How does a Florida HOA board demand rent from a tenant when the owner is behind on dues?

By OurHOA · General information · Revised November 3, 2026

Step-by-step rent demand for Florida HOA and condo boards: the 720.3085(8) notice, owner letter, ledger posting, release letter and eviction if the tenant stops paying.

Part of the HOA board handbook: treasurer and money.

The short answer

In Florida, when a rented home's owner is delinquent, the association can send the tenant a written demand to pay the rent to the association instead of the landlord. The tenant keeps paying the association until the owner's balance is paid in full and the association releases the tenant, or until the tenant moves out. For HOAs the authority is Fla. Stat. 720.3085(8). For condominiums it is 718.116(11), which works almost the same way. The tenant is protected from the landlord for rent paid to the association, and if the tenant stops paying, the association can serve a three-day notice and file for eviction as if it were the landlord. The money arrives on the next rent date instead of after a lien and a lawsuit, but the steps follow the statute's script, so read this as general education, check your declaration and collection policy, and have the association's attorney review your first demand.

Check that the tool applies to you

This is a Florida remedy. We found no comparable rent demand section in Texas Property Code chapter 209 or in the Colorado Common Interest Ownership Act. A Texas board can ask for a tenant's name, mailing address, phone, email and the lease start date and term under Tex. Prop. Code 209.016(e), which helps with notices and rule enforcement, but collection there still runs against the owner and the lot. In Colorado the same is true under CCIOA. If your declaration has an assignment of rents clause, ask your attorney what it allows, but do not borrow Florida's notice form for a community outside Florida. In Florida, confirm three facts before anyone drafts a letter. First, the owner is actually delinquent on a monetary obligation to the association, as shown on the ledger, not just slow by a few days. Second, the home is occupied by a tenant, not a relative staying for free. A tenant pays rent, and the statute redirects rent. Third, you know the tenant's name and the property address, because the notice goes to the tenant at the home.

Before the demand goes out

Treat the demand as a board decision, even if your collection policy already lets the treasurer or manager act. A short motion keeps the record clean. Sample motion: "Move that the association, under Florida Statutes section 720.3085(8), demand that the tenant at [address] pay rent to the association until the owner's account is paid in full, and that the treasurer send the statutory notice to the tenant and written notice to the owner." Then gather four things. A current ledger for the owner with the balance by category: assessments, interest, late fees and collection costs. The payment address and the exact payee name the tenant will write on checks. A person who will open the mail and post payments within a day or two. And a calendar note for the 14-day window explained below. If the account is already with the association's attorney, send the demand through counsel so two collection tracks do not contradict each other. Our guide on the past-due dues timeline for boards shows where this step fits next to late notices and liens.

The tenant notice and the owner letter

The statute supplies the wording, and the notice must be in substantially that form. Deliver it by hand or by United States mail. For an HOA, the notice says: "Pursuant to section 720.3085(8), Florida Statutes, we demand that you make your rent payments directly to the homeowners' association and continue doing so until the association notifies you otherwise." It then tells the tenant that payment may be in the same form they paid the landlord, gives the full mailing address and the payee name, and explains the 14-day rule: rent is owed to the association immediately, unless the tenant already paid the landlord for the current period, in which case the tenant has 14 days to send written proof and starts paying the association with the next period. It closes by telling the tenant that rent paid to the association gives complete immunity from the landlord's claim for that rent. Condominiums use the parallel text in 718.116(11)(a)1., which refers to the condominium association. Copy the statutory paragraphs word for word and fill in only the blanks. Add a contact line for questions, and nothing that threatens the tenant, who has done nothing wrong. The statute also requires the association to mail written notice to the owner that it has made the demand. Send it the same day. A plain version: "The association has notified your tenant at [address], under section 720.3085(8), Florida Statutes, to pay rent to the association until your account balance of $[amount] is paid in full. To end the demand sooner, pay the balance or contact the treasurer about the account."

Posting the payments and releasing the tenant

Each tenant payment is a payment on the owner's account. Post it to the owner's ledger the day it arrives, note it as tenant rent under 720.3085(8), and keep a copy of the check. Under 720.3085(3)(b), a payment the association accepts is applied first to interest, then to administrative late fees, then to collection costs and reasonable attorney fees, and then to the delinquent assessment, whatever the payment memo says. Give the tenant a written receipt whenever they ask; the statute requires it on request, and a receipt each month heads off arguments with the landlord. The tenant never owes more than the rent. Under 720.3085(8)(c), the tenant's liability cannot exceed what the tenant owes the landlord, and the tenant gets a credit against rent for what was paid to the association. If the rent is $1,900 and the owner owes $2,600, two months of rent clears the account and the second payment overshoots by $1,200. Refund the overage to the owner promptly with a ledger printout, unless your attorney advises applying it to charges that come due. The demand ends when the account is paid in full and the association releases the tenant, or when the tenant moves out. Release in writing the same week the balance hits zero: "The association releases you from its demand dated [date]. Starting with your next rent payment, pay rent to your landlord." Copy the owner. A tenant left paying the association after the debt is gone is how a board ends up holding money it has no right to.

If the tenant does not pay

If the tenant fails to pay the association after the demand, 720.3085(8)(d) lets the association serve notice under Fla. Stat. 83.56 and sue for eviction under 83.59 through 83.625 as if it were the landlord. For nonpayment, 83.56(3) is the three-day notice: pay or give up possession within 3 days, not counting Saturdays, Sundays and court-observed legal holidays. The association is not the landlord for anything else, and the statute says it has no duties under 83.51, the landlord's maintenance section. So the board does not fix the tenant's air conditioner, but it can file for possession. Hand this step to the association's attorney. Eviction cases turn on exact notice dates and wording, and a defective three-day notice restarts the clock. Also remember what the tenant does not gain. Under 720.3085(8)(e), paying the association gives the tenant no right to vote in association elections and no right to inspect the books and records. A court can override the whole process by appointing a receiver, so if a court appoints a receiver for the home, stop collecting from the tenant and call counsel.

A sample timeline

Day 1: the board approves the motion at a meeting or by the method your bylaws allow. Day 2: the treasurer mails the owner letter and mails or hand-delivers the tenant notice, keeping proof of mailing or a signed delivery note. Days 2 to 16: if the tenant already paid the landlord for the current month, the tenant sends written proof within 14 days of receiving the notice, and the first payment to the association is the next month's rent. First rent date after the notice: the tenant pays the association; the treasurer posts it and mails a receipt. Each month after: post, receipt on request, and a short account statement to the owner. Balance reaches zero: release letter to the tenant within a week, copy to the owner, refund any overage. Missed payment: the attorney serves the three-day notice, and the board decides at its next meeting whether to file for possession.

Mistakes boards make

Rewriting the statutory notice. Boards add warnings, drop the immunity sentence or leave out the 14-day rule. Use the statute's text and fill the blanks. Forgetting the owner letter. The statute requires it, and skipping it gives the owner an easy complaint. Sending the demand when the owner has a dispute or a payment plan in good standing. Read the account first; demanding rent from the tenant of an owner who is current on a plan invites a fight the association can lose. Treating the tenant as the debtor. The debt is the owner's; the tenant is a conduit for rent. Keep the tone neutral, and never post the tenant's name in minutes or newsletters. Holding money after the balance is paid. Release the tenant and refund the overage. Using the remedy on fines alone. Before relying on it for a balance that is mostly fines, ask counsel whether those charges are collectible on that account. For tenant communication beyond collections, see our guide on how an HOA should communicate with renters.

Sources

These guides are general education for HOA boards and residents, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Rules vary by state and by your community's governing documents - check with a professional for your situation.

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