The Owner's Guide to Association Records Requests

Access to association records is not a favor from the board or management. It is a legal right and a basic part of condominium governance.

Owners pay the Association's bills. Owners fund its contracts, employees, consultants, insurance, repairs, reserves, and legal expenses. Florida law therefore gives owners the right to inspect the records showing how those responsibilities are handled.

An owner does not have to prove wrongdoing. An owner does not have to explain why a record is wanted. The purpose of the law is transparency itself.

The short version: an owner's core rights

Under Florida Statute §718.111(12):

• Any association member may inspect the Association's accessible official records.
• An owner may authorize a representative, such as a lawyer, accountant, engineer, consultant, or another person, to inspect for the owner.
• The Association may not require the owner to state a reason or prove a purpose.
• The request should be in writing and delivered to the board or its designated records custodian.
• The requested records must be made available within 10 working days after the written request is received.
• Records must generally be made available within 45 miles of the condominium or in the same county.
• The owner may inspect, make copies, obtain copies, photograph, or scan accessible records.
• The Association cannot charge an owner for using a phone, tablet, portable scanner, or similar device to copy records.
• The Association must simultaneously provide a checklist identifying what it made available and which requested official records it did not make available.
• The Association must retain that checklist for seven years.
• If a requested record is already posted on the Association's website or application, the Association may satisfy the request by directing the owner to it.
• The Association may adopt reasonable procedures for the time, place, frequency, notice, and manner of inspections. Those procedures cannot require a reason or operate as an unreasonable denial of access.

The right is to inspect existing records. A records request usually does not require the Association to create a new report, perform research, answer questions, or prepare a new calculation.

Who may request records?

• A unit owner who is an Association member.
• A person the owner authorizes to act as the owner's representative.
• A renter, but only for a limited set of records: the declaration, bylaws, rules, and the structural inspection reports identified by the statute.

Prospective purchasers and lienholders have separate disclosure rights. They do not automatically receive the full inspection rights of an Association member.

What is an "official record"?

The legal term is official records of the association. These are not government public records under Florida's public-records law. They are private association records that condominium owners have a statutory right to inspect.

Florida law lists 21 categories. The final category is deliberately broad:

All other written records of the association not specifically included in the foregoing which are related to the operation of the association.

That means a document does not need an "official" label. It does not need to be approved at a meeting. It does not need to be printed or stored in a formal records binder. Electronic documents can qualify.

Emails, letters, text messages, spreadsheets, photographs, reports, bid analyses, project correspondence, management records, and consultant communications may be official records when they are Association records related to operating the condominium.

The practical question is:

Was this existing record created, received, sent, maintained, or relied upon in conducting Association business?

If yes, it is potentially an official record unless a specific statutory exclusion applies.

The device or account used is not necessarily decisive. Association business does not automatically become private merely because it was conducted through a personal email account or phone. At the same time, a director's purely personal file does not become Association property merely because the person serves on the board. Communications requests should therefore identify the Association subject, participants, date range, and official capacity involved.

Records maintained for the Association by its community association manager, management company, accountant, engineer, or another agent do not lose their Association character merely because a contractor is holding them.

Every statutory category of official records

The following list tracks the categories in §718.111(12)(a). Examples are included to show what each category can cover.

Practical records owners may request at 1000 Venetian Way

The following examples apply the statute to the kinds of issues owners encounter in this building.

Structural recertification and repair projects

Owners may request existing:

• Engineering, architectural, testing, and consulting contracts.
• Proposals, scopes, amendments, and fee schedules.
• Milestone and structural inspection reports.
• Structural integrity reserve studies.
• Field-observation and site-visit reports.
• Photographs and video maintained by the Association or its project team.
• Testing plans and protocols.
• Concrete, corrosion, waterproofing, and laboratory results.
• Scan maps and test-location maps.
• Drawings, specifications, repair details, and project manuals.
• Addenda and bulletins.
• Requests for information and responses.
• Submittals, shop drawings, and review comments.
• Bid invitations, bidder questions, bids, and bid comparisons.
• Contractor, engineer, architect, and management correspondence.
• Construction schedules and schedule updates.
• Pay applications and schedules of values.
• Invoices, payment records, and ledger entries.
• Change-order requests, logs, approvals, and executed change orders.
• Change directives and contingency-use records.
• Cost estimates and revised budgets.
• Punch lists and deficiency lists.
• Warranties and closeout packages.
• Lien releases and contractor affidavits.
• Permits, inspection results, correction notices, and government correspondence.

