Kim Brown • December 22, 2024January 30, 2025 • 13 min. read

Florida’s HOA website requirement 2025 – Everything you need to know

Florida has passed a law that requires HOAs to have and maintain a website. So, if you belong to an HOA with 100 or more homes, you’ll want to keep reading to find out if your community has met all of the requirements.

Table of contents

Does my HOA really need a website?

I thought this requirement was just for condos

Why were HOAs exempt from having a website before HB1203?

What official records need to go on the HOA’s website?

We need a website asap – what should we do?

HOA Sites: A top choice for associations

We already have a website. Do we need to do anything else?

Does my HOA really need a website?

Yes! Most HOAs are legally required to have a website. That’s because in 2024, the state of Florida passed House Bill 1203. This bill was designed to promote transparency and accountability across homeowners associations. The bill consisted of several new requirements, including conditions related to record keeping:

• associations with 100 or more parcels, must maintain a digital copy of specified official records for download on the association’s website or through an application on a mobile device
• they must provide a copy of records or otherwise make the records available that are subpoenaed by a law enforcement agency within 5 days of receiving a subpoena
• they must maintain official records for at least 7 years, unless the governing documents of the association require a longer period of time

The deadline for HOAs to set up a website and make documents available to owners is January 1, 2025.

If your HOA has less than 100 homes, it would not be legally required to have a website at this time. However, the law could be amended to include smaller communities in the future. Small HOAs still benefit from using a community website, even if they are not required to maintain one.

I thought this requirement was just for condos

That used to be the case. HOAs were not mentioned in the first website law (House Bill 1237) directed at condominiums.

As of January 1, 2019, all condo associations with 150 or more units (excluding timeshare units) were legally required to have a website, or application that could be accessed through mobile device, that complied with specific requirements.

Then, HB 1021 was passed in 2024, lowering threshold requirements from 150 units to 25 units. Small condo communities have until January 1, 2026, to establish a website where owners can access records.

Additional changes were made in 2024 to address small condo communities. Now, condos with 25 or more units must also have a community website and make documents available to owners through the website.

Why were HOAs exempt from having a website before HB1203?

HOAs were never specifically mentioned in HB 1237, but back in 2017, Senate Bill 398 did state that “each association shall designate on its website” certain items.

The language in this bill simply wasn’t strong enough to compel HOAs to get a website if they had no motivation to do so.  

Furthermore, since condominiums are so densely populated, lawmakers may have felt that website requirements targeted at these communities would be more impactful.   

 Nevertheless, HB 1203 makes it clear that HOAs need a website, just like condominium communities.

What official records need to go on the HOA’s website?

Documents that are considered “HOA records” should be posted on the website. This does not mean that the general public will have access to these items.

Documents must be shared on a private, password-protected section of the website. Only members and staff of the association would have access to the password, ensuring sensitive information is guarded.

Below are the key items that HOAs must post on their website. To see the requirements in their entirety, click here:  

• The articles of incorporation of the association, and each amendment thereto
• The bylaws of the association, and each amendment thereto
• The declaration of covenants, and a copy of each amendment thereto
• The current rules
• A list of all current executory contracts or documents to which the association is a party or under which the association or the parcel owners have an obligation or responsibility and, after bidding for the related materials, equipment, or services has closed, a list of bids received by the association within the past year
• The annual budget, and any proposed budget to be considered at the annual meeting
• The financial report and any monthly income or expense statements to be considered at a meeting
• The association’s current insurance policies
• The certification of each director as required by s. 720.3033(1)(a)
• Any contract or document regarding a conflict of interest or possible conflict of interest as provided in ss. 468.436(2)(b)6. and 720.3033(2)
• Notice of any scheduled meeting of members and the agenda for the meeting, as required by s. 720.306, at least 14 days before the meeting occurs. The notice must be posted in plain view on the homepage of the website or application, or on a separate subpage of the website or application labeled “Notices” which is conspicuously visible and linked from the homepage
• Notice of any board meeting, the agenda, and any other document required for such meeting as required by subsection (3), which must be posted on the website or application no later than the date required for notice under subsection (3)

Additional requirements

1. In addition to posting all of the required documents, an HOA must ensure that the website or application is accessible through the internet. 

• It must contain a subpage, web portal, or other protected electronic location that is inaccessible to the general public and accessible only to owners and employees of the association

2. When requested in writing, an association must provide an owner with a username and password and access to the protected sections of the association’s website or application.

3. The association shall ensure that the information and records that cannot be shared with owners are not posted on the website or application. It must redact private information if it appears in an HOA document before it is posted on the website. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the association or its authorized agent is not liable for disclosing information that is protected or restricted under paragraph (5)(g) unless such disclosure was made with a knowing or intentional disregard of the protected or restricted nature of such information.

4. Finally, the association shall adopt written rules governing the method or policy by which official records are to be retained, and the time period such records must be retained. This information must be made available to owners through the association’s website or application.

We need a website asap – what should we do?

DIY vs professional

You’ve got a few options when it comes to adopting an HOA website. First, you need to determine if the association is comfortable developing and maintaining the website on its own, or if the board requires help from a professional.

There may be a group of volunteers willing to take on the responsibilities of running the website. Wix is a great program for beginners, while WordPress is more appropriate for people who have some experience building websites.

Don’t forget that you will need a website host, too. In some cases, web hosting is offered with website building, but you can get these services separately.

