Official Records Inspection Request

When to use this

Use this letter to inspect or copy your association's official records with a paper trail that starts the statutory clock. In Florida you have a right to inspect your HOA's official records under Fla. Stat. 720.303(5) and your condominium association's under Fla. Stat. 718.111(12). You do not have to give a reason. The association must make the records available within 10 days of receiving your written request.

The 10-day clock is counted differently by chapter:

• HOA (Chapter 720): 10 business days after the association receives your written request.
• Condominium (Chapter 718): 10 working days after the association receives your written request.

If the association willfully fails to respond, the law presumes damages: $50 per calendar day for up to 10 days, a $500 maximum, running from the day after your request should have been answered. Willful noncompliance can also make the association responsible for your reasonable attorney fees.

How to send it

• Send it certified mail, return receipt requested, so you can prove the date the association received it. That receipt is what starts and proves the 10-day clock.
• Address it to the association at its registered agent and principal address. Find the registered agent and address on sunbiz.org (Florida Division of Corporations) by searching the association's legal name.
• Keep a full copy of the letter and the certified mail receipt for your file.
• Keep paying your assessments and dues on time, under protest if needed. A records dispute does not excuse nonpayment, and being delinquent weakens your position.

What happens next

Count 10 days from the date on your certified mail return receipt, using business days for an HOA or working days for a condominium. If the association gives you access within that window, inspect the records and take your copies. If it ignores or refuses your request, you now have a documented, willful failure on record. Your options to hold the board to the law are a demand-to-cure letter, pre-suit mediation for an HOA under Fla. Stat. 720.311 or arbitration for a condominium under Fla. Stat. 718.1255, a records complaint to the DBPR where it has jurisdiction, and small claims court, where the cap is $8,000, to recover the $50-per-day penalty. This information is current as of July 7, 2026 and is not legal advice.