Your Right to Review Condo Documents Before Buying (Florida)

In Florida, a buyer of a resale condo can cancel the contract within 7 days, not counting Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays, after signing it and receiving the association's documents. A buyer purchasing new from a developer gets 15 days. Both rights come from section 718.503 of the Florida Statutes, and any waiver of them has no effect.

The resale window used to be 3 days. A 2025 law (HB 913, chapter 2025-175) raised it to 7 for contracts signed on or after July 1, 2025. Older guides, including an earlier version of this one, still say 3.

Buying a resale: the 7-day right

When you buy from an owner, the seller must give you, at the seller's expense, current copies of:

• the declaration of condominium
• the association's articles of incorporation
• the bylaws and rules
• the annual financial statement and annual budget
• the milestone inspection summary, if the building has had one
• the most recent structural integrity reserve study (SIRS), or a statement that none has been completed
• the turnover inspection report, for turnover inspections done on or after July 1, 2023
• the Frequently Asked Questions and Answers sheet

The contract must carry the statute's voidability clause. You cancel by giving written notice within the 7 days. The right ends at closing, and a contract that leaves the clause out is voidable at your option before closing.

Buying from a developer: the 15-day right

For a new or preconstruction unit, you can cancel by written notice within 15 days after signing and receiving all of the developer's required documents. You also get a fresh 15 days after receiving any amendment that changes the offering in a way that is materially adverse to you. Budget cost changes on their own do not count as a material adverse change. See preconstruction vs resale for how the two purchases differ.

What to look for in the documents

The documents only protect you if someone reads them inside the window. Focus on:

• Special assessments: levied, planned or under discussion, and who pays in your contract.
• The SIRS and reserves: whether structural reserves are funded or a large catch-up is coming. Our special assessments and condo-safety guide explains the 2022 law behind them.
• The milestone inspection summary: whether the engineer found substantial structural deterioration.
• Litigation and owner delinquencies: both can affect insurance, financing and future fees.
• Leasing, pet and use rules: minimum lease terms and rental caps.

How common are these issues?

Own.Miami checks every published building against public records and current listings. As of October 13, 2026, across the 806 buildings we publish:

• 112 buildings have a special assessment noted in a current listing or record, 61 of them at an elevated level.
• 83 buildings have a civil case involving the association on the Miami-Dade Clerk's docket, 47 of them flagged watch or worse.
• 120 buildings show association collection filings against at least 2% of their units over 24 months, a sign some owners are behind on fees.

Each building page on Own.Miami shows the verified records for that building, which is a quick first screen before the documents arrive. It does not replace reading them.

The bottom line

Start reading the day you receive the documents, and bring in a Florida real estate attorney if anything in the financial statement, SIRS or milestone summary is unclear. Seven business days is enough time to walk away from a building with a funding problem, but only if you use it.

This guide is general education, not legal, tax or financial advice. Confirm how the rules apply to your purchase with a Florida real estate attorney.