Florida special assessments: what triggers them, how they pass, and how Canadian owners protect themselves

Section 01Glossary

Section 02What a special assessment actually is

In a Florida condominium, the association passes an annual budget that funds predictable common expenses: insurance premiums, landscaping, on-site staff, utilities for common areas, the management contract, regular maintenance, and statutory reserves. Owners pay their share of that budget through monthly or quarterly regular assessments, almost always called HOA fees or condo fees in everyday speech.

A special assessment is, by definition, anything outside that budget. F.S. §718.103(27) defines it as "any assessment levied against a unit owner other than the assessment required by a budget adopted annually." (In Florida statute editions before 2024 the same definition appeared at §718.103(24); the substance has not changed, only the numbering.) The mechanism exists because no annual budget can anticipate every cost an aging building will face. When a roof fails, when a structural defect surfaces during a milestone inspection, when a hurricane deductible has to be funded after a Category 4 strike, the association needs cash now, not in twelve monthly installments next year. The special assessment is how that cash is raised.

Each unit pays its share of a special assessment in the same proportion in which it pays regular assessments, set by the declaration. In most condos that proportion tracks the unit's percentage interest in the common elements. A 2-bedroom unit and a penthouse in the same building therefore do not pay the same dollar amount, and the difference can be material on a six-figure assessment.

Section 03Why this matters for a Canadian owner or buyer

If you are a Canadian who already owns a Florida condo, the special assessment is the line on your annual cost of ownership that has the largest variance and the least predictability. It is also the line your tax planning, your rental yield model, and your selling-price expectations are most likely to be wrong about, because nothing in the listing data when you bought told you what was coming.

If you are a Canadian buyer evaluating a Florida property, the special assessment is the single most important due diligence item that has nothing to do with the unit itself. A beautifully renovated unit in a building two years away from a 250,000 USD per unit assessment is a worse purchase than a tired unit in a fully-funded building. Florida's older condo stock, particularly in coastal counties, is in the middle of a generational catch-up triggered by the 2021 Surfside collapse and the laws that followed. Special assessments in the 50,000 to 200,000 USD range per unit are no longer rare in buildings of 30 years or more along the southeast Florida coast.

Canadians face two specific complications a Florida resident does not. First, you are unlikely to attend the board meetings where these decisions are debated, so the 14-day mailed or emailed notice is your only formal warning. Second, if a special assessment is voted while you are mid-transaction as a seller, the FIRPTA 15% withholding still applies to the gross sale price, which compounds the cash impact. Both points are addressed below.

Section 04What typically triggers a special assessment

The list below is illustrative, not exhaustive. Boards levy special assessments for many reasons; these are the ones that show up most often in Florida.

• Roof replacement that the reserve fund cannot cover.
• Structural repairs identified by a milestone inspection (F.S. §553.899) or by a Structural Integrity Reserve Study (F.S. §718.112(2)(g)).
• Hurricane damage above the master policy deductible. Hurricane deductibles in Florida master policies are typically expressed as a percentage of insured building value, in the 3% to 10% range, which on a building insured for 50 million USD can mean 1.5 to 5 million USD before insurance pays anything.
• Mandatory code upgrades, including ADA compliance work or fire-safety modernization.
• Litigation, either prosecuting a developer or contractor or defending the association against a unit owner or third-party claim.
• Reserve fund underfunding, particularly during the SB 4-D and SB 154 catch-up window. Many Florida associations spent years funding reserves below the level a serious reserve study would have required, and the SIRS now forces the gap to surface.

> Verified fact

> F.S. §718.103(27) defines special assessment as any assessment other than what the annual budget requires. Source: Florida Senate, Chapter 718 Section 103, 2024 statutes (renumbered from §718.103(24) in earlier editions). [^1]

> Typical range

> Florida master policy hurricane deductibles commonly run between 3% and 10% of insured building value, depending on location and carrier. This is general industry practice, not a statutory rule. The actual figure for any specific building is in the master policy itself.

Section 05How a special assessment is adopted

The procedure has three statutory pillars. Read these as the floor: the declaration or bylaws can be stricter, never looser.

Notice (F.S. §718.112(2)(c))

Written notice of the meeting at which a non-emergency special assessment will be considered must be mailed, delivered, or electronically transmitted to every unit owner and posted conspicuously on the property at least 14 days before the meeting. The notice must state that special assessments will be considered, and it must include the estimated cost and a description of the purpose. An "assessment discussion" agenda item without numbers and purpose does not satisfy the statute.

