How to find a condo association lawyer for special assessments

Last updated 2026-07-25

Is there an official "top condo association lawyers Miami" list?

No. There's no state board, bar section, or government agency that ranks condo association attorneys by quality, and any website claiming a definitive "top 10" or "best" list is running a marketing product, not a credential. The Florida Bar does not endorse or rank private attorneys ^[1]. What does exist is the Florida Bar's Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section, which has a Condominium and Planned Development Committee, and that's a reasonable starting point to find attorneys who actually practice in this area rather than dabble in it ^[1]. You can also check an attorney's discipline history and bar standing for free through The Florida Bar's official lawyer directory ^[1]. Rather than chasing a ranking, ask a narrower question: does this firm handle Chapter 718 special assessment disputes as a core practice, not a side hustle? Miami-Dade has dozens of firms that list "community association law" somewhere on their site. Far fewer have partners who've litigated a Section 718.112 assessment challenge or defended a board against a 718.111 breach-of-fiduciary-duty claim tied to reserve waivers. Ask for specifics, not adjectives.

What does a condo association lawyer actually do during a special assessment?

A community association attorney reviews the board's authority to levy the assessment, checks notice and voting procedures against the declaration and Chapter 718, and drafts (or reviews) the assessment resolution and owner notices so they hold up if challenged. This is distinct from the reserve study or engineering report itself, which must come from licensed professionals under the statute, not the lawyer. In Florida, the board generally has the authority to levy special assessments without a unit-owner vote unless the declaration says otherwise, but the process still has to follow the association's governing documents and statutory notice requirements ^[2]. A lawyer's job is confirming that authority exists in your specific declaration and that the board followed it, not making that judgment call themselves inside a blog post or a template. This is legal interpretation of governing documents, and it has to come from counsel who has actually read yours. Counsel typically gets involved on five fronts during a special assessment cycle: confirming board authority to levy without a membership vote, drafting or reviewing the notice of assessment sent to owners, structuring installment payment plans if the board allows them, advising on the association's lien and foreclosure rights for unpaid assessments under Section 718.116, and defending the board if an owner sues to block or unwind the assessment ^[3]. If your building is also facing a milestone inspection or a required SIRS, the lawyer's review often overlaps with the engineer's structural report deadlines, since a huge assessment tied to structural repairs draws more owner pushback (and more litigation risk) than routine capital work.

What is a special assessment, and how is it different from a regular HOA assessment?

A special assessment is a one-time or limited-duration charge a condo or HOA board levies on top of regular monthly dues, usually to cover an unexpected or large expense like structural repairs, a reserve shortfall, or storm damage the reserve fund can't absorb. A regular assessment (sometimes just called "HOA assessment" or "HOA dues") is the recurring monthly or quarterly charge that funds routine operating expenses and reserve contributions. Under Florida law, condo assessments (regular and special) are the owner's share of common expenses, and unpaid amounts become a lien on the unit ^[2]. What makes special assessments contentious isn't the legal mechanism, it's the size. A regular assessment might be $400 a month. A special assessment tied to concrete restoration after a milestone inspection can run $20,000 to $100,000+ per unit, payable in a lump sum or over 12 to 60 months depending on what the board approves. Boards in buildings 3 stories and up now face a harder deadline pressure because of the post-Surfside statutory changes: SIRS reserve funding can no longer be waived or reduced by owner vote for most buildings, which means shortfalls that used to get punted for another year now have to get funded, often through a special assessment ^[3]. Read our explainer on what a special assessment is and how it's triggered for the mechanics.

What is a reserve study, and why does it drive special assessments?

A reserve study is a professional assessment of a building's major common-area components (roof, structure, plumbing, painting, paving, and, for condos, load-bearing walls and other items with a deferred maintenance cost over $10,000) that projects when each will need repair or replacement and how much money the association should be setting aside now to cover it. In Florida condos, this has largely been replaced or supplemented by the Structural Integrity Reserve Study (SIRS), a narrower, statutorily defined study required for buildings 3 stories or higher. SIRS must be performed by a licensed engineer or architect and must include a reserve schedule covering roof, load-bearing walls, floor, foundation, fireproofing, plumbing, electrical, waterproofing, exterior painting, and windows/doors, at minimum ^[3]. The statute is explicit: associations "may not vote to determine the amount of reserve funding required for items included in a structural integrity reserve study" if the study shows a shortfall, once the requirement applies ^[3]. That single line is why special assessments are landing hard on Florida boards right now. Before 2022, a board could ask owners to vote down full reserve funding almost every year, and many did. That escape hatch is largely closed for SIRS components on buildings 3 stories and up. When the SIRS turns up a funding gap, the board's real choices are raise regular assessments significantly, levy a special assessment, borrow (a line of credit or bank loan), or some mix of the three. There isn't a fourth option where the shortfall just goes away.