Management and staffing

Owners may request existing:

• The management agreement and every amendment.
• Management proposals and negotiated scopes.
• Approved staffing model.
• Contract exhibits describing positions and services.
• Organizational charts maintained for Association operations.
• Employment agreements with direct Association employees.
• Vendor contracts for front desk, receiving, maintenance, concierge, janitorial, or security-related services.
• Budgets and financial records showing compensation.
• Management-company invoices and additional charges.
• Records showing authorized positions versus positions billed.
• Written job scopes used to define outsourced services.
• Board packets and communications concerning changes in staffing or services.

Private disciplinary, health, insurance, and payroll files are excluded. That exclusion does not conceal employment agreements or financial records showing compensation.

Board decisions and meeting process

Owners may request existing:

• Notices, agendas, minutes, and retained recordings.
• Board and committee packets.
• Documents distributed to directors.
• Documents listed on an agenda.
• Written reports considered before a vote.
• Written statements submitted for the meeting record.
• Sign-in sheets, proxies, ballots, and tallies.
• Affidavits proving notice.
• Conflict disclosures.
• Written director or officer disclosures.
• Documents showing authorization of contracts, payments, settlements, or projects.

Reimbursements and payments to directors, officers, or management

Owners may request existing:

• Reimbursement request.
• Receipt or invoice.
• Description of the Association purpose.
• Written approval.
• Record identifying who approved it.
• Check, ACH, wire, or other payment record.
• General-ledger entry and account coding.
• Applicable purchasing or reimbursement policy.
• Meeting notice, agenda, packet, and minutes if board approval occurred.
• Conflict-of-interest disclosure, if applicable.

Contracts and procurement

Owners may request existing:

• Request for proposals.
• Bid specifications.
• List of invited bidders.
• Bidder questions and Association responses.
• All submitted bids and revisions.
• Bid matrix or comparison.
• Consultant recommendations.
• Vendor presentations.
• Conflict disclosures.
• Executed contract.
• Amendments, renewals, extensions, and change orders.
• Purchase orders and notices to proceed.
• Invoices, approvals, and payment records.
• Performance correspondence and termination records.

Insurance and claims

Owners may request existing:

• Policies, endorsements, declarations, and deductibles.
• Broker proposals and coverage comparisons.
• Premium invoices and payment records.
• Replacement-cost appraisals.
• Claims and claim-status records.
• Adjuster and engineering reports.
• Proof-of-loss and settlement records.
• Insurer payments and Association accounting.
• Correspondence with brokers, insurers, adjusters, and consultants.

Some litigation-related or privileged material may be withheld or redacted.

Rule enforcement, violations, and building operations

Owners may request existing:

• Enforcement policies.
• Violation and hearing notices.
• Fining-committee records.
• Board approvals of fines.
• Incident and maintenance reports.
• Security or access-control logs maintained as operational records.
• Written instructions to management or vendors.
• Records showing how a rule was applied, subject to privacy redactions and statutory exclusions.

Communications: emails, texts, and messages

Electronic communications can be official records when they are Association records related to Association operations. The safest request describes the subject, participants, date range, and types of communication.

For example:

All existing emails, text messages, letters, memoranda, attachments, and other written or electronic communications created, sent, received, or maintained by the Association, its CAM or management company, officers or directors acting in their official capacities, and its engineers, architects, consultants, or contractors concerning the structural recertification project from January 1, 2026 through August 31, 2026.

Also remember:

• Copying an attorney does not automatically make an ordinary business communication privileged.
• A genuinely privileged request for legal advice may be protected.
• Litigation strategy and attorney work product may be protected until the proceeding concludes.
• An otherwise accessible document may contain information that must be redacted.
• The Association does not have to create a message export or report in a form it does not maintain, but it must provide accessible existing records that fall within the request.

Records owners cannot inspect

Florida Statute §718.111(12)(c) excludes the following from owner access:

1. Attorney-client privileged records and attorney work product

   This covers genuine confidential legal communications and qualifying material prepared for litigation or an adversarial administrative proceeding.

   It does not mean that every record involving a lawyer is automatically withheld. For example, the amount paid to a law firm is an accounting matter. An invoice may be accessible while privileged narrative is redacted.

2. Sale, lease, and transfer approval information

   Information the Association obtained in connection with approving a unit sale, lease, or other transfer.

3. Personnel records

   Private personnel records of Association or management-company employees, including disciplinary, payroll, health, and insurance records.