Vote and approval threshold

Whether a board can adopt a special assessment on its own, or whether a unit-owner vote is required, depends on the declaration and bylaws. Many Florida condo declarations let the board adopt a special assessment by board vote alone, subject to the 14-day notice. Others require a member vote above a stated dollar threshold or for certain categories of work. The first thing to check, before debating whether an assessment is justified, is what your declaration says about who has authority to levy it.

A separate rule, often misunderstood, is the 115% rule in F.S. §718.112(2)(e). That rule applies to annual budgets, not to special assessments. If the board adopts an annual budget that requires assessments exceeding 115% of the preceding year's assessments (excluding reserves, irregular expenses, and insurance premiums), unit owners holding at least 10% of the voting interests can petition for a special meeting to consider a substitute budget. This is a budget oversight mechanism. It does not, by itself, give owners a vote on a one-time special assessment.

Notice to owners after adoption

Once adopted, the association must give each unit owner written notice of the special assessment, stating the amount, the payment schedule, and the specific purpose. F.S. §718.116(10) requires that the funds collected under a special assessment be used only for that stated purpose. Any surplus becomes common surplus and may be returned to owners or applied as a credit against future assessments.

Payment terms

The payment plan is set by the board within the bounds of the declaration. A small assessment for a discrete repair may be due as a single payment within 30 to 60 days. A large structural assessment is typically spread across 12 to 36 months, sometimes longer, often with the option to prepay.

> Verified fact

> Non-emergency special assessment notices require at least 14 days' written notice with stated estimated cost and purpose. Source: F.S. §718.112(2)(c). [^2]

Section 06What it costs: a worked example in USD

Consider a 200-unit Florida condo built in 1985, three blocks from the Atlantic coast, with units of broadly similar size. The milestone inspection identifies 8 million USD of structural concrete repairs that must be performed within 24 months. The reserve fund holds 1.5 million USD. The board votes a 6.5 million USD special assessment, payable over 24 months.

Each unit's share, assuming equal ownership percentages: 6,500,000 USD divided by 200 units, or 32,500 USD per unit. Spread over 24 months, that is roughly 1,354 USD per month per unit, on top of the existing regular monthly fee. For a Canadian owner whose pre-assessment carrying cost ran around 850 USD per month in fees, the total monthly outlay just doubled.

If the same owner is also paying down a US-dollar mortgage, the assessment is added to that. If the unit is being held as a rental, the assessment is fully borne by the owner, not the tenant. If the owner planned to sell in the next 12 months, the special assessment will materially affect both timing and net proceeds.

In Canadian dollars, at an exchange rate of roughly 1.36 CAD per 1 USD, a 32,500 USD per-unit assessment is approximately 44,200 CAD. That figure is comparable to, and often exceeds, what a Quebec co-owner would face after a major contingency-fund shortfall, but Quebec mechanisms typically catch the gap earlier through the mandatory contingency fund study under article 1071 C.c.Q.

Section 07Canada and Florida side by side

This article uses Quebec as the Canadian reference point because Quebec is the canonical jurisdiction on canadaflorida.com. Equivalent comparisons for Ontario, British Columbia, and Alberta are forthcoming.

The central practical difference is timing. Quebec's mandatory contingency fund study under article 1071 C.c.Q., as amended by Loi 16, was designed to surface long-term capital needs early so that contributions can be raised gradually. Florida's SIRS, introduced after Surfside, attempts the same thing, but Florida is starting from a much deeper hole. Many Florida buildings have decades of underfunding to make up. The result is that a Canadian buyer in Florida faces a much higher near-term probability of a large special assessment than a comparable buyer in Quebec.

Section 08Estoppel certificate: your single most important pre-closing document

The estoppel certificate is the formal answer the association gives, in writing, to the question "what does this unit owe and what is coming." A Canadian buyer who closes without one is buying blind.

Under F.S. §718.116(8), within 10 business days of receiving a written or electronic request, the association must issue an estoppel certificate signed by an officer or authorized agent. The certificate must list, among other items: the regular periodic assessment amount and frequency, the date through which it has been paid, an itemized list of all assessments and special assessments owed on the date of issuance, and an itemized list of any additional assessments or special assessments scheduled to come due during the certificate's effective period. It must also disclose any known open violations of association rules attributable to the unit.

The certificate's effective period is 30 days if hand-delivered or sent electronically, 35 days if sent by regular mail. The maximum fee is 250 USD if no delinquencies are owed, plus an additional 100 USD for delivery within 3 business days, and an additional fee of up to 150 USD if delinquencies exist. The association waives the right to collect any amount in excess of what the certificate states from a buyer who relies on it in good faith.

