Answer the questions to see a score.
Choose or replace your HOA management company
Score every candidate on the same questions, send each one the same RFP, and know what Florida law says about ending a contract the developer signed. Free, with nothing to sign up for.
When can owners take over, and what can they cancel?
In a Florida condominium the developer controls the board until the owners are entitled to take over, and the management contract the developer signed comes with the building. Four rules decide what happens next.
- 1Turnover. Owners other than the developer elect at least a majority of the board at the first of several events, among them three years after 50 percent of the units are conveyed and three months after 90 percent are conveyed (s. 718.301(1)). Before that, once they own 15 percent of the units, they elect at least one third of the board.
- 2What the developer hands over. At turnover the developer delivers, at its own expense, all property of the owners and the association. The list includes employment and service contracts, including the management contract, and the financial records, audited by an independent CPA (s. 718.301(4)).
- 3Canceling. A management contract made before the owners took control must be fair and reasonable and can be canceled by the owners other than the developer. In an association that operates only one condominium, cancellation needs the concurrence of at least 75 percent of the voting interests other than the developer’s, and it applies where those owners have assumed control of the association or own at least 75 percent of the voting interests (90 percent in a nonresidential condominium of 10 or fewer units) (s. 718.302(1)(a)). Associations that operate more than one condominium are under s. 718.302(1)(b).
- 4Licensing. Nobody may manage a community association in Florida without a license, and a management firm responsible for more than 10 units or a budget of $100,000 or more needs a firm license too (s. 468.432).
After turnover the board decides, and the contract’s own notice and termination clauses apply. Read them before you promise anyone anything.
Score the candidates
Rate each candidate on every question: yes is 2 points, partly is 1, no is 0. The groups carry the weights shown, which add up to 100. The score helps you compare. It does not replace reading the signed offer.
In Florida, ask for the firm’s license number and the assigned manager’s license number, and check both with the state (s. 468.432).
Credentials and compliance
Money handling
Reporting and governance
Service and response
Handover readiness
Independence
Price transparency
Proof
Result
Questions to ask a management company
These are the questions the scorecard scores, grouped by what they test. Ask every candidate the same ones, in writing, and keep the answers.
Credentials and compliance
- Do the company and the person who will run your building hold the license or certificate that applies where you are (if any), and will they show you the number?
- Does it carry professional-liability and fidelity (crime) insurance, and will it show you the certificate?
- Is it a member of a professional association with a code of conduct that owners can read?
Money handling
- Is the building’s money kept in a separate account in the association’s name, never mixed with the manager’s own funds?
- Can owners see the bank statement and who owes what online, at any time?
- Does it publish a statement of income and spending to owners every month, within a fixed number of days?
- Are the accounts reviewed by someone independent of the manager once a year?
Reporting and governance
- Does it deliver the annual budget and the year-end statement on time, in a form an owner can read?
- Does it keep a complete archive of minutes and resolutions that any owner can open?
- Are documents, minutes and contracts kept in an owner and board portal instead of e-mail attachments?
- Does it support online voting or remote participation in meetings, where the law allows?
Service and response
- Is there a named manager for your building, and does it tell you how many buildings or units that person runs?
- Is there a backup person and an out-of-hours route for burst pipes, elevators and power cuts?
- Are requests logged with a reference number, and can the resident see the status?
- Are response and resolution times reported to the board every month?
Handover readiness
- Will it take over the common parts, keys and technical documents from the developer or the previous manager in a signed protocol?
- Will it track defects and warranty claims with deadlines, and chase them with the builder?
- Will it collect and keep the as-built drawings and the technical file of the building?
- Can owners see the defects being worked on, with their status?
Independence
- Does it declare in writing any ownership, financial or family link to the developer, the sellers of units or the people deciding for the owners?
- Is the contract term within what the law allows, and can the owners end it on notice without a penalty?
- Does it disclose when it gives work to companies that it or the developer owns?
Price transparency
- Is the fee itemized, with what is included written down?
- Are extras and the share charged on major works stated up front, with no open-ended add-ons?
- Is the yearly increase tied to a stated index or cap, and is last year’s real workload shown so offers can be compared like for like?
Proof
- Can it give references from buildings of a similar size and age, and say how many years it has been in business?
- Will it show you a live demo of what owners and residents actually see?
- Does it know, and tell you, how many owners actually use online payment and the app?
Two to add at the end
- Which of these answers will you put into the contract?
- Which of your current clients may we call?
RFP template for a management company
A request for proposal puts every candidate on the same page. This one carries the scorecard’s questions, a fee table, the weights and a declaration of independence. Send the same file to at least three companies.
How to replace a management company in a Florida condominium
The steps depend on who controls the board. In both cases, start with the contract.
- 1
Find out who is in control
Check whether turnover has happened. Count the units conveyed and compare the dates with the events in s. 718.301(1). Before turnover the developer’s board signs contracts; after it, the owners’ board does.
- 2
Read the management contract
Note the term, the notice period, what counts as cause and any fee for ending it early. If the developer signed it, check whether s. 718.302 lets the owners cancel it.
- 3
Cancel a developer-era contract by owner vote
If s. 718.302(1)(a) applies (an association that operates only one condominium), cancellation needs the concurrence of the owners of at least 75 percent of the voting interests other than the developer’s. Associations that operate more than one condominium follow s. 718.302(1)(b). If the owners do not yet control the association, it must make a new contract for management in place of the canceled one, at the direction of a majority of the voting interests other than the developer’s.
- 4
Collect proposals
Send the RFP to at least three licensed firms. Score the answers with the scorecard above and check every license number.
