A Boca Raton condo owner opens their mailbox to find a notice: the association has levied a $38,000 special assessment per unit for structural repairs and insurance compliance. No prior warning, no discussion at a membership meeting, just a bill and a 90‑day payment deadline. The owner calls the board president, who says the assessment was approved at a board meeting three weeks ago. The owner never received notice of that meeting. This is happening across South Florida right now, and it’s not always legal.
Special assessments in Boca Raton and Palm Beach County have exploded in the last two years. Rising insurance costs, milestone inspections on aging coastal buildings, and new reserve requirements after the Surfside collapse have created what the Palm Beach Post calls “real challenges for many condo buildings in South Florida.” Associations are levying large one‑time charges to cover unexpected repairs, and owners are pushing back when the process looks rushed, the allocation looks unfair, or the board skipped required steps.
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What counts as a special assessment under Florida law
A special assessment is any charge imposed on owners outside the regular monthly or quarterly dues. It’s typically a one‑time or limited‑duration fee to cover major repairs, emergency work, budget shortfalls, or capital improvements that weren’t in the annual operating budget. Common triggers in Boca include roof replacements, concrete restoration, elevator modernization, seawall repairs, and insurance spikes that blow up the budget mid‑year.
The key distinction: special assessments are not routine. They’re supposed to address specific needs that couldn’t be anticipated or that exceed normal reserves. Florida law treats them differently depending on whether you live in a homeowners association or a condominium association, and the difference matters when you’re disputing one.
- HOAs are governed by Chapter 720 of the Florida Statutes.
- Condos fall under Chapter 718.
Both statutes give associations broad power to levy special assessments, but both also impose procedural requirements that boards routinely ignore.
The governing documents control everything
Before you can challenge a special assessment, you need to read your association’s declaration, bylaws, and articles of incorporation. These documents — not the statute — usually dictate when a special assessment can be imposed, how it must be approved, and how the cost gets divided among owners.
Some declarations allow the board to adopt special assessments unilaterally up to a certain dollar threshold. Others require a membership vote for anything over 5% or 10% of the annual budget. Some require a supermajority. If your bylaws say special assessments over $25,000 require approval by 75% of the membership and the board imposed one by simple board vote, the assessment is invalid.
Allocation methods also come from the governing documents. In condos, most declarations allocate assessments by percentage interest — the share of common elements assigned to each unit, usually based on square footage. In HOAs, it’s often equal per lot or per home. Disputes frequently arise when a board uses the wrong formula. For example, if the declaration assigns percentage interests but the board divvies up a $500,000 project equally among 100 units, owners with smaller units pay the same as owners with penthouses, and that’s a breach of the governing documents.
Another common issue: the board uses a special assessment to cover something the documents don’t allow. Declarations often limit special assessments to capital improvements, emergency repairs, or specific enumerated purposes. Using a special assessment to backfill operating reserves or cover chronic budget mismanagement may exceed the board’s authority, even if the statute would otherwise permit it.
How special assessments are supposed to be adopted
Florida law requires boards to follow specific notice and meeting procedures before imposing a special assessment, and these procedures are where most disputes start.
For condominiums, Section 718.112 requires that any budget or budget amendment (which includes special assessments) must be adopted at a properly noticed board meeting. The statute and most bylaws require at least 14 days’ written notice to all owners before a meeting where a special assessment will be considered. The notice must include an agenda that specifically identifies the assessment. Boards that email a notice three days before a meeting, or that adopt an assessment without putting it on the agenda, violate the statute.
HOAs under Section 720.303 face similar requirements. Board meetings must be open to owners except in limited circumstances, and owners must receive advance notice of the meeting and the agenda. Imposing a special assessment by email vote, by phone poll, or at a “special emergency meeting” with no notice is not valid unless the governing documents and statute expressly allow it.
Boards also need a quorum and the required vote. If your bylaws require a majority of the full board and only three of seven directors show up, a 2‑1 vote doesn’t cut it. If the declaration requires membership approval for assessments over a certain amount, the board can’t bypass that requirement just because it’s inconvenient to call a membership meeting.
Owners challenging a special assessment should immediately request copies of the meeting notice, the agenda, the meeting minutes, and any vote tallies. If the board can’t produce those records or if the records show procedural violations, you have strong grounds to challenge the assessment.
Common scenarios that lead to disputes in Boca Raton
The most frequent disputes involve boards that skip required steps because they’re in a hurry. A structural engineer delivers a report saying the building needs $2 million in concrete restoration to meet new safety requirements. The board panics, adopts a special assessment at the next board meeting, and sends out bills. Owners who didn’t receive proper notice, who weren’t given a chance to review the engineer’s report, or who weren’t allowed to speak at the meeting have a valid complaint.
Another pattern: allocation disputes. A Boca condo has 150 units — 100 two‑bedroom units and 50 three‑bedroom penthouses. The board levies a $3 million special assessment and divides it equally: $20,000 per unit. The declaration allocates assessments by percentage interest, which means the penthouses should pay roughly double what the two‑bedroom units pay. Owners in the larger units may have a breach‑of‑contract claim.
Hardship cases also generate disputes, though hardship alone isn’t a legal defense. The Palm Beach Post reported on associations debating how to handle owners who simply can’t afford large special assessments for infrastructure repairs. Some boards offer payment plans or association loans. Others move straight to lien and foreclosure. Owners who can’t pay often look for procedural defects in the assessment as leverage to negotiate.