   The statute expressly states that "personnel records" do not include written employment agreements with an Association employee or management company, or budgetary and financial records showing compensation paid to an Association employee.

4. Owner medical records
5. Protected personal information

   This includes Social Security numbers, driver-license numbers, credit-card numbers, emergency contacts, and other protected personal identifying information.

   Email addresses, telephone numbers, fax numbers, and alternate addresses are governed by detailed consent and notice rules. Names, unit designations, property addresses, and mailing addresses are generally not excluded.

6. Electronic security measures

   Passwords and other measures used to safeguard Association data.

7. Software and operating systems

   The Association does not have to provide the software used to manipulate its records. The underlying Association data remains part of the official records.

8. Statutory affirmative acknowledgments

   Acknowledgments under §718.121(4)(c) are maintained as official records but are expressly inaccessible to owners.

When an accessible record contains protected information, the Association should separate or redact protected material where appropriate instead of treating unrelated nonprotected information as automatically secret. Whether a particular redaction or privilege claim is proper can be a legal question.

What 1000 Venetian Way's bylaws require

Section 6.G of the 1000 Venetian Way Bylaws is titled Accounting Records. It independently requires the Association to:

• Maintain accounting records according to good accounting practices for each condominium it manages.
• Keep those records in Dade County, Florida.
• Open the records to members and their authorized representatives at reasonable times.
• Supply written financial summaries to members or their authorized representatives at least annually.

The bylaws state that the accounting records include, but are not limited to:

• A record of all receipts and expenditures.
• An account for each unit.
• The unit owner's name and current mailing address.
• The amount of each assessment.
• Assessment due dates.
• Amounts paid.
• The outstanding balance.

The bylaws also provide for recovery of reasonable attorney's fees from the person controlling the records who knowingly denies access when an owner prevails in an enforcement action.

These bylaw protections supplement Florida law. They do not replace or narrow the broader rights now provided by Chapter 718.

What the Association is required to do

Maintain the records

The Association must create and maintain the records Chapter 718 requires. Outsourcing accounting or management does not eliminate that responsibility.

An outgoing board or committee member must return Association records and property in that person's possession or control to the incoming board within five days after the election.

Keep records organized

The statute requires official records to be organized in a manner that facilitates owner inspection.

Attempt to recover missing records

If official records are lost, destroyed, or otherwise unavailable, the Association has a good-faith obligation to obtain and recover them to the extent reasonably possible.

Respond within 10 working days

Within 10 working days after the board or its designee receives the written request, the Association must make accessible records available.

The law requires access. It does not necessarily require the Association to email the records or deliver them in the owner's preferred format. The Association may provide an inspection appointment, electronic viewing and printing, or a website or application link that actually contains the requested records.

Provide the mandatory checklist

At the same time records are made available, the Association must give the requesting owner a checklist that identifies the records made available for inspection and copying, and identifies requested official records that were not made available.

Permit copying and scanning

The owner may make or obtain copies at the owner's reasonable expense, if any. The Association must allow the owner or authorized representative to use a smartphone, tablet, portable scanner, or similar technology. It cannot charge for use of the owner's device.

The Association must also keep an adequate number of copies of the declaration, articles, bylaws, rules, amendments, statutory question-and-answer sheet, most recent annual financial statement, and annual budget on the condominium property so they are available to owners and prospective purchasers. It may charge its actual cost to prepare and furnish those particular copies.

Apply reasonable rules reasonably

The Association may regulate frequency, time, place, notice, and manner. It may arrange a reasonable appointment and protect original records from damage or removal.

It may not:

• Require the owner to explain a motive.
• Restrict access based on whether management agrees with the owner's concern.
• Use procedures that effectively prevent inspection.
• Refuse merely because the owner previously inspected the same records.

DBPR arbitration guidance recognizes that repeated requests are not automatically prohibited. A frequency rule still must be reasonable under the circumstances.

How long must records be kept?

Periods run from the Association's inception for permanent records; from the related election, vote, or meeting for voting records; from receipt for bids and inspection reports; and from completion for reserve studies. Videoconference recordings run from the date the recording is posted.

These are minimums. A deliberately retained record remains an Association record while it is maintained, even if the minimum retention period has expired.

What must already be posted online?

1000 Venetian Way has more than 25 units. It is therefore subject to the website or mobile-application requirements in §718.111(12)(g). The expanded requirement became effective January 1, 2026.

Unless a shorter deadline applies, required digital documents must generally be posted within 30 days after the Association creates or receives them.