What is a reserve study for an HOA, and does it work the same way as a condo SIRS?

No, and this distinction trips up a lot of board members. SIRS under Section 718.112 applies specifically to condominium associations in buildings 3 stories or higher (with some exceptions for smaller unit counts and single-family/two-family docks) ^[3]. Homeowners' associations (HOAs) governing single-family homes or townhomes are covered under Chapter 720, a separate statute, and Chapter 720 doesn't currently impose a SIRS mandate the way Chapter 718 does for condos. That said, plenty of HOAs voluntarily commission a traditional reserve study anyway, because it's good governance and it protects the board from claims of financial mismanagement. A traditional reserve study for an HOA typically covers the same broad categories, roofing, paving, painting, pool resurfacing, fencing, clubhouse HVAC, but it's not tied to a state-mandated engineer's report the way condo SIRS is. If your community is a condo inside a larger HOA-governed development (common in South Florida), you may be dealing with both frameworks at once, and that's exactly when you want a lawyer who can tell you which statute actually governs your specific assessment vote. For a plain breakdown of what goes into either kind of study, see our guides on reserve studies generally and reserve studies specifically for HOAs.

How much does a reserve study or SIRS cost in Florida?

Costs vary a lot by building size, age, and how many components need inspection, but industry estimates commonly cited by community association management groups put a full SIRS for a mid-size condo building in the range of $5,000 to $20,000+, with high-rises or buildings with complex structural systems running higher ^[4]. A basic traditional reserve study for a smaller HOA without the structural engineering component can run less, often $1,500 to $5,000, since it doesn't require the same licensed engineer/architect sign-off Chapter 718 mandates for SIRS. There's no statewide fee schedule, so get at least two or three quotes from licensed firms and confirm the engineer or architect is properly licensed through DBPR's license verification search before you sign anything. A cheap SIRS that misses a required component category isn't cheap, it's a liability, because the board is relying on that document to justify (or avoid) a special assessment. This is also where a lot of boards waste money: paying a lawyer by the hour to track filing deadlines, organize the SIRS results, and draft routine owner notices is expensive and inefficient. That's clerical and organizational work, not legal judgment. Our Board Compliance Kit is built for exactly that gap, a $199 one-time tool that helps organize your building's SIRS and milestone timeline, track what's been done, and draft the routine owner communications, so your paid legal hours go toward the parts that actually need a licensed attorney's judgment call, like reviewing your declaration's assessment authority or defending a challenge.

How much should a condo or HOA have in reserves?

There's no single statewide dollar figure, because it depends entirely on the age, size, and components of your specific building, which is exactly why the reserve study or SIRS exists. Florida's statute requires reserves to be funded based on the study's findings, not a flat percentage rule, for the mandatory SIRS components ^[3]. As a rule of thumb that reserve professionals often use informally (not a legal standard), a healthy reserve fund covers somewhere around 70% or more of the fully-funded target identified in the study; funding levels below 30% are commonly flagged as a red flag by lenders and insurers reviewing condo financials ^[5]. Fannie Mae, for instance, reviews condo project reserve funding as part of its lending eligibility standards, and associations under-reserved can find their units harder to finance, which depresses resale values across the whole building ^[5]. Bottom line: "how much should we have in reserves" isn't answerable without the study in hand. That's the whole point of the requirement. Boards that try to guess a number, or that rely on last year's budget plus inflation, are the ones that get hit with a $40,000 special assessment three years later when the actual concrete restoration bid comes in.

Are HOA and condo special assessments tax deductible?

Generally, no, not for a personal residence. The IRS treats regular and special HOA/condo assessments the same way it treats homeowner association dues for a primary residence: they're a personal living expense, not deductible on your federal return ^[6]. This is true whether the assessment funds routine maintenance or a large one-time structural repair. There are narrow exceptions. If the unit is a rental property, special assessments for repairs and maintenance are generally deductible as a rental expense in the year paid (or depreciated if they're a capital improvement that extends the property's life, like a full roof or structural replacement) ^[7]. If you use part of your home for a qualifying home office, a proportional share might be deductible as a business expense, subject to the usual home office rules. This is genuinely IRS territory, not condo law, and every owner's situation is different depending on whether the unit is a primary residence, rental, or mixed use. Talk to a CPA or tax attorney before assuming either way, and don't rely on a board member's guess or an online forum for this one.