Buyer disputes are another category. Special assessments in condos run with the unit under Section 718.116. That means if a seller hasn’t paid the assessment by closing, the buyer can inherit the debt and the lien. Buyers who weren’t told about a recently adopted assessment — or who discover one was approved but not yet billed — often claim the seller or the association failed to disclose it. Florida Realtors’ guidance recommends that buyers review association budgets, reserve studies, and meeting minutes before closing, but most buyers don’t do that until they’re already under contract.
What owners need to prove a special assessment is invalid
Challenging a special assessment usually means proving the board violated the governing documents, the statute, or both. The first step is gathering records.
Florida law requires associations to create and retain certain records, including meeting minutes, financial records, budgets, and reserve schedules. Owners have a statutory right to inspect and copy those records upon written request. Boards that refuse to produce records or claim the records don’t exist are creating liability for themselves in litigation.
For a procedural challenge, you need the meeting notice, the agenda, the minutes, and any vote documentation. If the board didn’t give 14 days’ notice, didn’t list the assessment on the agenda, or didn’t have a quorum, those are grounds to void the assessment.
For a substantive challenge, you need the governing documents and proof of how the assessment was allocated. If the declaration assigns percentage interests and the board used equal shares, you can calculate exactly how much each owner was overcharged or undercharged. You also need the engineering report, contractor bids, or reserve study that supposedly justified the assessment. If the board is charging $2 million for a project that bids came in at $1.2 million, owners can challenge the excess.
Section 718.303 of the Condominium Act allows unit owners to sue the association for failure to comply with the statute or the governing documents. That’s the legal hook for most special assessment disputes in condos. For HOAs, the claim is usually breach of the declaration or breach of fiduciary duty.
Arbitration, mediation, and litigation
For condominiums, many disputes over the interpretation or enforcement of Chapter 718 or the governing documents must go through mandatory nonbinding arbitration with the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) before you can file a lawsuit. This includes most special assessment disputes.
Owners file a petition with the DBPR Division of Condominiums. The division appoints an arbitrator, who conducts a hearing and issues a decision. The decision is nonbinding, meaning either party can reject it and proceed to court, but the process often resolves disputes or at least narrows the issues.
For HOAs, the pre‑suit requirements are less clear and depend on the nature of the dispute and the governing documents. Some HOA declarations require mediation before litigation. Others don’t.
If you end up in court, the remedies can include:
- A declaratory judgment that the special assessment is invalid
- An injunction preventing the association from collecting or foreclosing
- An award of damages, attorneys’ fees, and costs
Both Chapter 718 and Chapter 720 allow prevailing parties to recover attorneys’ fees in certain disputes, which makes litigation less risky for owners with strong claims.
Timing is critical. There’s no statute of limitations specific to special assessments, but general contract and statutory deadlines apply. More importantly, once the association records a lien and starts foreclosure proceedings, you’re in a defensive posture. If you’re going to challenge an assessment, do it before the lien gets recorded.
The risks of not paying
Refusing to pay a special assessment, even one you believe is invalid, carries serious consequences. In both condos and HOAs, unpaid assessments become a lien on your property. The association can add interest, late fees, and collection costs, and it can foreclose on the lien just like a mortgage lender.
A recorded lien will show up on title and can block refinancing or sale. Most buyers won’t close on a property with an outstanding association lien, and most title companies won’t insure the title until the lien is paid or resolved.
Some attorneys recommend a “pay under protest” strategy — paying the assessment to avoid liens and foreclosure while reserving the right to challenge it and seek reimbursement in court. Whether that makes sense depends on the amount, the strength of your legal claims, and your financial situation.
What buyers need to know before closing
If you’re buying a condo or home in an HOA in Boca Raton, ask about special assessments before you go under contract. Specifically, ask the seller and the association:
- Has the association adopted any special assessments that haven’t been billed yet?
- Are there any special assessments currently being discussed or planned?
- What do the reserve studies and recent meeting minutes say about upcoming projects?
Review the association’s financial statements and the last 12 months of board meeting minutes. Look for discussions of deferred maintenance, insurance problems, structural inspections, or reserve shortfalls. These are red flags that a special assessment is coming.
In condos, remember that special assessments follow the unit. If the seller hasn’t paid an assessment by closing, you can inherit the debt unless the contract requires the seller to pay it or unless it’s negotiated as a closing credit. Your purchase contract should address who pays any special assessments adopted before closing but not yet due.
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What associations can do to avoid disputes
Boards that follow the statute and the governing documents avoid most disputes. That means giving proper notice, holding open meetings, allowing owners to speak, and using the correct allocation formula. It also means keeping owners informed about why an assessment is necessary and how the cost was calculated.
Transparency reduces litigation. If the board shares the engineer’s report, the contractor bids, and the reserve study with owners before voting on a special assessment, owners are less likely to suspect fraud or mismanagement. If the board explains why it chose a particular allocation method and shows that it matches the declaration, fewer owners will challenge the math.
Associations should also maintain complete, accessible records. Owners have a statutory right to inspect records, and boards that stonewall records requests create the impression they have something to hide. That impression often turns into a lawsuit.
If you’re facing a special assessment in Boca Raton that you believe was improperly adopted or unfairly allocated, get the governing documents and the meeting records before you do anything else. Most disputes hinge on whether the board followed the required steps, and you can’t know that without seeing the paper trail. If the board skipped notice, ignored a vote requirement, or used the wrong allocation formula, you have options — but the window to act is short once liens and foreclosures start.
