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“My association will never allow it” — Florida law disagrees.

Short answer: in Florida, a condo board or HOA must adopt hurricane protection specifications and may not refuse an application that conforms to them.

The most common reason South Florida owners give up on impact windows is not money — it is the assumption that the board will say no. Florida answered that assumption in statute, twice: one law for condominiums, another for homeowners’ associations. Both give the board control over how protection looks, and both take away its power to refuse protection that follows the rules. Here is how each one works, and how to apply so the answer is yes.

Condominiums: Section 718.113(5), Florida Statutes

The condominium statute sets up a two-way deal:

  • The board must adopt hurricane protection specifications for each building — which may include color, style and other factors the board deems relevant, and which must comply with the building code.
  • The board may not refuse the installation or replacement of hurricane protection by a unit owner which conforms to those specifications.

Read that pair again, because it is the whole game: the specifications are the board’s territory, and conformity is yours. An application that documents conformity — product, color, style, code compliance — is an application the statute protects.

The statute also handles two situations owners worry about. A vote of the unit owners can require hurricane protection building-wide, recorded in a certificate with an installation deadline. And when association maintenance work forces your protection to come down temporarily, the cost of removal and reinstallation is not dumped on you for property the association is responsible for maintaining.

Homeowners’ associations: Section 720.3035, Florida Statutes

The HOA statute mirrors the deal and then goes further:

  • The association must adopt hurricane protection specifications for each structure it governs — again, color and style are fair game for the board.
  • It may not deny an application for the installation, enhancement or replacement of hurricane protection that conforms to those specifications.
  • “Hurricane protection” is defined broadly — the statute names impact-resistant windows and doors, permanent fixed storm shutters, roll-down track shutters, reinforced garage doors and more.
  • It applies to every HOA in Florida, regardless of when the community was created.

How to apply so the answer is yes

  1. Ask for the adopted hurricane protection specifications in writing. This one request reframes the whole conversation: you are not asking permission to protect your home, you are asking which specifications to conform to.
  2. Build the application on documents, not assurances. Product approval paperwork — the NOAs and Florida Product Approval numbers our ratings guide shows you how to look up — is what lets a board verify conformity instead of debating it.
  3. Match color and style to the spec exactly. Aesthetics are the one area where the board’s discretion is real, so take it off the table. Made-to-order products help here: frame color and grid layout are configured choices, not whatever happened to be in stock.
  4. Keep the permit track running in parallel. Association consent does not replace the building department — see our permits and inspections guide for that half.
  5. Get the decision in writing, whatever it is. If a denial ever needs to be challenged, the written record of a conforming application is what the challenge stands on.
The quiet advantage of conformity: boards deny vague requests and approve documented ones. Most “the board said no” stories, traced back, are “the application never showed conformity” stories. The statutes reward the owner who shows up with the paperwork done.

Where the money conversation joins this one

Association approval is often the first gate of three. The My Safe Florida Home program runs a condominium pilot for buildings hardening as a group, the 2026–2029 sales tax refund covers qualifying homesteaded properties — for houses in HOA communities clearly, for condominium units as an open question that guide’s FAQ explains — and a documented project is what the insurance credits are built on. The same discipline — specifications, approvals, records — carries all of them.

Questions we actually get

Can my condo board reject impact windows because of how they look?
The board controls how protection looks — Florida law tells boards to adopt hurricane protection specifications that may include color and style. What the law does not let a board do is refuse an installation that conforms to the specifications it adopted. Match the spec and the aesthetic objection is already answered.
Does the HOA rule apply to older communities?
Yes. The homeowners-association statute states that it applies to all associations in Florida regardless of when the community was created. An HOA cannot age its way out of it.
What if my association never adopted any specifications?
The statutes direct boards to adopt them, so ask for the specifications in writing as your first step. A missing spec is a conversation with the board, not a wall: your application, built on documented product approvals, gives the board something concrete to adopt around rather than a reason to stall.
Who pays for impact windows in a condo?
The declaration of condominium controls whose responsibility windows are — it varies building to building. Separately, the statute protects a unit owner on one specific cost: removal and reinstallation of hurricane protection made necessary by association maintenance work the association is responsible for.
Do I still need a building permit if the association says yes?
Yes. Association consent and the building department are two separate gates, and neither substitutes for the other. Our permits guide covers the second gate — who pulls it, what inspectors look at, and why the file matters at resale.
Can the building make everyone install hurricane protection?
In condominiums the statute contemplates exactly that: a vote of the unit owners can require installation, documented in a certificate that includes the installation deadline. If your building is heading that way, the My Safe Florida Home condominium pilot is worth reading about before the vote.

Sources

Last checked: August 22, 2026. This page is general information about Florida statutes, not legal advice. Statute text is paraphrased from the official sources above; the statutes themselves, your declaration and the specifications your board or association has adopted govern your building.

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