Since Surfside, Florida condo boards have absorbed a lot at once. Milestone inspections, SIRS reports, updated appraisals, structural engineering work, and a tightening insurance market are now part of the standard workload. Hurricane season tests every piece of it.
The boards in Pinellas and Pasco that handle storm season best aren’t reacting in June. By June 1, they already have a clear owner message, a building plan, and a shutdown protocol for elevators in place. When the cone shows up, management is executing a plan, not building one.
Who owns what in a Florida condo when a storm hits?
This is the question behind most post-storm frustration in condominium communities, and it’s better answered in spring than after a claim is denied.
The short version: the association insures the building. Owners are responsible for what’s inside their unit boundaries, generally from the studs in. But your governing documents are the final word, so read them. That single distinction resolves most of the insurance questions boards hear after a hurricane.
Under FS 718.111(11), the association is responsible for maintaining adequate property insurance for the condominium property. That covers the structure, exterior surfaces, common elements, and limited common elements as originally installed or replaced with like-kind and quality.
What the master policy doesn’t cover catches many owners off guard: drywall, paint, flooring, cabinets, appliances, and personal belongings. Those fall under the owner’s HO-6 policy. Boards usually hear about the gap the hard way, when an owner calls after a storm expecting the master policy to cover their flooring and learns it doesn’t.
This is why spring communication matters. A clear reminder to owners before hurricane season prevents a stack of denied-claim phone calls later.
The simplest way to put it for owners: the association insures the building. Owners insure the contents of the unit, including interior finishes and personal belongings. Review your HO-6 every spring, and confirm you carry enough loss-assessment coverage if the association has a large named-storm deductible.
What does FS 718.113 actually allow your board to do?
More than most boards realize. The statute gives boards broader authority over hurricane protection than many associations use.
FS 718.113 gives condominium boards the authority to install hurricane shutters, impact-resistant glass, code-compliant windows and doors, and other approved hurricane protection measures on the building and limited common elements without a unit-owner vote, provided the work complies with the Declaration and the Florida Building Code.
This is a key difference between condos and HOAs.
In HOAs, hurricane protection for individual homes usually requires architectural review and owner approval. In a condominium, the board has direct authority over the building envelope. Windows, shutters, and structural hardening decisions fall under board control.
In practice, the strongest boards exercise this authority over time. Each spring, they review the building’s hurricane protection, identify gaps, prioritize projects against reserves, and phase improvements across several seasons.
Insurance carriers and reserve specialists notice when boards work this way.
Of course, the hurricanes in 2024 made boards more aware of the true weaknesses if their buildings and the repairs that where necessary after the damage have generally been of stronger materials to withstand future storms. Many boards of buildings that were near flood affected areas have been learning the lesson from these storms and asking what they can do to mitigate damages if a flood affected them in the future.
What does the board actually need in place before June 1?
Less than most boards assume. The issue is rarely missing information. It’s that the information isn’t organized in one place when the building needs it.
A workable hurricane-prep file generally includes:
- A board-approved written hurricane plan
- The current replacement-cost appraisal required under FS 718.111(11)
- A one-page breakdown of named-storm deductible exposure
- Emergency vendor contracts, including elevator service
- A tested owner communication system
- An updated owner contact roster
- The most recent SIRS, if applicable
- The current milestone inspection report, if applicable
- Pre-season photographs of common elements
- Emergency reserve funding tied to the named-storm deductible
Every board should be able to state their deductible amount from memory.
A 5% named-storm deductible on a $40 million building means the association covers the first $2 million before insurance contributes anything. That number drives reserve planning, special-assessment readiness, and the conversations boards have with owners and brokers.
Vendor relationships matter just as much.
Roofing contractors, restoration vendors, electricians, mitigation companies, generator service, locksmiths, debris crews, and elevator companies are stretched thin after major storms. Associations that already have signed agreements get back online faster.
Elevator service is the clearest example. The condo communities that regained elevator access quickly after Milton had service agreements and emergency response procedures confirmed months earlier.
A pre-season walkthrough is one of the most underused tools boards have. After a storm, there will be companies using questionable business practices to gain customers. If your community needs to use a vendor in an emergency, it is always better to use a vendor you know and trust.
Time-stamped photos of roofs, balconies, pools, garages, mechanical rooms, and signage establish a pre-damage baseline. Organized documentation speeds claims.
For communities under milestone inspection or SIRS requirements, loop in your structural engineer before storm season. The engineering work may already be done, but confirm reports are accessible and that the engineer is reachable if the building needs a post-storm assessment.
What are your board’s emergency powers, and where do they end?
FS 718.1265 gives condo boards specific authority once the Governor declares a state of emergency.
During that period, boards may hold meetings with notice given as practicable, contract for emergency services, mitigate damage, implement disaster plans, levy emergency assessments as permitted by the governing documents, and temporarily close or restrict unsafe areas. Meetings held during this time still need to be recorded and minutes prepared.
Those powers exist so the board can act quickly when normal timelines aren’t realistic.
These powers have limits. Once the emergency ends, the authority ends with it
An emergency situation does not allow the board to make decisions that significantly affect owner rights in the future or materially change the association’s financial position. Major emergency contracts, unusual assessments, or actions involving owner property rights should still go through legal counsel.