The protected owner website or application must include:

1. Declaration and amendments.
2. Bylaws and amendments.
3. Articles of incorporation and amendments.
4. Current rules.
5. Approved board minutes from the preceding 12 months.
6. Video or a video link for videoconference meetings from the preceding 12 months.
7. A list of executory contracts and documents imposing Association or owner obligations.
8. After bidding closes, a list of bids received during the past year.
9. Summaries of bids over $500 for one year, or the complete bids instead.
10. Annual budget and any proposed budget to be considered at the annual meeting.
11. Annual financial report and any monthly income or expense statement to be considered at a meeting.
12. Required director certifications.
13. Contracts and transactions involving directors, officers, or financially interested related entities.
14. Conflict-of-interest documents.
15. Unit-owner meeting notices, agendas, and documents to be considered or voted upon, within the applicable advance-posting periods.
16. Board meeting notices, agendas, and other documents required for the meeting, by the statutory notice deadline.
17. Structural and life-safety inspection reports.
18. Most recent structural integrity reserve study.
19. Building permits for ongoing or planned construction.
20. Affidavits required by Chapter 718.

Upon an owner's written request, the Association must provide the username, password, or other access needed to reach the protected owner section.

Not every official record must be posted online. The website list is narrower than the full universe of records owners may request. Posting a contract list, for example, does not eliminate an owner's right to request the existing contract or bid itself.

DBPR's current summary appears in its Condominium FAQs.

A records request is not the same as a written inquiry

This distinction matters.

Records request

A records request asks to inspect or copy existing documents.

Please provide the original project budget, every revised budget, all change orders, the change-order log, pay applications, invoices, and existing correspondence concerning cost increases.

Written inquiry

A written inquiry asks the board to provide an answer or explanation.

Why did the project budget increase, who approved the increase, and what is the expected final cost?

Under Florida Statute §718.112(2)(a)2, a unit owner may send a written inquiry to the board by certified mail. The board generally must respond within 30 days by providing a substantive response, stating that it requested a legal opinion, or stating that it requested advice from DBPR.

If legal advice is requested, the substantive response is generally due within 60 days after receipt of the inquiry. If DBPR advice is requested, the board must provide a substantive response within 10 days after it receives that advice.

The Association may adopt a reasonable rule limiting its obligation to one written inquiry per unit in a 30-day period. Later inquiries can be treated as received in later 30-day periods.

The Association does not have to create a new record

DBPR arbitration decisions explain that §718.111(12) applies to records that exist. It does not normally require an association to create a new document, report, analysis, summary, comparison, or calculation in the format an owner requests.

For example, instead of requesting:

Create a list showing every project cost increase and explain who caused it.

Request the existing:

• Original and revised budgets.
• Change-order log.
• Individual change orders.
• Pay applications.
• General-ledger detail.
• Invoices.
• Meeting packets and minutes.
• Existing emails and reports discussing cost changes.

In Masse v. Inverrary Condominium Association, Inc., DBPR Arbitration Case No. 2012-03-9829, the arbitrator explained that access applies to existing records and does not require an association to generate a document it does not maintain in the requested form. The same order explains that reasonable rules cannot be used to unreasonably deny access and that access cannot be denied merely because a request is repetitive. Read the DBPR order.

DBPR arbitration decisions are useful agency guidance but are not the same as binding appellate-court precedent. The current statute controls.

How to write an effective records request

1. Identify the owner and unit

   State the owner's full name, unit number, preferred contact information, and whether someone is acting as an authorized representative.

2. Address the correct recipient

   Send the request to the board or the Association's designated records custodian. Copying the CAM or management company can help establish operational notice, but the statutory recipient is the board or its designee.

3. State the legal basis

   Identify the letter as a written request to inspect and copy official records under §718.111(12).

4. Request existing records

   Use phrases such as "All existing records…", "All versions maintained by the Association…", "Records created, sent, received, or maintained…", and "Including attachments…".

5. Define a reasonable scope

   Identify the subject or project, date range, document type, vendors or participants, and relevant accounts or transactions.

6. Number every item

   The Association must provide a checklist. A numbered request makes it possible to compare each request with the response.

7. Ask for electronic copies, but preserve the inspection right

   Electronic delivery is usually faster and cheaper, but the statute does not necessarily require email delivery. Use: "I prefer searchable electronic copies when maintained electronically. If the Association elects to provide an inspection appointment or website access instead, please provide the statutory access within 10 working days."

8. Ask for accessible portions and appropriate redactions

   Use: "If a responsive record contains protected information, please provide the nonprotected portion with appropriate redactions rather than withholding unrelated accessible material."

