; with it, the association has to disprove it. That shift is the whole reason to spend the postage. The signed return receipt, dated by whoever accepted the envelope, fixes the receipt date the ten days run from.
Send it certified, with the presumption attached We draft the request under § 720.303(5), mail it USPS Certified with return receipt, and give you a tracking page. The signature captured at delivery comes back to you as a signed PDF, and we keep a copy for you. Start my records request
Section 720.303(5)(c) sets minimum damages at $50 per calendar day for up to ten days, beginning on the eleventh business day after receipt. Note the deliberate mixing of units: business days to start the clock, calendar days to accrue the money. Weekends do not delay the start, and they do not pause the meter once it is running.
| Day | What happens |
|---|---|
| Day 0 | The board or its designee receives your written request. The signed return receipt gives you this date in writing. |
| Business days 1–10 | The association must make the records available within 45 miles or in the county. |
| Business day 11 | Damages begin accruing at $50 per calendar day. |
| +10 calendar days | The statutory minimum caps at $500. Actual damages remain available above that floor. |
$500 is a floor, not a ceiling The statute says a member denied access is entitled to "the actual damages or minimum damages." The $500 is the minimum you can recover without proving a dollar of loss. Section 720.305(1) separately supplies prevailing-party attorney fees, and lets a member recover their share of the litigation assessments levied to fund the association's defense.
In Pecchia v. Wayside Estates Homeowners Ass'n, 388 So. 3d 1136 (Fla. 5th DCA 2024), the trial court found an association compliant because it had eventually handed over enough documents. The Fifth District reversed. Sections 720.303(4) and (5) require strict compliance, not substantial compliance: "shall" leaves the association no discretion over which records to keep, and the ten-day period is not discretionary either.
The court also held, in a footnote that does a great deal of work, that where the record did not show the association had rebutted the presumption, the owners would be entitled to the statutory damages. And it confirmed that bank statements are official records. They fall within both "financial statements" and records that "identify, measure, record, or communicate financial information."
No. Section 720.303(5)(g) bars the association from requiring a parcel owner to demonstrate any proper purpose or state any reason for the inspection. Volunteering one invites an argument the statute does not authorize.
A written request triggers the duty however it is delivered, so an email can start the clock. What an email cannot do is create the rebuttable presumption of willfulness under § 720.303(5)(b), which attaches only to a request sent by certified mail, return receipt requested.
Not far. The records must be made available within 45 miles of the community or within the county in which the association is located. Section 720.303(5)(g) also bars any rule limiting inspection to less than one eight-hour business day per month.
Not for this purpose. A condominium is governed by Chapter 718 and has a ten-working-day deadline, a written-inquiry right, and, since 2024, an inspection checklist that can create a presumption in the association's favor. An HOA is governed by Chapter 720 and has none of those. If you own a unit in a condominium building, the condominium guides apply to you.
Start the clock today Answer a few questions and we build the request, cite the statute, mail it certified with return receipt, and track the ten business days for you. Build my letter
Florida Association Records prepares Florida condominium and homeowners' association records requests and written inquiries under §§ 718.111(12), 718.112(2)(a)2 and 720.303(5), Florida Statutes, mails them USPS Certified with Return Receipt, and tracks the statutory deadline that delivery starts.
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