What Is a Special Assessment? A Florida Condo Buyer's Guide

What is a special assessment?

A special assessment is an extra charge a condo association bills to unit owners on top of the regular fee set by the annual budget. Florida's Condominium Act defines it as "any assessment levied against a unit owner other than the assessment required by a budget adopted annually" (Fla. Stat. § 718.103). Boards use them when they need money the budget does not provide, for example a large repair or reserve funding.

Each owner's share follows the condominium's declaration. Under § 718.115(2), common expenses are collected "in the proportions or percentages provided in that condominium's declaration," so two units in the same building can owe different amounts for the same project.

This guide covers condominiums under Chapter 718 of the Florida Statutes, as of October 2026. It is general information, not legal advice; talk to a Florida real estate attorney about a specific building or contract.

How do Florida's condo safety laws affect special assessments?

They tie a building's reserves to a structural study, and the law lists special assessments among the ways to fund those reserves. Associations of buildings three habitable stories or higher must have a structural integrity reserve study (SIRS) at least every ten years, and their budgets must fund reserves for the items in that study based on its findings (§ 718.112(2)(f) and (g)).

Owner-controlled associations that existed on or before July 1, 2022 had to complete the first study by December 31, 2025. An association due for a milestone inspection by December 31, 2026 may do both together, and in no event may the study be completed after that date. The same section says SIRS reserves "may be funded by regular assessments, special assessments, lines of credit, or loans," and a special assessment, line of credit or loan used this way needs a majority vote of the total voting interests. So when a building's study shows underfunded reserves, a special assessment is one of the ways the law lets owners close the gap.

One exception relates to repairs. For budgets adopted on or before December 31, 2028, an association that completed a milestone inspection within the previous two calendar years may, with the approval of a majority of the total voting interests, pause or reduce reserve contributions for no more than two consecutive annual budgets to fund the repairs that inspection recommends (§ 718.112(2)(f)). This does not apply to an association controlled by a developer, one whose non-developer owners have been in control for less than one year, or one controlled by bulk assignees or bulk buyers. An association that pauses contributions this way must have a new SIRS performed before contributions continue. Separately, if the local building official finds the entire building uninhabitable because of a natural emergency, the board may pause or reduce reserve funding until the official finds it habitable again.

How does a Florida condo board approve a special assessment?

The board has to give owners notice and state what the money is for. For a nonemergency special assessment, written notice of the board meeting must be mailed, delivered or sent electronically to owners and posted on the condo property at least fourteen days before the meeting. The notice must say that assessments will be considered and give "the estimated cost and description of the purposes for such assessments" (§ 718.112(2)(c)).

After approval, owners get a written notice of the assessment's specific purpose, and the association may spend the money only on that purpose. If money is left over when the work is done, the board may return it to owners or credit it toward future assessments (§ 718.116(10)). Who has to vote on a given assessment beyond the SIRS reserve rule above depends on the building's declaration and bylaws.

Owners who want to object or ask questions can come to the meeting. Board meetings with a quorum are open to all owners, and the right to attend "includes the right to speak at such meetings with reference to all designated agenda items" (§ 718.112(2)(c)).

If you want to fight an assessment after the vote, know the limits of the state's condo arbitration program. Under § 718.1255(1), a "dispute" for that program includes a board's failure to give adequate notice of meetings, but it does not include a disagreement that primarily involves "the levy of a fee or assessment, or the collection of an assessment." The state agency, DBPR's Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares and Mobile Homes, has owner education and complaint resources. Whether a particular assessment was properly adopted, and what you can do about it, is a question for a Florida attorney.

How do you find out about a special assessment before you buy?

Ask early and get it in writing. The seller, the listing agent and the association can each tell you whether an assessment is approved, being paid in installments or on a coming agenda. Treat those answers as a starting point and check them against the association's own documents below.

Board minutes and meeting notices

Minutes show what the board discussed and voted on, so they can reveal an assessment under discussion before any bill goes out. The association must keep minutes of all board, committee and owner meetings as official records (§ 718.111(12)). An association managing a condominium with twenty-five or more units that does not contain timeshare units must post certain official records on a website or an app. Read at least the last year of minutes, longer if the SIRS or a repair project has been under discussion, and any posted notice of a meeting where assessments will be considered.

The budget, the financial statement and the reserve study

Once you have a contract on a resale unit, you are entitled, at the seller's expense, to the declaration, articles, bylaws and rules, the annual financial statement and annual budget, the inspector-prepared milestone inspection summary if applicable, and the association's most recent SIRS "or a statement that the association has not completed a structural integrity reserve study" (§ 718.503(2)(a)). If the reserve study calls for more money than the reserves hold, ask how the association plans to fund the difference.

The seller also owes you a copy of DBPR's governance form, which must address "[t]he responsibility of owners with regard to payment of regular or special assessments necessary for the operation of the property and the potential consequences of failure to pay such assessments" (§ 718.503(2)(b)). It is a general overview; the building's own documents control.

When the paperwork mentions an assessment, check whether it was proposed or approved. A proposal in the minutes can still change or fail at the vote. An approved one comes with a written notice of its purpose (§ 718.116(10)). Ask the association for the board's resolution and the payment schedule as well.

The estoppel certificate

The estoppel certificate is the association's written statement of what is owed on the unit. The association must issue it within ten business days after a written or electronic request from the unit owner, the mortgage lender or someone acting for them (§ 718.116(8)). The form must include an itemized list of special assessments owed on the date it is issued and an itemized list of those "scheduled to become due for each day after the date of issuance for the effective period of the estoppel certificate." A certificate delivered by hand or electronically is effective for thirty days.

The certificate also protects the person who relies on it. The association "waives the right to collect any moneys owed in excess of the amounts specified in the estoppel certificate from any person who in good faith relies upon" it. Read it before closing and compare it with the minutes. An assessment that is only being discussed may not appear on it yet.

Who pays a special assessment when a condo is sold?

Florida law ties liability to the due date. An owner "is liable for all assessments which come due while he or she is the unit owner," and a new owner is "jointly and severally liable with the previous owner for all unpaid assessments that came due up to the time of transfer of title" (§ 718.116(1)(a)). The new owner keeps the right to recover those amounts from the previous owner.

That rule tells you what the association can collect. How you and the seller divide an assessment is up to your purchase contract. The tricky case is an assessment approved before closing and payable in installments after it: the contract may put the whole amount on the seller, split it, or leave the later installments to the buyer. Read that paragraph with a Florida real estate attorney before you sign, and make sure the closing statement matches it.

If you are new to the process, our guide on how to buy a house in Florida, step by step shows where the condo documents fit in the timeline.

Questions to ask before you sign

1. Is any special assessment approved, being paid in installments or on the agenda of a coming board meeting?
2. What do the last year of board minutes say about repairs, reserves and assessments?
3. Does the latest SIRS call for reserves the current budget does not fund?
4. Has the association completed its milestone inspection, if one is required, and what does the summary recommend?
5. What does the estoppel certificate list as owed and as scheduled to come due?
6. How does your contract split an assessment approved before closing, and has an attorney reviewed it?

When you compare buildings, start with the area pages: Miami-Dade County homes and market data, Brickell condo buildings and Sunny Isles Beach condos, then ask each building for the documents above.

Talk to Marina

Marina Garan, REALTOR®, Broker Associate
London Foster Realty

FL lic. BK3336901 · Brokerage lic. CQ1046685

Call (786) 751-5111Send a message

How we wrote this: This article has no market figures. It is general information, not legal, tax or insurance advice. Spot an error? Call or text (786) 751-5111 · London Foster Realty.