Yes, and the estoppel certificate will reveal it even if you forget. Florida Statute 718.503 requires disclosure through the contract rider, and incomplete delivery lets a buyer void the deal entirely. The sharper move for a buyer is negotiating contract language that obligates the seller to pay every pending and levied assessment in full at closing.


The Short Answer and the Better Question

Disclosure is legally required, though experienced buyers treat that obligation as a starting point instead of a safeguard. On the Discover South Florida Podcast, Larry Mastropieri confirmed the requirement before immediately reframing the issue.

"There's an addendum that asks you to disclose those items."

His answer then pivots toward what actually protects a buyer at the closing table.

"Yes, you're supposed to disclose. And the right question really is, forget about the disclosure piece, structure the contract correctly if you're a buyer so that way you're protected."

That distinction runs through this entire topic. Disclosure tells you what someone remembered to write down, while contract language decides who actually pays.

What Florida Law Requires a Condo Seller to Provide

Florida imposes specific obligations on condominium sellers, and recent legislation expanded them considerably. Statute 718.503 governs resales by non-developers, while Statute 720.401 covers homeowner associations through a separate disclosure summary.

The Florida Bar and Florida Realtors publish standard riders that carry these disclosures into the contract. Rider A applies to condominium associations while Rider B covers homeowner associations, and sellers deliver the executed version alongside the original contract.

The Documents That Must Accompany a Sale

Reforms passed after Surfside broadened the required package substantially, and every item below comes at the seller's expense.

  • The declaration of condominium, bylaws, articles of incorporation, and current rules.
  • The most recent year-end financial statement along with the annual budget.
  • An inspector-prepared summary of the milestone inspection report where one applies.
  • The structural integrity reserve study, or a statement that none has been completed.
  • A turnover inspection report when that inspection occurred on or after July 1, 2023.
  • The Frequently Asked Questions and Answers document the statute requires.

The 2025 Condominium Rider added an optional layer as well, letting buyers request board meeting agendas, minutes, and insurance declaration pages when the seller agrees.

What Happens When Disclosures Arrive Late

The consequence carries real teeth, which is why sellers should never treat these documents casually. Failure to deliver the required disclosures renders the contract voidable at the buyer's option, regardless of any other contract provision.

The homeowner association side works similarly under its own statute. A buyer who never received the disclosure summary may cancel within three days of receiving it or before closing, whichever arrives first. Any attempted waiver of that right carries no effect. Sellers across Palm Beach County lose deals over paperwork that could have been assembled in an afternoon.

Which Assessments Actually Require Disclosure

The obligation reaches further than most sellers assume, since a special assessment passes through several stages before anyone writes a check. Each stage carries its own disclosure implications, and the earlier ones cause the most disputes.

  • Assessments already levied by the board and currently being collected from owners.
  • Assessments approved by vote but not yet billed to individual units.
  • Proposed assessments under active discussion in recorded board meetings.
  • Capital projects appearing in the budget that will clearly require funding.
  • Reserve shortfalls identified in a structural integrity reserve study.
  • Any outstanding violation or fine recorded against your specific unit.

Sellers sometimes argue that a proposal is not yet real, though a buyer discovering it in board minutes will disagree strongly. Transparency about a pending discussion costs far less than a collapsed contract two weeks before closing.

How an Assessment Affects Your Sale Price

The financial reality deserves honest treatment, since a known assessment reshapes what buyers will pay. Most buyers subtract the full obligation from their offer and then subtract a little more for the uncertainty surrounding it.

The lending side adds another layer of pressure that sellers rarely anticipate. Lenders count the assessment payment against a buyer's debt-to-income ratio. Fannie Mae also treats unfunded critical repairs above $10,000 per unit as grounds for declaring a project ineligible. An assessment can therefore shrink your buyer pool to cash purchasers alone.

Sellers in West Palm Beach often net more by paying an assessment outright than by discounting the price and hoping buyers accept the liability.

The Estoppel Certificate Exposes Everything Anyway

Concealment rarely succeeds in these transactions, since the association itself reports the balance directly to the closing agent. Larry points to that document as the practical backstop behind every disclosure rule.

"The reality is on a special assessment for an HOA, they're all going to show up anyway, because you're going to get an estoppel letter or an estoppel certificate from the association stating all these items."

The certificate lists current assessments, past-due balances, special assessments already levied, and any other charges attached to the unit. A seller who omits an assessment on the rider simply delays the discovery by a few weeks and damages their credibility in the process.

Why Sellers Genuinely Miss Assessments

Not every omission reflects bad faith, and Larry is careful to separate the two situations. Many owners honestly lose track of what their board has approved.

"A lot of times, at least this is what the sellers claim, they don't know or didn't realize, because they're not staying up to date on what's going on in these associations."

Disengagement explains part of it, since few owners attend quarterly meetings or watch board calls. Association record-keeping supplies the rest of the explanation.

"Most associations kind of suck at just being organized and put together. They don't have recorded meetings and stuff like that that are circulated to everyone who has ownership in a unit."

His conclusion acknowledges both possibilities without excusing either.

"A lot of times these owners don't disclose, because they either pretend they don't know or they actually don't know."