The estoppel certificate has one important blind spot. It captures what has already been voted or scheduled. It does not capture what is being discussed informally at board level but not yet on a noticed agenda. Closing the gap is what the next subsection addresses.

> Verified fact

> The association must issue the estoppel certificate within 10 business days of a written or electronic request. Effective period: 30 days (electronic or hand delivery) or 35 days (regular mail). Maximum base fee: 250 USD. Source: F.S. §718.116(8). [^3]

Section 09Reading the board minutes: the complement to the estoppel

F.S. §718.111(12) gives every unit owner the right to inspect the official records of the association, which include the minutes of all board meetings and unit-owner meetings for the past seven years. A serious buyer's agent or attorney will request the last 12 to 24 months of minutes. What you are looking for: discussions of upcoming structural work, milestone inspection findings, deferred maintenance, insurance renewal stress, litigation, and any mention of "potential" or "possible" assessments that have not yet ripened into a formal vote.

If the minutes show a board that has been discussing a major repair for six months but has not yet voted, the estoppel certificate will show nothing. The minutes will show everything.

Section 10What happens if a unit owner does not pay

The collection mechanism is in F.S. §718.116 for condos and F.S. §720.3085 for HOAs. The two statutes differ in detail but share the same architecture.

When a special assessment goes unpaid, interest begins to accrue at the rate stated in the declaration, capped at the legal rate. If the declaration is silent, the statutory rate is 18% per year (F.S. §718.116(3)). The association may also charge an administrative late fee of the greater of 25 USD or 5% of each delinquent installment, if the declaration or bylaws authorize it.

For condos, before recording a claim of lien, the association must give the owner at least 30 days' written notice of intent to record the lien (F.S. §718.121(4)). Once the lien is recorded against the unit in the public records of the county, it secures the unpaid assessment plus interest, late fees, costs, and reasonable attorney fees. The lien is not effective beyond one year from the date of recording unless an action to enforce it is commenced.

The next step, foreclosure, requires a separate written notice. Under F.S. §718.116(6)(b), no foreclosure judgment may be entered until at least 45 days after the association sends the unit owner a written notice of intent to foreclose stating the type of assessment owed, the total amount due, and the association's intention to foreclose within 45 days. The HOA equivalent is F.S. §720.3085(5), with the same 45-day pre-foreclosure notice. The original article on this site previously stated a "90-day default" trigger; that is incorrect and has been corrected here. The 90-day reference belongs to the contest of lien procedure under F.S. §718.116(5)(c), which is a separate mechanism owners can use to compel the association to enforce or release the lien.

If the foreclosure proceeds and a final judgment is entered, the unit can be sold at a judicial foreclosure sale. The association's lien has the priority described in F.S. §718.116(5)(a): it relates back to the recording of the original declaration of condominium, but as to first mortgages of record, the lien is effective only from the recording of the claim of lien. Practical translation: a properly recorded first mortgage almost always sits ahead of the association's lien in priority.

> Verified fact

> Pre-foreclosure notice for unpaid condominium assessments: at least 45 days' written notice required before foreclosure judgment can be entered. Source: F.S. §718.116(6)(b). [^4]

> Verified fact

> Statutory interest rate on delinquent assessments, when the declaration is silent: 18% per year. Source: F.S. §718.116(3). [^5]

Section 11Special assessments during a sale: who pays

If a special assessment is voted while a Florida condo is under contract, the question of who pays is governed by the contract, not by the statute. The standard FAR/BAR Residential Contract for Sale and Purchase allocates a special assessment voted before closing to the seller, and a special assessment voted after closing to the buyer. The estoppel certificate will reflect what is owed as of its date of issuance.

Two complications recur for Canadian sellers. First, an assessment voted but not yet payable in full at closing is typically required to be paid in full out of the seller's proceeds at closing, unless the contract is amended. Second, FIRPTA withholding (15% of the gross sale price for a non-exempt non-resident seller) is calculated on the gross price before the assessment is netted out. A 1,000,000 USD sale subject to a 100,000 USD seller-paid assessment still triggers a 150,000 USD FIRPTA withholding at closing. To recover the spread, the seller must either obtain a withholding certificate via IRS Form 8288-B before closing or wait to file the 1040-NR US tax return for the year of sale to claim a refund.

A "gray zone" exists for assessments that have been announced or formally noticed but not yet voted at closing. The standard FAR/BAR contract does not allocate these explicitly, and Florida real estate attorneys typically negotiate them on a deal-by-deal basis. The cleanest protection is contractual: include an addendum allocating responsibility for any assessment voted between contract execution and closing, or a contingency that allows the buyer to terminate if a material assessment is voted in that window.

