Selling a house with an HOA in Florida

What is an estoppel certificate and who orders it?

An estoppel certificate is the association's signed statement of what a parcel owes it as of a given date: the regular assessment and its due date, any special assessment, capital contribution or transfer fees, and any balance already in collection. The closing agent orders it and the title company uses the figure to settle the account at the table.

Section 720.30851, Florida Statutes, gives the association 10 business days after a written or electronic request to issue it. One hand delivered or sent electronically has a 30-day effective period, and one sent by regular mail has 35 days, so a closing that slides past that window needs a fresh certificate. The association may charge up to $250 when nothing is delinquent, up to $100 more to deliver within 3 business days, and up to $150 more when a delinquent amount exists. The fee is the parcel owner's responsibility.

What do I have to hand the buyer before they sign?

Section 720.401 requires a disclosure summary before the contract for sale is executed. It states that membership is mandatory, that assessments are mandatory and what the current amount is, that special assessments are possible, that unpaid amounts can become a lien on the parcel, and that the governing documents are a matter of public record. A buyer who did not receive it may void the contract by written notice within 3 days after receiving it or before closing, whichever comes first, and that right cannot be waived.

A separate flood disclosure goes to the purchaser of residential real property at or before the time the contract is executed. It asks whether you know of flooding that damaged the property during your ownership, whether you filed an insurance claim for flood damage, and whether you received flood assistance such as FEMA aid.

Underneath the forms sits a common-law duty from Johnson v. Davis, 480 So. 2d 625 (Fla. 1985): a seller who knows of facts materially affecting the value of the property that are not readily observable and are not known to the buyer has to disclose them. An as-is contract does not switch that duty off.

Where do I find the declaration if the management company is slow?

The declaration of covenants and every recorded amendment sit in the county official records, so you can pull your own copy without waiting on anyone. Orange County sellers search the Comptroller's Official Records, and Osceola and Seminole sellers use their clerk of court. A legal description or the subdivision name is enough to find it.

For what the county does not hold, a parcel owner may make a written request to inspect or copy official records, and section 720.303 gives the association 10 business days to make them available. Missing that window creates a presumption of willful noncompliance. Associations of 100 or more parcels have had to post governing documents, budgets, financial reports, and insurance policies to a website or downloadable app since January 1, 2025.

Does an unpaid assessment stop the sale?

No, and it does not evaporate at closing either. Under section 720.3085 a parcel owner is jointly and severally liable with the previous parcel owner for all unpaid assessments that came due up to the time of transfer of title. That is why the estoppel figure comes out of seller proceeds at the table, and why a buyer's lender will not fund over an open association lien.

So reconcile a disputed late fee or a contested fine while you are still choosing a list date. The same argument in week six of a contract costs a closing extension.

Do I need association approval for work I already did?

Check before an inspector does. Section 720.3035 limits an association's architectural or construction improvement committee to the authority specifically stated or reasonably inferred in the declaration of covenants, or in published guidelines and standards the declaration authorizes. The governing question is what your own recorded documents say about location, size, type, and appearance.

Screen enclosures, fences, paver drives, replacement front doors, and roof colors outside the approved palette are the items that come back on a resale. Association approval and a building permit are also separate tracks with separate offices: a stamped architectural approval is not a permit, and a closed permit does not satisfy the association.

What about CDD assessments on the tax bill?

Many Central Florida subdivisions sit inside a community development district as well as a homeowners association, and the two are not one bill. A district levies its own assessments to pay for the infrastructure it financed, and those land on the county tax bill as non-ad-valorem assessments rather than as a charge from the association. The Florida Department of Revenue notes that proposed non-ad-valorem assessments usually appear at the bottom of the Notice of Proposed Property Taxes.

Section 190.048 requires a boldfaced district disclosure immediately above the purchaser's signature line, but it is written for contracts on the initial sale of a parcel or residential unit inside the district. On a resale the contract may carry nothing of the kind, so the tax bill and the district's own budget are where a buyer finds the number. Celebration is the local example most sellers have already heard of.