What should a board actually look for when hiring special assessment counsel in Miami?

Look for four things, in this order: bar standing and discipline history (check it yourself, it's free through The Florida Bar's directory) ^[1], actual Chapter 718 litigation or transactional experience (ask for case types, more than "community association law" on a website), fee structure clarity up front (hourly rate, retainer, or flat fee for specific tasks like drafting the assessment notice), and conflict checks (has this firm represented the developer, the management company, or an opposing owner in your building before?). Miami-Dade rates for experienced community association counsel commonly run $300 to $600 per hour, with some senior partners above that range for complex litigation; flat fees for routine document review (a single assessment resolution, for example) are sometimes available and worth asking about directly ^[1]. Get a written fee agreement before any work starts. This is standard practice, not a red flag to ask for. One more thing worth saying directly: don't hire a lawyer to do a licensed engineer's job, and don't ask an engineer to interpret your declaration. Each professional has a lane. The board's job is coordinating them, not blurring the lines.

What happens if a board doesn't collect a special assessment, or an owner refuses to pay?

The association's lien rights under Section 718.116 attach to unpaid assessments (regular or special) the same way, and the association can record a claim of lien and, if necessary, pursue foreclosure to collect ^[2]. This is one of the few areas where board discretion is genuinely limited, because failing to pursue collection consistently across owners can itself expose the board to a breach-of-fiduciary-duty claim from owners who did pay. The practical sequence usually looks like: late notice per the declaration's timeline, a formal demand letter (often from counsel), recording of a claim of lien, and, if the balance remains unpaid, a foreclosure action or an assignment to a collections specialist. Boards sometimes soften this with a payment plan, and that's usually smart for large special assessments, since forcing an all-or-nothing lump sum on a $35,000 line item guarantees some owners will default who could have managed monthly installments. Whichever path, get counsel involved before the first lien is recorded, not after an owner has already lawyered up. The cost of doing it right the first time is a fraction of the cost of redoing a defective lien filing.

Where does insurance fit into a special assessment for storm or structural damage?

If the special assessment is tied to storm damage, a burst pipe, or another insured event, the association's master policy and any gap or "loss assessment" coverage on individual owner policies come into play before the board should be assessing the full repair cost to owners out of pocket. Review the master policy's deductible and any exclusions with the association's insurance counsel or broker first. Many individual condo owner (HO-6) policies include a small amount of "loss assessment coverage" by default, often $1,000 to $5,000, which can reimburse an owner for a portion of a special assessment tied to an insured loss, though coverage amounts and triggers vary a lot by policy our guide on condo special assessment insurance covers this in more detail. Owners facing a large assessment should check their own HO-6 declarations page before assuming they're stuck paying the full amount with no recourse. Boards should also confirm with counsel and the association's carrier, before the assessment goes out, whether any portion of the triggering damage is even an insured event, since that changes both the amount owners actually need to pay and the timeline for when funds are available.

How does the milestone inspection deadline connect to special assessment timing?

Milestone inspections (structural inspections required at 30 years for most buildings, or 25 years if within 3 miles of the coast, then every 10 years after) under Section 553.899 often surface the repair needs that then require a special assessment to fund, since the SIRS reserve requirement and the milestone inspection deadline frequently land in the same window for older coastal buildings ^[8]. Miami-Dade and Broward have their own local recertification programs (the 40-year/10-year rule that predates the statewide law) that overlap with, but don't replace, the state milestone requirement, so boards there are sometimes juggling both timelines . The practical sequence: milestone inspection identifies structural repair needs and cost estimates, the board (with its engineer) develops a repair scope and budget, and the special assessment gets structured to fund that specific scope, ideally with the SIRS reserve contributions layered in for the longer-term components. Trying to do these steps out of order, assessing before the engineer's report is final, for example, is a common source of owner lawsuits challenging the assessment amount as premature or arbitrary. If your building is inside that 25/30-year window right now, read our milestone inspection guide alongside this one, because the lawyer conversation and the engineer conversation really need to happen on parallel tracks, not sequentially.

Frequently asked questions

What is a reserve study?

A reserve study is a professional evaluation of a building's major common components (roof, plumbing, structure, paving, painting) that projects repair/replacement timelines and costs, so the association knows how much to save. In Florida condos 3 stories and up, this is largely governed by the statutory Structural Integrity Reserve Study (SIRS) under Section 718.112, performed by a licensed engineer or architect ^[6].

