HOA
From Listings to Living
A 48-unit building on the water has run itself for twenty years. The treasurer pays the bills from her kitchen table, a retired engineer on the board handles the roofer, and the dues have barely moved. Then the treasurer sells, the engineer's term ends, and the building turns 30 the same year a state-mandated structural inspection comes due. The board has to decide, quickly, who is going to run the place.
Condo association management is the work of operating a condominium association: collecting assessments, maintaining the common elements, keeping records, insuring the building and complying with state law. A board can do that work itself, hire an individual licensed manager, contract with a management company that assigns a manager across several buildings, or put a manager on site full time. In every model the board keeps decision authority; the manager carries out its decisions.
Condominiums are a large share of the associations that face a condo association management choice. The CAI Foundation's 2025 Statistical Review estimates that condominium communities make up 35 to 40 percent of U.S. community associations, and that 30 to 40 percent of all associations are self-managed.
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In a condominium you own your unit plus an undivided share of the common elements: the roof, the structure, the lobby, the elevators, the risers that carry water past your kitchen. The association maintains those elements on everyone's behalf. That puts a building's mechanical and structural risk inside condo association management itself.
A single-family HOA manager spends much of the year on landscaping contracts, architectural requests and drive-through violation inspections. A condo manager spends it on elevator service agreements, fire alarm testing, leak tracing between stacked units, contractor access, move-in elevator reservations, insurance renewals and the reserve schedule for systems that cost six or seven figures to replace. The generic version of this job is covered in our guide to HOA management companies. This page is about buildings.
| Model | Who does the work | Usually fits | Main risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Self-managed | Volunteer board members, sometimes with a hired bookkeeper or vendors | Small, newer buildings with simple systems and engaged owners | Burnout, missed statutory deadlines, weak financial controls |
| Independent licensed manager | An individual manager on contract, often part time, sometimes with a separate accounting service | Small and mid-size buildings that need professional help without a large firm | Single point of failure when that person is sick, busy or leaves |
| Management company (portfolio) | A firm that assigns a manager who covers several associations, backed by company accounting and staff | Mid-size buildings and garden-style condo complexes | Manager workload and turnover; owners compete for attention |
| On-site manager | A manager based in the building, employed by a management company or by the association, often with maintenance and front-desk staff | Large high-rises and full-service buildings | Cost, and employment obligations if the association is the employer |
A self-managed condo association handles condo association management with volunteer time. It can work well in a 12-unit building where everyone knows the boiler by name. It gets harder as the building ages, because the workload grows exactly when the volunteers who knew the history move on.
Licensing law usually leaves room for volunteers. Florida's definition of community association management in Florida Statutes 468.431 covers work done for remuneration for associations with more than 10 units or annual budgets above $100,000, so unpaid directors doing their own board work are outside it. Illinois expressly exempts directors and officers who provide management services without compensation, and associations of 10 units or less, under 225 ILCS 427/20. That act carries a scheduled repeal date, so confirm its current status before relying on it.
Some boards hire one licensed community association manager (CAM) directly. In Florida, that person needs a CAM license once the association crosses the 10-unit or $100,000 threshold and the manager is paid. The appeal is a single accountable professional at a lower cost than a firm. The weakness is depth: no backup accountant, no second manager to cover vacations, no company systems.
Condo association management companies supply a manager plus back-office support: accounting, collections, a records system, an owner portal and vendor relationships. Most mid-size buildings land here. The question to ask is how many associations the assigned manager already carries, because that number decides how often your building gets attention.
Large buildings often need on-site condo association management: someone present every weekday to supervise staff, admit contractors and deal with the leak at 9 a.m. rather than the next afternoon. The on-site manager may be employed by the management company or by the association itself. If the association is the employer, it takes on payroll, workers' compensation and employment law exposure, which the management contract should address. The cost shows up in the dues, which is one reason full-service buildings carry higher fees, a point covered in why HOA fees are so high.
Some condo management duties are routine anywhere. Others are created by state law and land on whoever handles condo association management for the building. Florida is the clearest example since the Surfside collapse.
Milestone inspections. Under Florida Statutes 553.899, condominium and cooperative buildings three habitable stories or taller need a milestone inspection by December 31 of the year the building reaches 30 years of age, and every 10 years after that. Local agencies may require it at 25 years for buildings near saltwater. Phase one is a visual examination by a licensed architect or engineer; phase two follows only if phase one finds substantial structural deterioration.
Structural integrity reserve studies (SIRS). Florida Statutes 718.112 requires a SIRS at least every 10 years for each building three stories or higher. For owner-controlled associations that existed on or before July 1, 2022, the statute sets a December 31, 2025 deadline, allows the study to be done alongside a milestone inspection due by the end of 2026, and says no SIRS may be completed after December 31, 2026. The study must cover components including the roof, structure, fireproofing and fire protection, plumbing, electrical systems, waterproofing and windows, and must be performed or verified by a licensed engineer or architect or a credentialed reserve specialist. For budgets adopted after December 31, 2024, owner-controlled associations required to have a SIRS generally cannot waive or reduce reserves for the components it covers.
