When does a Florida condo association pass from developer to owners?

Florida sets the clock in statute. Under section 718.301 of the Florida Statutes, owners other than the developer elect at least one-third of the board once 15 percent of the units have been conveyed, and take control of the board at the earliest of several triggers: three years after half the units are conveyed, three months after 90 percent are conveyed, when all units are finished and none are still offered for sale in the ordinary course, or seven years after the declaration was recorded, among others. At turnover the developer must hand over the association's documents, money and records, and the association has the books audited. Until then the developer runs the building. The buyer's job before closing is to know which trigger will fire first in this building and to ask for the papers turnover depends on.

The developer. In a new building the developer appoints the first board, hires the first manager, sets the first budget and collects the first assessments. That is normal and lawful; it is also the period in which the building's habits are formed. A buyer who closes in the first phase of a 275-home building like Olara, delivered in phases from late 2026 through 2028, lives under developer control for longer than a buyer in a 55-home building like Alba Palm Beach, which was completed in June 2026 with only final inventory left. Ask the developer how many homes are conveyed today, when it expects the 15 percent and 90 percent marks, and whether it has already named a management company and on what term. Read owner voting and records at Olara and at Alba.

As the statute lists them for the owners' right to elect a majority of the board, and as mechanics rather than advice:

1. Three years after 50 percent of the units that will be operated by the association have been conveyed to buyers.

2. Three months after 90 percent of those units have been conveyed.

3. When all the units have been completed, some have been conveyed, and none of the others are being offered for sale by the developer in the ordinary course of business.

4. When some units have been conveyed and none of the others are being constructed or offered for sale in the ordinary course of business.

5. Seven years after the declaration was recorded, or for a phased condominium seven years after the declaration creating the first phase.

6. When the developer files for bankruptcy protection or a receiver is appointed over it, on the terms the statute sets.

The 15 percent mark is separate: it gives owners the right to elect at least one-third of the board, which is their first seat at the table. The developer keeps the right to name at least one director while it holds at least 5 percent of the units for sale in the ordinary course. The numbers are the statute's; how they fall in a given building is a question of the sales pace, which is why the conveyed count matters more than the brochure. Read condominium documents: the five sections for where the declaration sits among the papers.

Section 718.301 lists what passes to the owners' board at turnover: the original or a certified copy of the recorded declaration, articles and bylaws and the rules; the minute books and the association's accounting records; the funds and the bank accounts; the plans and specifications used to build the building, with a certificate that they are what was built; permits, warranties and contracts in force; the roster of owners; the insurance policies; and the audited financial statements. The audit is the one to underline. The association must have its records from incorporation to turnover reviewed by an independent certified public accountant, and the report shows whether the developer paid what it owed during its control and whether the reserves were funded as the documents required. Ask the developer now whether the budget it is collecting under funds reserves or waives them, because what was waived before turnover is what the owners find missing after it. Read milestone inspection and reserves and what a beach building reserve study tells you.

Once the owners' board sits, the bylaws set the meetings, the notices and the quorum, and Florida law lets a condominium adopt electronic voting for elections and other votes if the board authorises it and an owner consents, which is the mechanism an absent owner relies on. Records are a statutory right: an owner may inspect the official records on written request within the period the statute sets, and the association may be penalised for refusing. For a buyer who will live abroad or part-time, three questions before closing: whether the bylaws allow electronic voting and proxies, how the records request is made in practice, and whether the manager posts the budget and the minutes to an owners' portal. Read owner voting and records at South Flagler House and owning from abroad: property management.

Six questions, in writing, to the developer and the manager it has appointed:

How many units are conveyed today, and which turnover trigger does the developer expect to fire first?

Is the first budget funding reserves in full, and if not, on what vote were they waived?

Who is the management company, for what term, and does the contract survive turnover or end with it?

What contracts has the developer signed on the association's behalf that will bind the owners' board, including the brand or shared facilities agreements in a branded building?

Who holds the plans, permits and warranties, and will they pass with a certificate at turnover?

When is the first structural integrity reserve study due, and who pays for it?

Read the first year of owning a Miami condo and the ownership file for a West Palm Beach condo, where the papers that come out of turnover belong. The statute's text and the building's declaration are for counsel; the desk collects the conveyed count, the budget and the management contract from the developer before the buyer signs.