Section 12Surfside and the SB 4-D / SB 154 catch-up

On June 24, 2021, the partial collapse of Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Florida, killed 98 people. The 12-story 1981 building had been undergoing a 40-year recertification. A 2018 engineering report had flagged significant structural deterioration in the pool deck and other components. Approximately 15 million USD of remedial work had been approved by the association before the collapse. The main structural work had not yet started.

The Florida legislature responded with Senate Bill 4-D in 2022, followed by Senate Bill 154 in 2023, codified principally in F.S. §553.899 (milestone inspection) and F.S. §718.112(2)(g) (Structural Integrity Reserve Study). Together they require condominium and cooperative buildings of three stories or more to obtain a milestone inspection at 30 years (25 years within three miles of a coastline) and every 10 years after that, and to obtain a SIRS every 10 years.

The practical consequence for Canadian buyers and owners is that the legal mechanism designed to surface deferred capital obligations is now operating in real time across Florida's older condo stock. Many associations are issuing 50,000 to 250,000 USD per-unit assessments to fund repairs identified by their first milestone inspection or first SIRS, having underfunded reserves for decades. Whether you are buying or holding, the milestone inspection report and the SIRS are core due diligence documents.

A separate guide on this site treats the milestone inspection and SIRS in detail. Check the chapter index for the current cross-link.

> Verified fact

> Champlain Towers South partial collapse: June 24, 2021, Surfside, Florida. 98 fatalities. Building was 12 stories, 136 units, completed 1981. Source: U.S. Government Accountability Office, GAO-24-106558 (Feb. 2024). [^6]

> Verified fact

> SB 4-D (2022) and SB 154 (2023) introduced milestone inspections and Structural Integrity Reserve Studies for Florida condominium and cooperative buildings of three stories or more. Source: F.S. §553.899 and F.S. §718.112(2)(g). [^7]

Section 13Common mistakes Canadian owners and buyers make

1. Closing without an estoppel certificate, or relying on a stale one. The statutory effective period is 30 or 35 days. If your closing slips, request a refresh.
2. Ignoring board minutes during due diligence. The estoppel captures voted items only. Pending discussions, by definition, will not appear there. Read the minutes.
3. Assuming "no special assessment voted" means none is coming. Ask the seller and the management company in writing whether any assessment is under discussion. The answer is not legally binding, but a misrepresentation in writing changes your remedies later.
4. Confusing the 115% annual budget rule with a member-vote requirement on special assessments. They are separate mechanisms. The 115% rule is in F.S. §718.112(2)(e). The special assessment vote rules are in your declaration and bylaws.
5. Underestimating the FIRPTA cash impact when selling into a special assessment. The 15% withholding is on gross sale price. Plan around it through Form 8288-B if the assessment is large.
6. Assuming the master policy hurricane deductible is the same as a typical Canadian home insurance deductible. Canadian home policies routinely use 1,000 to 5,000 CAD deductibles. Florida master policy hurricane deductibles are percentage-based and routinely run into the seven-figure range for the building as a whole, which the association allocates to unit owners through a special assessment if a major storm hits.
7. Buying in a building 25 to 40 years old without inspecting the milestone report and SIRS. The post-Surfside framework was specifically designed to surface what these documents now contain. Skipping them is buying blind.
8. Treating a low monthly fee as a positive signal. A building with low monthly fees and an underfunded reserve is the building most likely to special-assess soon. The line item to compare across listings is monthly fee plus a sound estimate of the next 5 to 10 years of capital needs, not monthly fee alone.

Section 14Buyer's due diligence checklist

1. Request the estoppel certificate in writing as soon as the contract is binding. Re-request if the closing slips beyond the certificate's effective period.
2. Request the last 12 to 24 months of board meeting minutes under F.S. §718.111(12).
3. Request the current annual budget, the most recent year-end financial statements, and the projected budget for next year.
4. Request the current SIRS and the most recent milestone inspection report if the building is 3+ stories. If neither exists for a building old enough to require them, treat it as a red flag, not a non-issue.
5. Request the current reserve fund balance and the percentage funding ratio implied by the SIRS. A reserve at less than 20% of recommended funding is a red flag. A reserve at 50% or more of recommended funding is closer to healthy.
6. Read the master insurance policy summary, with attention to the hurricane deductible.
7. Ask for written confirmation that no special assessment is currently under discussion. Record the answer.
8. Have a Florida real estate attorney review the declaration's special assessment authority clause, the FAR/BAR contract, and any addendum allocating risk for assessments voted between contract and closing.