Someone has to schedule the engineer, track the deadline, gather drawings, brief the board and build the resulting reserve line into the budget. In a self-managed building that someone is a volunteer. How these rules interact with the master policy and lender reviews is covered in condo association insurance.
Records and transparency. Florida Statutes 718.111 treats a failure to provide official records within 10 working days of a written request as a rebuttable presumption of willful noncompliance, with minimum damages of $50 per calendar day for up to 10 days. It also requires associations managing a condominium with 25 or more units to post digital copies of specified official records on a website or app. Managers usually run both systems.
Florida writes specific conduct rules for professional condo association management into its statutes. Florida Statutes 468.4334 requires a community association manager or firm to:
The same section requires managers to discharge their duties loyally, skillfully and diligently, dealing honestly and fairly, in good faith, with care and full disclosure. Owners in other states should look up their own rules; many have nothing comparable.
A board that changes condo association management in a hurry usually ends up changing it again. A slower process tends to hold.
Hiring condo association management companies does not hand off the board's fiduciary duty. Directors still approve budgets, contracts and reserve funding, and they supervise the manager. That division of labor is spelled out in HOA board responsibilities.
You do not hire the manager, but you pay for the manager, and the quality of condo association management shows up in your unit before it shows up in the minutes. It is the speed of the response when water comes through your ceiling, whether the move-in elevator was actually reserved, and whether the reserve study results reached the budget before they reached a special assessment.
Watch three signals of condo association management quality. Read the minutes for how often the manager's reports are late or incomplete. Compare the budget's reserve line with the reserve study. Notice whether owner questions get answered by the manager, the board or nobody. If you are shopping for a unit in an older Florida high-rise market such as Brickell, ask the seller which model the building uses and whether the SIRS is done.
Then ask the people who live there. Current owners know how condo association management works in practice in that building, which is the part no disclosure package covers; reach them through Ask a Resident.
A building's management model looks the same on paper everywhere; how it performs is something only the people living with it can describe.
Listings show the property, but they rarely explain the lived reality around it. On Leevli, a mover can explore the city, review neighborhood and building information, and ask a verified resident the specific questions that remain unanswered. That human layer helps readers know what to investigate before signing a lease, making an offer, or choosing between two addresses.
It is the operation of a condominium association: collecting assessments, maintaining common elements such as the roof, structure and elevators, keeping official records, coordinating insurance and complying with state law. The board of directors sets policy and approves budgets and contracts, while a volunteer, an independent manager, a management company or an on-site manager carries out the daily work. The board stays responsible whichever model it picks.
Yes. CAI estimates that 30 to 40 percent of U.S. associations are self-managed, and licensing laws generally allow unpaid directors to do their own board work. Self-management fits small buildings with simple systems and engaged owners. The common mistake is keeping the model as the building ages and inspection, reserve study and records duties grow beyond what volunteers can reliably cover.
They provide a manager plus back-office support: billing and collections, accounting and financial reports, budget drafts, records and the owner portal, vendor bidding and supervision, meeting logistics and help with inspections and reserve studies. The exact scope is set by the management agreement, so read it. Services outside the contract are often billed extra or not provided at all.
It depends on the state. In Florida, paid management of an association with more than 10 units or an annual budget above $100,000 requires a community association manager license, and firms need their own license. Illinois licenses managers with exemptions for unpaid directors and associations of 10 units or less. Many states have no manager license, so check your state's regulator.
On-site management usually costs more because the building pays for a dedicated person, often with staff, rather than a share of a manager who covers several associations. If the association employs the on-site manager directly, it also takes on payroll and employment obligations. Compare the full annual cost of each model against the building's size, systems and the response time owners expect.
Decide on the model first, then send a building-specific request for proposal listing units, stories, age, major systems and upcoming inspection deadlines. Ask for written disclosures of licenses, certifications and business interests, call boards at similar buildings, meet the assigned manager, and read the contract's scope, fees, termination and records clauses before the board votes.
Beyond routine operations, Florida managers typically coordinate milestone inspections for condo buildings three habitable stories or taller by the end of the year a building turns 30, and structural integrity reserve studies at least every 10 years. Licensed managers must also attend at least one association meeting a year in person and give owners their contact details, hours of availability and a summary of duties.
The timeline depends on the notice period in the current contract, which commonly runs weeks to months, plus the handover. In Florida, the outgoing manager or firm must return official records within 20 business days after termination. Plan bank signature changes, owner ledgers, vendor contracts, keys and access codes with specific dates so the building is not left without anyone paying bills.
Put the request in writing to both the manager and the board, with dates and photos, and ask for a response by a specific date. The board is the client and can direct the manager. If you need records to show the history, make a formal written request; in Florida, records must be provided within 10 working days. Raise an unresolved pattern at an open board meeting.
No. Condo association management serves the association and covers the common elements, finances and governance. A property manager you hire to rent out your unit serves you, handling tenants, leases and repairs inside the unit. The association's manager may still enforce rules against your tenant through you, and leasing restrictions in the declaration apply regardless of who manages your rental.
Editorial review: verify current federal and state law, insurance regulations, HOA and condominium statutes, and lender guidelines before relying on any single claim. This article is informational and does not constitute legal, financial, tax or insurance advice.
