Florida compliance · Checklist

The Florida HO-6 Compliance Checklist

The working checklist for boards and community association managers: what to require, what to collect, how to verify a declaration page, and what to do on a schedule instead of after a loss. Florida gives associations no statutory enforcement power against an uninsured owner — the force-place authority was repealed in 2010 — so disciplined tracking is the only real lever.

Last updated 2026-08-23 · Distilled from our cited guides (sources below) · Not legal advice · Print this checklist

A. Set the requirement — yearly, board + counsel

• Read the declaration. It — not the statute — defines what owners owe. Florida has no statutory HO-6 mandate (enacted 2008, repealed 2010 by SB 1196), so an owner requirement exists only if your declaration creates it.
• Set a loss assessment minimum well above the $2,000 statutory floor. § 627.714 only guarantees $2,000 (deductible capped at $250) — against Florida special assessments that routinely run five and six figures per unit.
• Coastal buildings: decide the wind rule. State whether wind coverage is required and whether a wind-excluded HO-6 paired with a separate wind-only policy satisfies it (the pair works; neither alone does).
• Confirm the master policy side. Adequate property insurance under § 718.111(11)(a), with a replacement-cost determination on file from within the last 3 years.
• Never tell owners the master policy covers their interior. § 718.111(11)(f)3. makes every Florida master policy bare-walls by statute — personal property, floor/wall/ceiling coverings, fixtures, appliances, cabinets, and window treatments are the owner's responsibility.

B. Collect proof — per unit, at move-in and every renewal

• Ask for the declarations page — not a certificate of insurance, not a binder. The dec page is the document that states coverages and dates.
• Match the named insured to the owner and the property address to the unit (unit numbers repeat across buildings — match the street address too).
• Check the policy form. HO-6 is the owner's form; an HO-4 is a renter's policy and does not satisfy an owner requirement.
• Check effective and expiration dates — a policy that lapsed last month with a fresh-looking dec page is the most common gap.
• Check limits against your requirement: dwelling (Coverage A), personal property (Coverage C), liability, and the loss assessment line.
• Check for a wind exclusion. If the HO-6 excludes wind, collect the companion wind-only dec page before marking the unit compliant.
• Record the insurer and policy number so renewals can be matched to the right policy.
• New owners: collect at closing or immediately after. The seller's policy does not transfer with the unit.

C. Track continuously — monthly, minimum

• Keep one list of every unit's expiration date — a single source of truth, not a folder of PDFs.
• Contact owners before expiration — 30 days out, again in the final week, again at lapse. Early, repeated asks substitute for the enforcement power the statute no longer provides.
• Chase expired and missing policies until a current dec page is on file — an old document on file is not coverage.
• When a replacement document arrives, verify it actually extends coverage. The policy with the newest expiration date governs; a duplicate of the old dec page changes nothing.
• Log every request and receipt. If an uninsured loss ends up in front of the membership or a court, the board's diligence record is its protection.

D. What not to do

• Don't send demand letters citing force-place authority. That provision of § 718.111(11) was repealed effective July 1, 2010 (SB 1196) — it is not current law, however often it is quoted. Remedies live in your declaration; confirm them with counsel.
• Don't accept a certificate of insurance as proof of coverage details. It confirms a policy exists, not what it covers or when it ends.
• Don't accept an HO-4 where the declaration requires an HO-6.
• Don't rely on the "20% of appraised value" HO-6 sizing rule. It is not in the current Fannie Mae Selling Guide B7-3-04 — treat it as legacy guidance.