Section 15Frequently asked questions

Can the board levy a special assessment without a unit owner vote?

In many Florida condominiums, yes, subject to the 14-day notice rule and any limits the declaration imposes. Some declarations require a unit-owner vote above a stated dollar threshold or for specific categories. The first place to look is your declaration and bylaws.

Is a special assessment tax-deductible?

For US federal income tax purposes, the answer depends on how the property is used. For a primary residence, special assessments are generally not deductible. For a rental property, special assessments for repairs are generally deductible as expenses; assessments for capital improvements are typically added to the basis of the property and recovered through depreciation. This is general information, not tax advice. Consult a US tax professional with cross-border experience.

What if I am paying a special assessment in installments and I sell before it is fully paid?

The unpaid balance is typically required to be paid out of the seller's proceeds at closing, unless the contract specifies otherwise and the buyer agrees to assume it. The estoppel certificate will list the outstanding balance as of its date.

Can the association use special assessment money for something other than the stated purpose?

No. F.S. §718.116(10) requires that funds collected under a special assessment be used only for the specific purpose set forth in the notice. Any surplus becomes common surplus.

My building's master policy has a 5% hurricane deductible. What does that mean in dollars?

If the building is insured for 50 million USD, the deductible is 2.5 million USD. Until that amount is paid, the master policy pays nothing on a hurricane claim. The association typically funds the deductible through a special assessment after a major storm. A separate guide on this site treats Florida hurricane deductibles in detail.

I am a non-resident owner. Does my Florida unit's HOA know I am not a US person?

The HOA does not need to know, and as a rule does not. Your status as a Canadian non-resident has no bearing on your liability for assessments or on the association's collection rights. It does change your exposure to FIRPTA on resale and to US estate tax on death, but those are separate topics.

Section 16What this guide does not cover

This guide is the chapter entry point for special assessments under F.S. ch. 718 and ch. 720. It does not cover, in detail:

• The mechanics of the milestone inspection or SIRS. Those are treated in dedicated guides in this chapter.
• The Florida master insurance policy and hurricane deductible structure. Treated in dedicated guides in this chapter.
• The FAR/BAR purchase contract. Treated in the acquisition chapter.
• FIRPTA withholding and IRS Form 8288-B. Treated in the sale chapter.
• The full estoppel certificate procedure end-to-end, including dispute mechanisms, fees, and the Form 8288-B interaction. A dedicated guide is in scope.
• Provincial Canadian comparisons beyond Quebec. Equivalent comparisons for Ontario, British Columbia, and Alberta are forthcoming.

> CanadaFlorida editorial team

> Research grounded in cited primary public sources at the bottom of every guide: U.S. and Florida statutes, U.S. and Canadian federal agencies, Florida state and county authorities, and Canadian provincial bodies where relevant. Every figure, rate, threshold, and deadline in this guide is taken from a verifiable primary source listed below. The guide is updated as applicable rules change, with the review date refreshed at the top.

> Essential disclaimer

> This guide is educational, not legal, tax, or financial advice. It does not establish a professional relationship between you and CanadaFlorida or any of its contributors. Florida statutes change, often substantively, between legislative sessions; deadlines and dollar thresholds can move. For any concrete decision involving a Florida special assessment, consult a Florida-licensed real estate attorney and, for cross-border tax effects, a US tax professional with non-resident expertise.

Section 17Educational use only

This guide is published for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, accounting, or financial advice. Reading this guide does not create an attorney-client, accountant-client, or any other professional relationship between you and CanadaFlorida, its contributors, or any affiliated person or entity.

Florida statutes, regulations, and administrative thresholds change frequently. Numbers, deadlines, and statutory cross-references reflect Florida law as understood on the review date shown at the top of this guide. Verify every figure against the cited primary source before relying on it for any decision.

Any concrete decision related to a Florida condominium or HOA special assessment, including but not limited to purchasing, selling, contesting, financing, or litigating, requires consultation with a professional licensed in the relevant jurisdiction: a Florida-licensed real estate attorney for Florida-side questions, a Florida-licensed CPA or US tax attorney for tax effects, a Canadian tax advisor with cross-border expertise for Canadian implications, and a Quebec notary or Canadian provincial counterpart for Canadian-side matters.

CanadaFlorida and its contributors disclaim liability for any loss arising from reliance on this guide. External links are provided for convenience and do not constitute endorsement of the linked content. The guide addresses Florida state law and U.S. federal law where relevant; it does not address the law of any other U.S. state, and provincial Canadian comparisons are limited to the references explicitly named.