9. Do not accidentally waive the deadline

   Avoid language suggesting that access can occur whenever convenient or after the statutory period. Cooperate with reasonable appointment scheduling, but state clearly that no statutory deadline is waived unless the owner intentionally agrees otherwise in writing.

10. Preserve proof of receipt

    DBPR recommends witnessed hand delivery or certified mail, return receipt requested, unless the Association has adopted a valid specific procedure. Email can be sent as an additional copy.

    DBPR's Access to Records Request and Checklist is recommended but not mandatory. DBPR advises owners to identify records specifically and narrow the request by issue.

Model records-request template

What to do at an inspection

• Bring the original numbered request and the Association's checklist.
• Compare each produced item to the corresponding request number.
• Note whether the record is complete, partial, redacted, missing, or unavailable.
• Ask for the checklist before the inspection concludes.
• Photograph or scan accessible records.
• Preserve folder names, file names, dates, and metadata visible during electronic inspection.
• Do not alter, remove, or disorganize original records.
• If more time is reasonably needed, document the request to continue the inspection.
• Follow up in writing the same day with a factual list of missing or incomplete items.

An owner should cooperate with reasonable scheduling. Refusing to provide any availability after the Association timely offers reasonable access can undermine a claim that access was denied.

What happens if the Association does not comply?

Presumption of willful noncompliance

Failure to make records available within 10 working days creates a rebuttable presumption that the Association willfully failed to comply.

Damages

An owner denied access may be entitled to actual damages or statutory minimum damages of $50 per calendar day for up to 10 days, beginning on the eleventh working day after receipt of the written request. The statutory minimum is therefore generally capped at $500 per incident.

Damages are not necessarily automatic. Facts such as receipt, scope, response, scheduling, record existence, and whether the denial was willful can matter.

Attorney's fees

A person who prevails in an enforcement action may recover reasonable attorney's fees from the person controlling the records who directly or indirectly knowingly denied access, when the statutory requirements are met.

DBPR complaint

After developer turnover, DBPR has jurisdiction over maintenance of and owner access to official records. Owners may submit a complaint to the Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes. See Florida Statute §718.501 and DBPR condominium services.

DBPR subpoena procedure

Section 718.501 provides an additional escalation path:

1. The owner requests access in writing by certified mail.
2. After 10 days, the owner repeats the same request by certified mail.
3. More than 10 days pass after the second request and the Association still fails or refuses to provide access.
4. The owner presents proof to DBPR.

When the statutory conditions are met, DBPR must subpoena the requested records and provide the produced records to the owner without charge.

Serious intentional conduct

Florida law contains civil and criminal provisions addressing intentional destruction of required records, deliberate failure to create or maintain accounting records with intent to harm, and withholding records to conceal a crime. These provisions require specific knowledge or intent. A late or incomplete response is not automatically criminal.

Common mistakes to avoid

Asking only "why?"

A records request obtains documents. Use a separate certified written inquiry for explanations.

Requesting a document that must be newly created

Ask for the underlying existing records, not a new analysis or spreadsheet.

Using unlimited scope

"Every communication about the building since 1978" is difficult to administer and invites objections. Use defined topics, people, and dates.

Failing to prove receipt

The deadline runs from receipt. Preserve certified-mail tracking, a signed hand-delivery receipt, or other reliable proof.

Refusing reasonable scheduling

The Association may arrange a reasonable inspection. Cooperate while preserving the 10-working-day deadline.

Assuming everything must be emailed

Electronic delivery is efficient and should be encouraged, especially when records already exist digitally. But the statute permits inspection, website access, or electronic viewing. The legal right is access — not necessarily delivery in one preferred method.

Accepting a general statement that "nothing is available"

The Association must provide the statutory checklist. Ask that every request item be matched to the record provided, withheld, missing, or claimed not to exist.

Treating every attorney-related record as secret

Privilege protects qualifying legal communications and work product. It does not automatically protect contracts, payment amounts, ordinary business records, or every email on which an attorney was copied.

The governing principle

Records access is part of the condominium's accountability system. It allows owners to understand how their money is spent, how contracts are selected, how projects are managed, how meetings are conducted, and whether the Association is following its governing documents and Florida law.

Owners do not need permission to pay attention.

The practical rule is simple:

If the Association created it, received it, sent it, retained it, relied upon it, spent money under it, or used it to operate the condominium, it is worth identifying in a records request — subject to the specific exclusions in Florida law.

Primary sources