More than 65 homeowners at The Residences at Villa Medici in west Orlando are demanding financial records and answers from their condominium association after the board hit them with a special assessment of between $5,000 and $10,000 per unit. The residents filed a lawsuit against their homeowners association, and a judge has already stepped in to halt collection of the fee while the case plays out.
The 131-page lawsuit, filed in August 2025, seeks not just to challenge the assessment but to remove the board entirely, according to Fox 35 Orlando. A Florida judge ruled that the HOA's meeting notice for the assessment violated state law because it was not postmarked at least 14 days before the meeting and improperly claimed the assessment had already been approved, the station reported.
Notice Violation Triggers Legal Win for Homeowners
That 14-day mailing requirement is not a technicality residents invented — it is written into Florida law. Under Section 718.112 of the 2026 Florida Statutes, condominium associations must mail, deliver, or electronically transmit written notice to unit owners at least 14 days before any meeting where a nonemergency special assessment will be considered. The Villa Medici board's failure to meet that standard, combined with its claim that the assessment was already a done deal, formed the legal basis for the judge's ruling.
Court proceedings also surfaced conflict-of-interest allegations against board leadership. Per the same Fox 35 Orlando account, the HOA director and treasurer served simultaneously as the property manager and paid tens of thousands of dollars to his own company for trash collection, along with more than $500,000 to a friend's maintenance firm, without obtaining competitive bids. The director claimed hiring his own company was a cost-saving measure, the report noted.
Bank Records Show Luxury Retail Spending
HOA bank records presented in court showed spending at luxury retailers including Victoria's Secret, Burberry, and Macy's, the station reported. The director claimed in court that some of those retail charges were fraudulent and had been refunded.
A circuit judge has since ordered a halt to collection of the special assessment, mandated an independent financial audit, and required Villa Medici's HOA leaders to turn over financial records. Homeowners reported that records were still being withheld as of the station's June coverage, and attorneys are now pursuing contempt sanctions and board removal, the outlet's report indicates.
New State Law Gives Owners Leverage
The dispute lands squarely inside a broader statewide reckoning over condo governance. Florida House Bill 1021, which took effect in July 2024, established criminal penalties for board members who repeatedly and willfully withhold official records, while requiring associations to solicit multiple third-party bids for contracts over $2,500 involving potential conflicts of interest, according to the Florida Senate. That law is precisely the kind of accountability tool Villa Medici owners are now leaning on in court. According to DBPR Condominium Information & Resources, legislation extended the deadline for completing the Structural Integrity Reserve Study to December 31, 2025, easing the immediate financial burden on affected condominium associations. According to MyFloridaLicense.com, a Structural Integrity Reserve Study is a type of reserve study used to ensure condo owners are reserving funds needed for future major repairs.
Central Florida condo owners have been squeezed hard in recent years by post-Surfside reforms that eliminated reserve-waiving options for associations. Orlando's Regency Gardens Condominiums, for instance, imposed special assessments up to $22,104 per unit in May 2024 to cover a $17 million reserve shortfall, according to WFTV. Against that backdrop, Villa Medici's $5,000-to-$10,000 assessment is smaller in dollar terms but has drawn outsized scrutiny because of how it was pushed through.
The Residences at Villa Medici Condominium Association, Inc. has operated as an active non-profit corporation registered at 5172 Conroy Road in Orlando since January 2006, according to state corporate records from the Florida Division of Corporations. The legal turmoil appears to be showing up in the community's real estate market as well — MLS transaction data published by Momentum Realty indicated that 6.25% of active property listings at Villa Medici were in financial distress or short-sale status as of August 2026.
Hoodline has previously covered the legal rights of Florida condo owners challenging developer and board control under Chapter 718, as well as the broader wave of HOA cost increases hitting owners in Texas and Florida markets alike. The Villa Medici case is now one of the more detailed examples of how new state transparency laws are giving unit owners real leverage against boards accused of opaque financial management.
