Exemptions to Condominium Official Records

By Christopher M. Cobb January 23, 2020 Posted in Community Association Law Share

Condominium living is a way of life in Florida.  From time to time, a unit owner may wish to inspect official records of the condominium association.  Such procedures are clearly set forth in the Florida Statutes and Administrative Code.   Section 718.111(12) of the Florida Condominium Act and Rules 61B-22.002, 61B-22.003(3), 61B-23.002(7) and 61B-23.0021(14) of the Florida Administrative Code provide clear guidelines for the maintenance and inspection of the association’s official records.  In Part 1 of this blog, we identified what records constitute official records of a Florida condominium association.  However, sometimes unit owners will overstep and ask for items that are not allowed or are confidential. This posting will identify what documents are specifically exempt from association official records.

Pursuant to Section 718.111(c) of the Florida Condominium Act, the following categories of documents and records are not accessible to unit owners:

1. Records prepared by or at the direction of an association attorney which reflects legal conclusions, strategies or legal theories and which were prepared for civil or criminal litigation or adversarial administrative proceedings until the conclusion of those proceedings.
2. Certain information obtained by an association in connection with the approval of the lease, sale or some other form of transfer of a unit.
3. Personnel records of association employees, including, but not limited to disciplinary, payroll, health, and insurance records.
4. Medical records of unit owners.
5. Social security numbers, driver’s license numbers, credit card numbers, e-mail addresses, telephone numbers, emergency contact information, any addresses of a unit owner other than as provided to fulfill the association’s notice requirements and other personal identifying information of any person, excluding the person’s name, unit designation, mailing address, and property address.
6. Any electronic security measure that is used by the association to safeguard data, including passwords.
7. The software and operating system used by the association which allows manipulation of data, even if the owner owners a copy of the same software used by the association. The data is part of the official records of the association.

It is imperative that the condominium association board members and the condominium association manager have a clear understanding of the condominium association official records in order to comply with Florida law.  Often times, the condominium association counsel will be asked to provide an opinion on whether access should be given to a category of requested records.  Part 3 of this 3 part blog will discuss the process and procedures of responding to unit owner request for inspection of condominium association records.

For more information, contact Cobb & Gonzalez at info@cobbgonzalez.com

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