HOA – FINING PROCEDURES

An Opinion By Jan Bergemann

Published September 22, 2026

Considering the many complaints about fining methods in their association it seems to me like many board members and community association managers have not read the latest changes to fining procedures in Homeowners’ Associations regulated by FS 720.

The changes to FS 720.305 are actually reversing the role of board and fining committee. The so-called FINING or COMPLIANCE COMMITTEE (or whatever it is called in your community) is no longer the gremium that levies a fine and the board is no longer the gremium the owner can appeal to if the committee levied a fine.

The roles are now reversed. It’s the board that levies the fine at a public board meeting – after the owner received a 14-day notice giving the owner the possibility to cure the violation – and it’s the committee that acts as the appeals court.

The owner has the right to appeal to the committee after the board levied the fine. This has to be at a public committee meeting – a meeting that has to be treated like a board meeting since the committee reaches a final decision. The owner has the right to speak – at least – for three minutes in his defense. Remember: The best defense, according to appeals court decisions is still “SELECTIVE ENFORCEMENT”.

The committee members serve “at the pleasure” of the board and have to be appointed at a public board meeting, with the names and the board votes recorded in the minutes of the meeting.

There is nothing secret about the procedure of FINING – all has to be in the open, according to many appeals court rulings -- see COURT OPINIONS (Fining).

And don’t forget: A monetary fine can only be enforced by a lien and an owner, who feels wrongfully fined by the association, can file a Contest of Lien in the local court house. The necessary form can be found in FS 720.3085.

To see the exact statutes regulating FINING in HOAs please go to “FINING OWNERS FOR DEED VIOLATIONS? DO IT THE RIGHT WAY!”