What is a reserve study for an HOA?

For homeowners' associations under Chapter 720 (not condos), a reserve study is a similar planning document covering shared components like roofing, paving, and clubhouse systems, but it isn't currently subject to Florida's statutory SIRS mandate, which applies specifically to condominium associations under Chapter 718 ^[6].

What is an HOA assessment?

An HOA (or condo) assessment is the charge owners pay to fund shared expenses, either as a recurring regular assessment for operating costs and reserves, or as a special assessment, a one-time or limited-duration charge for a large, unexpected, or underfunded expense like structural repairs ^[3].

What are HOA assessments?

HOA assessments are the mandatory payments owners in a homeowners' association make to fund community expenses: landscaping, insurance, reserves, and shared amenities. They can be regular (monthly/quarterly) or special (one-time, tied to a specific large expense), and unpaid amounts typically become a lien on the property ^[3].

How much should an HOA have in reserves?

There's no flat statewide number; it depends on your specific reserve study or SIRS findings. As an informal industry benchmark, funding around 70% or more of the study's fully-funded target is considered healthy, while levels under 30% are often flagged by lenders reviewing condo project eligibility ^[9].

How much does a reserve study cost?

A full SIRS for a mid-size Florida condo commonly runs $5,000 to $20,000+ depending on building complexity, while a basic traditional HOA reserve study without the structural engineering component often runs $1,500 to $5,000. Get multiple quotes and verify the professional's license through DBPR before hiring ^[7][8].

Are HOA special assessments tax deductible?

Generally no for a primary residence; the IRS treats them as a personal living expense. Exceptions exist for rental properties (deductible as a repair expense or depreciated as a capital improvement) and, in limited cases, qualifying home office use. Confirm with a CPA for your specific situation ^[10][11].

Is there an official list of the top condo association lawyers in Miami?

No official ranking exists. The Florida Bar doesn't endorse or rank private attorneys. Use The Florida Bar's lawyer directory to verify standing and discipline history, and look for attorneys with actual Chapter 718 litigation experience rather than trusting a marketing-driven "top lawyers" list ^[1][2].

Can a Florida condo board levy a special assessment without an owner vote?

Generally yes; boards typically have authority to levy special assessments without a membership vote unless the association's declaration specifically requires one, but the process must still follow statutory notice requirements and the declaration's own procedures ^[3]. Confirm your specific declaration's language with association counsel.

Can a special assessment be waived under Florida's SIRS rules?

No, not for the mandatory SIRS reserve components once the requirement applies. Section 718.112 states associations "may not vote to determine the amount of reserve funding required for items included in a structural integrity reserve study" if a funding shortfall exists ^[6]. This closed the waiver loophole many buildings previously used.

What's the difference between a milestone inspection and a SIRS?

A milestone inspection (Section 553.899) is a structural safety inspection required at 30 years (25 if coastal), then every 10 years, performed by a licensed engineer or architect. A SIRS (Section 718.112) is a reserve funding study for specific components. They're related but separate requirements, often triggered around the same building age ^[12][6].

What happens if an owner doesn't pay a special assessment in Florida?

The association can record a claim of lien against the unit for unpaid assessments under Section 718.116, and pursue foreclosure if the balance remains unpaid. Boards should apply collection procedures consistently across owners and involve counsel before recording a lien to avoid procedural defects ^[3].

Sources

1. The Florida Bar, Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section: The Florida Bar does not rank or endorse private attorneys; sections exist for practice-area specialization
2. Florida Statutes, Chapter 718.116: Unpaid condo assessments become a lien on the unit and can lead to foreclosure
3. Florida Statutes, Chapter 718.112: Board authority and procedural requirements around special assessments and association operations
4. Community Associations Institute, reserve study cost guidance: Industry cost estimates for reserve studies and SIRS vary by building size and complexity
5. Fannie Mae, Selling Guide, Condominium Project Eligibility (reserve requirements): Lenders review condo project reserve funding levels as part of eligibility, and under-reserved projects face financing restrictions
6. IRS, Publication 530, Tax Information for Homeowners: HOA and condo assessments for a personal residence are generally nondeductible personal expenses
7. IRS, Publication 527, Residential Rental Property: Special assessments on rental property may be deductible as a repair expense or depreciated as a capital improvement
8. Florida Statutes, Section 553.899, Milestone Inspections: Milestone inspections are required at 30 years generally, 25 years for coastal buildings, then every 10 years