- 5
Decide at a properly noticed meeting
Follow the notice and voting rules in your declaration and bylaws. This page does not replace them.
- 6
Plan the handover
Ask the new firm for a signed takeover list: official records, bank access, keys, contracts and open requests. Keep the old firm’s contact until the last item is closed.
Whether you can end a particular contract, and on what terms, depends on its wording. Have an attorney who practices community association law read it before you give notice.
Why the scorecard asks about online access
Seven of the questions are about what owners can see online. That is not a sales point. Florida already requires an association managing a condominium with 25 or more units to post its key documents on a website or in a mobile app, and to put a new record there within 30 days unless a shorter period applies (s. 718.111(12)(g)). A manager who runs that portal well saves the board work; one who does not leaves the board to do it. The digital questions start switched off, and count for half of a core question when you switch them on.
Unitify gives managers these tools.
Legal sources
Every legal statement on this page comes from the text of the law itself. The quotes are in the original language.
- Fla. Stat. s. 718.301(1)
If unit owners other than the developer own 15 percent or more of the units in a condominium that will be operated ultimately by an association, the unit owners other than the developer are entitled to elect at least one-third of the members of the board of administration of the association.
- Fla. Stat. s. 718.301(1)
Unit owners other than the developer are entitled to elect at least a majority of the members of the board of administration of an association, upon the first to occur of any of the following events:
- Fla. Stat. s. 718.301(1)(a)
Three years after 50 percent of the units that will be operated ultimately by the association have been conveyed to purchasers;
- Fla. Stat. s. 718.301(1)(b)
Three months after 90 percent of the units that will be operated ultimately by the association have been conveyed to purchasers;
- Fla. Stat. s. 718.301(4)
the developer shall deliver to the association, at the developer’s expense, all property of the unit owners and of the association which is held or controlled by the developer
- Fla. Stat. s. 718.301(4)(c)
The records must be audited for the period from the incorporation of the association or from the period covered by the last audit, if an audit has been performed for each fiscal year since incorporation, by an independent certified public accountant.
- Fla. Stat. s. 718.301(4)(n)
Employment contracts or service contracts in which the association is one of the contracting parties or service contracts in which the association or the unit owners have an obligation or responsibility, directly or indirectly, to pay some or all of the fee or charge of the person or persons performing the service.
- Fla. Stat. s. 718.302(1)
shall be fair and reasonable, and such grant, reservation, or contract may be canceled by unit owners other than the developer:
- Fla. Stat. s. 718.302(1)(a)
If the association operates only one condominium and the unit owners other than the developer have assumed control of the association, or if unit owners other than the developer own at least 75 percent of the voting interests in the condominium or own at least 90 percent of the voting interests if the condominium is a nonresidential condominium consisting of 10 or fewer units, the cancellation must be by concurrence of the owners of at least 75 percent of the voting interests other than the voting interests owned by the developer.
- Fla. Stat. s. 718.302(1)(a)
the association must make a new contract or otherwise provide for maintenance, management, or operation in lieu of the canceled obligation, at the direction of the owners of not less than a majority of the voting interests in the condominium other than the voting interests owned by the developer.
- Fla. Stat. s. 718.302(1)(b)
If the association operates more than one condominium and the unit owners other than the developer have not assumed control of the association,
- Fla. Stat. s. 718.111(12)(b)
within 10 working days after receipt of a written request by the board or its designee.
- Fla. Stat. s. 718.111(12)(g)1.
An association managing a condominium with 25 or more units which does not contain timeshare units shall post digital copies of the documents specified in subparagraph 2. on its website or make such documents available through an application that can be downloaded on a mobile device.
- Fla. Stat. s. 718.111(12)(g)1.
Unless a shorter period is otherwise required, a document must be made available on the association’s website or made available for download through an application on a mobile device within 30 days after the association receives or creates an official record specified in subparagraph 2.
- Fla. Stat. s. 468.432(1)
A person shall not manage or hold herself or himself out to the public as being able to manage a community association in this state unless she or he is licensed by the department in accordance with the provisions of this part.
- Fla. Stat. s. 468.432(2)
A community association management firm or other similar organization responsible for the management of more than 10 units or a budget of $100,000 or greater shall not engage or hold itself out to the public as being able to engage in the business of community association management in this state unless it is licensed by the department as a community association management firm in accordance with the provisions of this part.
Choosing a management company: questions
How many companies should we ask?
At least three. It gives you a price range and shows who answers the hard questions. The scorecard compares up to three side by side.
Is the lowest fee the best offer?
Not by itself. Compare the fee together with what is included, the extras, the share charged on major works and the yearly increase. That is why price transparency is a group of its own in the score.
Can the owners cancel the management contract the developer signed?
In a Florida condominium, a contract made before the owners took control can be canceled by the owners other than the developer. For an association that operates only one condominium, that takes the concurrence of at least 75 percent of the voting interests other than the developer’s, and it applies if those owners have assumed control of the association or own at least 75 percent of the voting interests (s. 718.302(1)(a)). Associations that operate more than one condominium are under s. 718.302(1)(b). The wording of the statute decides each case, so ask an attorney.
Does the manager need a license?
In Florida, yes. A person who manages a community association must be licensed, and a firm responsible for more than 10 units or a budget of $100,000 or more must hold a firm license too (s. 468.432). Other states differ, so check yours.
Does this apply to an HOA that is not a condominium?
The scorecard and the RFP do. The legal rules on this page are Florida condominium rules (Chapter 718). Homeowners’ associations in Florida fall under Chapter 720, and other states have their own statutes.
What happens to the answers I enter?
Nothing leaves your browser. The score is calculated on the page and kept only for the tab.
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