A group of homeowners collects signatures from 20 percent of the voting interests and delivers a petition to the board. The board president reads it, says "we'll look into it," and moves on. That response does not satisfy the statute. Once the 20 percent threshold is met, the board is required to act on a specific timeline with specific procedural protections for the petitioners.
The statute: F.S. 720.303(2)(d)
Upon petition of 20 percent of the total voting interests of the association, the board shall call a meeting of the membership to address the subject of the petition. The meeting must be held within 60 days after the petition is received by the board. Each member shall be permitted to speak for at least 3 minutes on any item.
The statute also requires that notice of this meeting follow the 14-day mailed notice rule under F.S. 720.303(2)(c)2, because the petition triggers a membership meeting, not just a board discussion.
What this means in practice
The 20 percent threshold is the key. Once a valid petition reaches that number, the board's discretion disappears. The board does not get to decide whether the topic is worth discussing. The board does not get to table it indefinitely. The statute mandates a meeting within 60 days of receipt.
The speaking right is equally non-negotiable. Each member who wishes to speak on the petitioned item gets at least 3 minutes. The board cannot limit speakers to one minute, require written questions in advance, or restrict comments to a summary speaker on behalf of the group. Three minutes per member is the statutory floor.
The 14-day mailed notice requirement means the board cannot call this meeting on short notice. Working backward from the 60-day deadline, the board has roughly 46 days to schedule the meeting and get notices in the mail. Boards that wait until the last week discover they cannot satisfy both the 60-day meeting deadline and the 14-day notice requirement simultaneously.
Common failure modes
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"We addressed it at the next board meeting." The statute requires a meeting of the membership, not a board meeting where the board discusses the petition among themselves. A board meeting where the president mentions the petition and moves to the next agenda item does not satisfy 720.303(2)(d). The petitioners are entitled to attend, speak, and be heard at a properly noticed membership meeting.
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"The petition didn't have enough valid signatures." Boards sometimes reject petitions by disqualifying signatures. The standard is 20 percent of total voting interests, not 20 percent of members in good standing or 20 percent of lot owners who attended the last meeting. A member who is behind on assessments still holds a voting interest unless the governing documents specifically strip it. Verify the math carefully before declining to act.
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"We scheduled it, but 70 days out." The 60-day window is not a guideline. If the board schedules the meeting for day 65, the board has violated the statute even if the meeting eventually happens. Calendar the deadline the day the petition arrives and work backward from there.
Bottom line
The 20 percent petition is one of the strongest tools homeowners have under Chapter 720. For boards, the right response is immediate: verify the signature count, calendar the 60-day deadline, send 14-day mailed notice, and prepare to listen. The statute does not give the board a veto over whether the meeting happens. It gives the board a role in making sure the meeting happens correctly.