If this all sounds overwhelming, then your board should create a shortlist of website companies they would like to work with.

Determine the HOA’s needs before hiring a design team

Before making a hiring decision, the board must have an understanding of what it requires (types of website pages, level of customer support, access to the backend of the site, hosting, costs, etc.). Companies will generally have multiple packages to choose from, and a basic option that makes sense for a smaller HOA may not meet the needs of a large HOA.

Evaluate cost, functionality and attractiveness  

A design company will happily answer your questions and tell you why they are qualified to build you a website, but the best ones will be able to show you what they are capable of doing.

Take some time to explore the “examples” or past projects” page. If you get access to a live site, assess how easy it is to navigate. Functionality and user experience will often be the key reasons behind a website’s success or failure.

Looks also matter when it comes to websites. Clean, simple designs have been proven to stand the test of time.

Not only does an aesthetically pleasing website draw owners in, but it also makes a good first impression on prospective buyers.

Finally, ensure the cost fits with the association’s budget. While the cheapest option isn’t usually the best one, your community doesn’t need to pay top dollar, either. The goal is to receive value in return for the money the association pays. On average, HOAs can expect to pay between $800 to $3,000 annually for a functional, professional site.

HOA Sites: A top choice for associations

Your board won’t have too much difficulty finding qualified website development teams. The bigger challenge will be making a final decision.   

Though we encourage you to consider multiple options, we also recommend adding HOA Sites to your list of candidates.

There are several reasons why HOA Sites is the preferred choice of small and large HOA communities, but the main reason is that we create custom websites specifically for homeowners associations.  

HOA website experts

HOA Sites has a keen understanding of what HOA communities want and need for their websites. We have worked with hundreds of board members and property managers, and have successfully met the needs of our clients. 

We have over 2 million active users, and have created over 6,000 websites for HOA communities.  

If you are in a hurry to launch your site, we can help you do it right, and do it relatively quickly.

Refreshingly easy to use

Our clients do not need any prior website experience to use HOA Sites. We know that most people don’t have coding experience, which is why we create templates that anyone can work with. Simply add text to a textbox, upload as many documents as you need, click save, and you’re done. If you can use email, you can use HOA Sites.

Unwavering customer support

Customers can’t say enough positive things about the support they receive from us.

We assign a personal project manager to every client so that they aren’t left to figure things out on their own. When building their website, this person helps the customer every step of the way.

On top of that, our response time for customer support is the best in the industry. During business hours, we respond to support tickets in under 3 minutes, on average, and post our response times as a way to keep ourselves accountable.

24/7 access to your website

One of the best parts of having an HOA website is the barrier-free access to information. That is the main reason Florida passed the website law for HOAs. Residents can view community documents, check announcements, and download forms on their own at any time.

With information always at their fingertips, they can better understand the challenges that their community is facing, and make strategic decisions that will benefit them now and in the future.     

But a website doesn’t help just residents. Staff and board members can work more efficiently when HOA information is consolidated and organized.

Additional features to simplify HOA management

In addition to making it easy for HOAs to upload and update documents and send communications, HOA Sites has several features that HOAs approve of. For example, communities can take advantage of accounting to collect payments online or track expenses. By managing finances through the website, associations improve financial accuracy and transparency.

HOAs can also handle maintenance requests, event registration, classified ads, and much more with HOA Sites.

HOA Sites has the experience and skills to help your association comply with legal mandates, and streamline manual processes. As a result, you can reduce the time that staff and board members spend completing tedious admin work, and empower them to take on the challenges that really matter.

We already have a website. Do we need to do anything else? 

If your HOA already has a website, you may not need to do anything more. However, just having a website is not enough to meet legal requirements.

Your website must have a password-protected space that only residents and staff can access. This space is where official records should be posted.

Check to make sure the HOA has posted all records required by HB 1203 (there are a lot of them). Records need to be updated when they are amended.

Be prudent when it comes to redacting any information that should not be viewed by residents and staff.

Ensure every resident has the password or code required to access the private area of the website.

Finally, share the method or policy by which official records are retained, and the length of time these records are retained, on the HOA website.

If a third party, such as your management company, is taking care of your website, now is a good time to review the content to ensure it complies with HB 1203.

In addition to that, find out or confirm who owns the website. Having ownership is important because if the relationship between parties suddenly ends, you won’t lose access to your site. Conversely, if the site is owned by the management company, the HOA would need to quickly build a new site or find someone to do it on behalf of the association.  

Conclusion

Florida’s new HOA website law aims to improve transparency and accountability within governed associations.

By requiring HOAs to post current community records, owners can check bylaws and rules, financial statements, insurance policies, meeting agendas, and more, without asking a manager or staff member for assistance.

The improved access to information allows members to stay informed and can assist with engagement and rule compliance, too. This convenience is especially helpful to members who don’t live in the community full-time. They stay connected to the HOA, even if they are not physically there.  

Even if a report doesn’t look good, it’s better to let owners see the numbers and prepare for a tough resolution than take them by surprise. 

While uploading documents to a website may require a bit of extra work, staff and board members will find that they actually spend less time fulfilling individual requests.

As a bonus, HOAs that share documents online also use less paper since not all items will need to be distributed to every owner.

If your community still wants to know more about HB 1203, your attorney is your best resource. And, if you would like to inquire about an HOA website, please contact us!