Who decides what gets shut down, including the elevators?
The board approves the shutdown protocol in advance. Management carries it out when conditions warrant.
Trying to make these decisions in real time during a watch or warning is what slows everything down.
A practical shutdown plan usually covers the clubhouse, pools, fitness center, elevators, emergency lighting, generators, trash systems, parking garages, access gates, docks, signage, and major mechanical systems. Each item should include a trigger point, the responsible party, and the required action.
Elevators warrant special attention because the wait to restart them affects almost everyone in the building.
Flood exposure, power loss, and safety protocols usually require elevators be parked above flood elevation, de-energized, and inspected before resuming service. Coordinate these procedures with your elevator vendor before hurricane season.
A lot of communities that lost elevator access for weeks after Milton were simply trying to find available service after the storm had passed.
What happens during the first 72 hours after a major Tampa Bay storm?
The boards that recover cleanly are usually working from a written process.
Day one is life safety and stabilization: structural walkthroughs, water intrusion mitigation, debris removal, generator support, and a first owner communication. Even a short update confirming the building has been inspected and that another update is coming later that day helps owners settle in.
Day two shifts toward documentation and supplier coordination. Tarping, extraction, debris staging, restoration planning, and insurance claim intake start at the same time.
By day three, owners expect clarity on what’s known, what’s being checked, and what’s next for the week.
The association files the building claim through the master policy. Unit owners file HO-6 claims for covered interior damage and personal property. All HO-6 policies in the state of Florida are required to carry at least $2,000.00 Loss Assessment Coverage. Loss Assessment Coverage would kick in for the resident with the coverage of the association had to special assess for damages due to a hurricane. The board must specifically name hurricane damages as the reason for the special assessment and have it in the notice and recorded minutes to ensure all residents can file for this coverage wit their insurance company.
Through all of it, the board’s job is consistent communication. The management team should explain the process clearly and avoid guessing about coverage decisions.
For buildings under milestone inspection or SIRS requirements, the association engineer should also assess any potential structural concerns post-storm.
How does the board communicate when the lights are out?
Owners don’t care how polished the updates sound. They care that they’re hearing from the board often, clearly, and consistently.
In a condominium, communication pressure is high because everyone lives in the same structure.
Some owners are on-site asking when the elevators restart. Others are watching from Michigan or New York trying to figure out when they can safely return. In many Tampa Bay condos, the first post-storm question isn’t “what happened?” It’s “when can I get back into my unit?”
That’s why condo communication should follow a predictable pattern.
Most communities start with a pre-season notice in May covering hurricane procedures, HO-6 reminders, and what to expect on common-element shutdowns. Once a storm enters the cone, owners get watch-stage updates, then pre-landfall messages covering elevator shutdowns, access restrictions, and safety procedures.
After the storm, owners should receive an initial building status update within 24 hours of the all-clear. During recovery, updates generally continue every few days covering elevators, power restoration, debris cleanup, inspections, and reopening timelines.
Two points matter especially in condo communities.
First, out-of-state owners should receive the same information at the same time as residents on-site. The owner in Michigan shouldn’t feel less informed than the owner on the seventh floor.
Second, physical notices are still more important than many boards realize. Some residents depend on lobby postings and building notices, especially during outages or communication problems.
The boards that communicate best during storms operate through one voice. Management and the board follow the same plan. Individual board members avoid sending separate owner updates.
When owners hear different versions of the same situation, trust erodes fast.
Where does Ameri-Tech fit on the map when the cone is on it?
Well-prepared boards aren’t scrambling during the storm. The preparation work was done months earlier.
For many of our associations, that work starts in spring with planning, vendor coordination, communication prep, and operational readiness. By the time a storm approaches, the process is execution, not improvisation.
Ameri-Tech client associations have access to the relationships we’ve built with reliable vendors and insurance agencies from our 25+ years of being in business. When the Governor declares a state of emergency, our team becomes a central point of contact and communication.
During a storm cycle, our emergency response team is available for reporting damages and coordinating mitigation as soon as the storm moves from the area.
Florida condo recovery moves fast. The boards that come through it cleanly are the ones whose management teams already have documentation, vendor contacts, inspection reports, and communication systems in place when hurricane season begins.
Florida statute references are current as of 2026. Boards should consult their association counsel for legal interpretation, their Florida-licensed insurance broker for coverage questions, their reserve specialist for reserve adequacy, and a licensed structural engineer for milestone inspections, SIRS requirements, and structural examinations.
Talk to Ameri-Tech
If your board is reviewing management options or refreshing its hurricane procedures ahead of June 1, we’d be glad to talk.
Ameri-Tech has managed community associations in West Florida since 1999 and currently supports more than 250 associations across Pinellas, Hillsborough, and Pasco counties.
Some boards already have strong systems and just want sharper communication and vendor coordination. Others are starting from scratch. Either way, hurricane preparation works best when it starts before a storm is in the forecast.
The condo boards that do best during hurricane season aren’t always the ones with the biggest budgets or the loudest voices. They’re the ones who prepared early, kept clean records, and held the line on their process when conditions got hard.