Florida community association education. Reviewed November 4, 2026. General information, not legal advice.
Begin with a verified account
For a Northwest Florida condominium, section 718.116 governs assessment liability and lien remedies, while section 718.121 contains important collection-notice requirements. A board should not begin with a lien template. First verify the assessment’s authority, due dates, payment history, owner identity and mailing addresses. A disputed charge, fine or maintenance reimbursement should not automatically be treated as an assessment.
Section 718.116 provides for interest at the declaration’s lawful rate, or 18 percent annually if no rate is provided. An administrative late fee requires authorization in the declaration or bylaws and is limited by the statutory formula. Payments generally apply first to interest, then administrative late fees, collection costs and reasonable attorney fees, and finally delinquent assessments. Accurate allocation matters when calculating the remaining balance.
Separate the notices instead of combining deadlines
Section 718.121 requires a notice of late assessment before an association may require payment of attorney fees related to the delinquency. The owner receives an opportunity of at least 30 days to pay without attorney fees. The statute specifies the form and first-class mailing to the owner’s recorded address and the unit address when different.
Recording a claim of lien requires a separate advance notice under section 718.121(6), with a 45-day period and prescribed delivery methods. Registered or certified mail with return receipt requested and first-class mail are specified. Use the statutory form and have counsel calculate the period using the applicable mailing, delivery and receipt language. An email reminder is not a substitute for the required process.
Section 718.116(6) separately addresses notice of an intention to foreclose. It restricts entry of a foreclosure judgment without the required 45-day notice and addresses recovery of fees when notice was not timely given before filing. Exceptions include specified contested-lien and pending-mortgage-foreclosure circumstances. These rules should not be summarized as identical to the Chapter 720 HOA filing prohibition.
Track the lien and the property transaction
A condominium lien must contain the statutory identifying and assessment information and be executed and acknowledged as required. It ordinarily expires one year after recording unless enforcement is commenced, subject to statutory qualifications such as bankruptcy tolling. An owner’s recorded notice contesting a lien can create a much shorter 90-day enforcement period. Counsel should receive that notice immediately.
Buyer liability and a first mortgagee’s limited liability require separate analysis. The statutory first-mortgagee protection is conditional; it is not a universal discount available to every purchaser. Estoppel certificates also have their own deadlines and reliance consequences. Section 718.116 generally requires issuance within 10 business days of a proper request and provides different effective periods depending on delivery.
Board checklist
Reconcile the ledger before referral. Confirm document authority for charges. Keep copies and proof of each required mailing. Calendar late-notice, pre-lien, foreclosure and lien-expiration dates separately. Flag bankruptcy, contested liens and competing foreclosure actions for counsel. Route estoppel requests promptly. Review invoice-delivery changes under section 718.121 rather than silently switching owners to a new delivery method. This overview supports supervision, not do-it-yourself foreclosure.