How do we schedule tent fumigation for an HOA or condo building?

By OurHOA · General information · Revised October 23, 2026

How an HOA or condo board schedules tent fumigation: who must move out, owner and tenant notice, Florida and Texas fumigation rules, security, re-entry and costs.

Part of the HOA board handbook: vendors, projects and upkeep.

The short answer

Pick a licensed fumigation company, set a date at least five weeks out, and give every owner and tenant in the building written notice that says when they must leave, what they must bag or remove, and when they can expect to return. Everyone in the building leaves, along with pets and plants, and nobody goes back in until the fumigator posts a signed clearance notice. The board's part is the calendar, the notice, the keys and the follow-up. The fumigator's part is the tent, the gas, the warning signs, the locks and the clearance test. Most of the problems in a condo or townhome fumigation come from the board's side: a tenant who never got the notice, a unit nobody could get into, or an owner who learned the date from a neighbor. Fumigation rules come from state pesticide regulators and the product label, and your declaration decides who pays for what, so treat this as education and not legal advice.

Who has to leave, and for how long

Plan for the whole building to be empty, even if only one unit has drywood termites. Florida's fumigation rule, 5E-14.111, says the structure being fumigated and any physically connected structures must be unoccupied, and when one or more units of a multi-unit building are fumigated, the entire multi-unit structure must be vacated, with each unit cleared separately before anyone returns. In a row of townhomes that share walls, that means every household in the row. Texas rule 4 TAC 7.178(g) also requires occupants to vacate the structure. Ask the company for its own estimate of the time out of the building, because it depends on the fumigant, the dose, the temperature and the size of the building. California's Structural Pest Control Board tells consumers a fumigation can take from six hours to one week. Get the estimate in writing, give owners that window as a planning range, and send the exact return time once the company confirms it. California spells out the notice for associations: Civil Code 4785 lets an association require occupants to leave for wood-destroying pest treatment with notice given not less than 15 nor more than 30 days before, stating the reason, the start and expected end dates, and that occupants are responsible for their own accommodations.

Confirm authority and who pays before you book

Read the declaration's maintenance and pest control sections first. In a Florida condominium, section 718.111(5)(a) gives the association an irrevocable right of access to each unit during reasonable hours when needed to maintain, repair or replace the common elements or the parts of a unit the association maintains. A tent fumigation of the building structure usually fits there. Florida's HOA statute, chapter 720, has no matching access section, so in a townhome HOA the authority comes from the governing documents. If they are silent or unclear, get the association's attorney to read them before the board signs. Decide the cost questions in a board vote and put the answers in the notice. The fumigation contract for an association-maintained structure is normally a common expense. Hotel nights, boarding pets and lost rent are the questions owners will ask, and the declaration rarely covers them. Unless your documents or a board-approved policy say otherwise, tell owners plainly that the association pays for the fumigation and each household pays for its own lodging. Promising hotel reimbursement for 40 units without a budget line is a decision the board will regret. Our guide on how to set up an HOA termite and pest control contract covers the routine contract that should follow the fumigation.

Hire the fumigator and confirm the paperwork

Get bids from two or three companies, and check the fumigation license, not just a general pest license. In Florida, rule 5E-14.108 requires each fumigation to be personally directed, supervised and performed by a certified operator in fumigation, or by a special fumigation identification cardholder the operator designates, who stays on call the whole time. The company must notify the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services at least 24 hours before the fumigation (5E-14.110 and section 482.051(4)). In Texas, 4 TAC 7.178 requires direct on-site supervision by a certified applicator licensed in the structural fumigation category, notice to local fire, police or emergency authorities before the gas is introduced and again at release, and the Texas Department of Agriculture says the company must also notify its Structural Pest Control Service at least 4 and no more than 24 hours before the application. Ask each bidder in writing: who the certified operator or applicator is and their license number, the fumigant and expected aeration time, whether the price includes secondary locks and a guard, what the warranty covers and for how long, and who repairs roof tiles, plants or gutters damaged by the tarps. If a Colorado building needs fumigation, ask the company which Colorado Department of Agriculture license covers the work.

Notice owners and tenants can follow

Send the notice to every owner and, through the owners or directly where your documents allow, to every tenant, and post it in the building. Send it about 30 days out and again a week before. Here is wording a board can adapt: 'The association has scheduled tent fumigation of Building C for drywood termites. Everyone in the building, including all pets, fish and houseplants, must be out by 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday, May 5. The company expects to clear the building for re-entry by Thursday, May 7, and we will confirm the exact time by email and on the door. Remove or seal in the bags the company provides all food, medicine and pet food that is not in a sealed glass or metal container. Leave interior doors, cabinets and drawers open. Give the association a key or garage code by April 28 so the fumigator can inspect every room and lock your doors. The association pays for the fumigation; each household arranges and pays for its own lodging. Questions go to the board contact listed below.' The food and medicine list mirrors the consumer checklist from California's Structural Pest Control Board, which says food, medicine and feed not in metal, glass or highly resistant containers must be removed or sealed in protective bags. Ask your company for its own preparation sheet and attach it, because the label for its fumigant controls.

Keys, locks and security while the tent is up

Every unit has to be opened, because Florida rule 5E-14.112 requires the fumigator to inspect every room of every unit in a multi-unit dwelling before the gas goes in. Collect keys, codes and garage remotes from owners a week ahead, log them, and hand the set to the certified operator. Rule 5E-14.108(5) requires the fumigators to hold the keys and access devices, including those for secondary locks, the whole time the structure is under fumigation. Exterior doors stay locked with secondary locks until the building is declared safe, and warning signs go on all doors and entrances and on every side of the tent. Texas rule 7.178(k) adds a guard requirement whenever no licensed applicator is on site, with inspections at least hourly. Florida's rule relies on the secondary locks and signs instead, so ask the Florida bidders whether they post a guard or patrol and what it costs. Tell owners in the notice that nobody, including a board member, may go inside to fetch anything once the gas is in. If someone forgot their medication, the company decides whether a trained crew can retrieve it.

Re-entry and clearance

Owners go back in only after the clearance notice is posted. The EPA says re-entry for sulfuryl fluoride requires a concentration below 1 part per million, confirmed with a clearance device, after active aeration of one hour followed by six to eight hours of passive aeration. Florida rule 5E-14.113 requires the operator to check the breathing zone of each room personally and then post a signed clearance notice on all entrances showing the exact date and hour of release. A notice posted early or post-dated is a violation. Have a board member walk the building with the company after release, collect the keys and return them to owners in person or by a sign-out log. Note any damaged plants, roof tiles or gutters for the company's punch list that day.

A sample timeline and the mistakes to avoid

Week 1: inspection report and bids. Week 2: board vote at a noticed meeting, with the cost decision recorded in the minutes. Week 3: first notice to owners and tenants and the key collection form. Week 6: second notice and key deadline. Week 7: fumigation, clearance and walk-through. The common mistakes are predictable. Boards notify owners but not tenants, so a renter comes home to a tent. They set the date before confirming they can get into every unit. They treat one infested townhome without telling the neighbors that the whole connected building has to empty. They promise a return date the company never agreed to. And they skip the follow-up contract, so the termites come back in the next unit. Our guide on what to do when an owner refuses HOA access to a unit for a repair covers the owner who will not hand over a key.

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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