Condominium turnover is a transfer of authority and information, not simply a meeting at which the developer leaves the board. Florida section 718.301 sets owner-election milestones and identifies materials the developer must deliver. Northwest Florida communities should begin planning before the expected sales threshold, particularly when multiple buildings or phases make the schedule harder to follow.
Check every applicable trigger
When nondeveloper owners hold at least 15 percent of the units ultimately operated by the association, they are entitled to elect at least one-third of the board. Majority control follows the first applicable statutory event. Familiar triggers include three years after 50 percent of the units are conveyed and three months after 90 percent are conveyed. Other triggers concern completion and sales activity, bankruptcy, receivership, and the statutory seven-year period.
The details matter. Section 718.301 includes a special exception, beginning July 1, 2025, for specified triggers involving nonresidential condominiums of ten or fewer units. It also addresses a developer's continued right to a board seat while qualifying inventory remains. A residential condominium should not borrow a small commercial condominium exception, and an incoming board should not assume all developer voting rights disappear at turnover.
Ask counsel to prepare a trigger analysis using conveyance records, the recorded condominium documents, and the actual development structure. A projected closing schedule is useful planning information, but recorded transactions and the statutory conditions determine the legal analysis.
Build a handover inventory
The statutory delivery list includes governing documents, minutes, financial records, association funds or control of them, personal property, plans, and other operating information. Financial records must be audited by an independent certified public accountant for the applicable period. The accountant examines supporting records, including whether expenditures served association purposes and whether developer assessments were properly charged and paid.
That review is different from checking whether a bank balance matches the developer's spreadsheet. The incoming board should engage qualified financial and building professionals to examine the required materials and identify gaps. Required engineering and inspection materials should be checked against the statute, the building configuration, and the project's dates. Do not mark a delivery complete merely because a file has a familiar title.
Practical board checklist
- Confirm the legal condominium structure, eventual unit count, and earliest applicable turnover trigger.
- Schedule owner representation and the election with association counsel.
- Create a delivery register identifying each required item, its sender, receipt date, and reviewer.
- Reconcile cash, assessments, contracts, insurance, accounts, and access controls.
- Arrange independent accounting and technical review of the applicable turnover package.
- Preserve a written list of missing or disputed items and obtain advice before signing any release.
The board should distinguish receipt from acceptance. Acknowledging delivery of a box of records should not casually become agreement that every obligation has been satisfied or that the association has no construction or financial claims.
Reviewed November 4, 2026. Florida educational information only. Obtain association-specific legal advice before acting.