New Website Rules Close Part of That Gap

Florida addressed this exact problem with transparency requirements that took effect January 1, 2026. Condominium associations with 25 or more units must now operate an official website or secure member portal. Homeowner associations with 100 or more parcels face a parallel obligation.

Those portals must host governing documents, budgets, financial reports, and meeting notices. The required records also include twelve months of minutes, active contracts, structural inspection reports, and reserve studies. Owners in Boca Raton now have far less excuse for not knowing what their board approved.

Worried about an assessment on a condo in Delray Beach, West Palm Beach, or Palm Beach Gardens? We read the minutes, the reserve study, and the approval structure, then write the terms that keep the bill off your side of the table. Call The Mastropieri Group at (561) 544-7000.

The Contract Language Buyers Should Demand

Larry's protection strategy sidesteps the disclosure question entirely, which is precisely what makes it effective. He negotiates terms that shift the cost regardless of what anyone remembered to reveal.

"We have the seller say in the addendum that the seller will pay in full for all pending or levied assessments that are existing on the property."

The provision extends past the contract date as well, closing a gap that catches many buyers.

"And any assessments that pop up from the time we go under contract till the time we close, and they'll pay them in full."

Coverage that broad neutralizes the entire disclosure problem.

"So even if the seller doesn't disclose on purpose, or doesn't know, we try to negotiate it so that you're protected."

Front-Loading Installment Assessments

Assessments frequently arrive as monthly payments spread across several years, and that structure creates a trap for unwary buyers. A modest monthly figure conceals a substantial total obligation that transfers with the unit.

Larry insists on collapsing those payments into a single settlement at closing.

"Say you have an assessment where you're going to pay $100 a month for the next five years. No, that all gets front-loaded and the seller pays all that."

A $100 monthly assessment running five years totals $6,000, and the buyer inherits every remaining dollar without this language.

The Loophole Most Agents Overlook

The sharpest insight in this discussion involves associations that lack formal approval authority over buyers. Many communities have an association without any real process for rejecting a purchaser.

"There's an association that exists, but there's no formal approval process where they actually get rejected if they don't comply with certain things as a buyer."

Most buyers assume that structure works in their favor, and the opposite turns out to be true.

"The opposite of what you would expect is true."

Why a Powerless Association Hurts the Buyer

The logic becomes clear once you consider who enforces outstanding violations. A buyer naturally expects the association to halt a sale when unresolved violations exist on the property.

"You would think the association would block the sale if those violations exist, but if they don't have the right to block the sale, then they can't block the sale and then you inherit it."

Nobody stands between you and that liability without explicit contract language. Larry states the consequence plainly.

"If there's any violations on the property and you didn't explicitly say that the seller needs to pay those violations, well then guess what, you're taking ownership of that."

Buyers in Broward County should therefore demand seller responsibility for violations in writing, especially in communities with no approval process.

What Happens When a Seller Hides an Assessment

Concealment carries consequences well beyond an awkward conversation at closing, and the exposure lasts long after the deed records. Florida holds sellers responsible for known material defects that a buyer could not readily observe, and a substantial assessment fits that description comfortably.

The near-term outcome is usually a dead contract, since the estoppel certificate surfaces the truth while the buyer still holds every right to walk. The longer-term risk involves litigation, because a buyer who discovers a concealed obligation after closing may pursue the seller for the amount plus costs.

The listing agent carries real exposure here as well. An agent aware of an assessment has a duty to disclose it, and silence puts a license at risk alongside the seller's finances.

Are Standard Addendums Enough on Their Own?

Preprinted forms handle common situations well, though they were never designed to anticipate every association structure in Florida. Larry warns against treating them as complete protection.

"Even the addendums that exist out there contractually, they're not perfect."

The risk lies with agents who submit forms without examining the specific community involved.

"An agent who's just going to use the addendum at face value and just send these documents in, there's loopholes there, and you've got to be very careful."

His recommendation follows naturally from that reality.

"There should be additional terms added to your contract when you're buying in an association."

What Sellers Should Do Before Listing

  • Request a current account statement from your association covering all balances and charges.
  • Review recent board minutes and budgets for approved or proposed assessments.
  • Gather the reserve study, milestone inspection summary, and financial statements early.
  • Disclose every known assessment on the rider, including installment obligations.
  • Confirm whether any violations sit open against your unit.
  • Ask your agent how the assessment will be handled in the contract before offers arrive.

What Buyers Should Ask Before Signing

  • Is any special assessment currently levied, recently approved, or under board discussion?
  • What did the milestone inspection and structural integrity reserve study find?
  • How does the current reserve balance compare against the required funding level?
  • Which major capital projects appear on the five-year budget horizon?
  • Does the association have formal authority to approve or reject buyers?
  • Are any violations recorded against this unit, and who will cure them?

Statutes and rider forms change regularly, and this page covers general practice. A Florida real estate attorney should review your specific contract and association documents.

Settle the Assessment Question Before You Sign

A disclosure form records what someone remembered, while the contract determines who actually pays. We pull the association records and examine whether the board can even block a sale. The right contract terms then stop a five-figure obligation from following you home. Every hour of that work happens before signatures, which is the last moment it costs nothing. Reach out to The Mastropieri Group, Realtors® at (561) 544-7000 and name the building and we will tell you what the documents really say.

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