TL;DR
Managing real property in Florida can require EITHER a real estate license OR a community association manager (CAM) license, depending on what is being managed and what the manager does. A real estate LICENSE is generally required to rent or lease property for others for compensation — property management for third-party owners is a licensed real estate activity under Chapter 475, and §475.278(1) reflects that a licensee may handle these functions within a brokerage relationship. A separate credential, the CAM LICENSE under Chapter 468, Part VIII, is required to manage COMMUNITY ASSOCIATIONS — condominium, cooperative, and homeowners' associations — once a size threshold is crossed. Under §468.431(2) and the licensure requirement in §468.432, a person who manages a community association FOR COMPENSATION must hold a CAM license when the association or associations served contain MORE THAN 10 UNITS or have an ANNUAL BUDGET GREATER THAN $100,000. "Community association management" is defined in §468.431(2) to include controlling or disbursing association funds, preparing association budgets or financial documents, assisting in the noticing or conduct of association meetings, coordinating maintenance, and related day-to-day operational services. A person who performs only CLERICAL OR MINISTERIAL functions under a licensed manager's supervision, or who only performs MAINTENANCE, is NOT required to hold a CAM license. The two credentials answer different questions: a real estate license is about brokering and leasing property for owners; a CAM license is about running the operational and financial affairs of a community association above the threshold.
Two different licenses for two different jobs
The confusion this topic tests is the assumption that "managing property" is one regulated activity. In Florida it is two, governed by two chapters and two boards.
PROPERTY MANAGEMENT for a third-party owner — finding tenants, leasing units, collecting rent on the owner's behalf for compensation — is a real estate brokerage activity under Chapter 475. It requires a real estate license because renting or leasing real property for another for compensation falls within the licensed acts. COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION MANAGEMENT — running the affairs of a condominium, cooperative, or homeowners' association — is governed by Chapter 468, Part VIII, and requires a CAM license once the association crosses a size threshold. A single person could need one, the other, or both, depending on the work. For the underlying definition of licensed real estate activity, see our guide to sales associate license requirements.
Property management under the real estate license
The Chapter 475 license hook for property management is the broker definition in §475.01: a "broker" includes a person who, for another and for compensation, RENTS or LEASES real property, negotiates or attempts to negotiate a rental or lease, procures lessors or lessees, or advertises rental-property information or lists. Renting or leasing property for owners for a fee therefore requires a real estate license. Section 475.278 then governs the brokerage-relationship duties once a licensee performs those services: the licensee owes the statutory relationship duties, must handle funds properly through the brokerage's escrow and accounting requirements, and remains subject to FREC discipline for violations.
The activity that triggers the real estate license requirement is doing these things FOR ANOTHER and FOR COMPENSATION. An owner managing and leasing their own property does not need a license to do so — the license requirement attaches to acting for a third party. But a person who leases units, collects rent, or negotiates leases on behalf of owners for a fee is performing licensed real estate services and must hold a real estate license and operate under a broker. Trust-accounting obligations are especially important here, because a property manager routinely holds other people's money — tenant deposits and owner funds — and the escrow rules that govern a brokerage apply to those funds.
The CAM license: what triggers it
The CAM license is a distinct credential for a distinct role. Under §468.432(1), a person may not manage or hold themselves out to the public as able to manage a community association in Florida unless licensed by the Department of Business and Professional Regulation under Part VIII of Chapter 468.
The trigger is compensation combined with a size threshold. A CAM license is required when a person, FOR COMPENSATION, manages an association or associations that contain MORE THAN 10 UNITS or that have an ANNUAL BUDGET OR BUDGETS GREATER THAN $100,000. Either condition — the unit count or the budget — crosses the line; both need not be present. Below the threshold, the statute does not require the license, which is why managing a very small, low-budget association may fall outside the CAM requirement even when the same tasks are performed.
| Question | Answer |
|---|
| Managing a 12-unit association for pay | CAM license required (more than 10 units) |
| Managing an association with a $150,000 budget | CAM license required (budget over $100,000) |
| Managing a 6-unit association with a $40,000 budget for pay | Below threshold — CAM license not required |
| Only cutting the grass and doing repairs | Maintenance only — no CAM license required |
| Clerical work under a licensed manager | Ministerial — no CAM license required |
What counts as community association management
As set out in the statute, §468.431(2) defines COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION MANAGEMENT as any of a set of practices requiring substantial specialized knowledge, judgment, and managerial skill, when done for remuneration and when the association crosses the threshold. The enumerated practices include CONTROLLING OR DISBURSING association FUNDS, PREPARING BUDGETS or other financial documents for the association, ASSISTING IN THE NOTICING OR CONDUCT of association MEETINGS, and COORDINATING MAINTENANCE and other day-to-day services involved in operating the association.
The definition is functional. It captures the financial and governance heart of running an association — money, budgets, meetings, operations — rather than the physical upkeep of the property. That focus explains the exceptions in the next section: someone who never touches association funds, budgets, meetings, or operations, and instead only maintains the grounds or does clerical work under supervision, is not performing the specialized management the license is meant to regulate.
The clerical and maintenance exceptions
Not everyone who works for an association needs a CAM license. Two exceptions matter.
Clerical or ministerial work under supervision. A person who performs only clerical or ministerial functions UNDER THE DIRECT SUPERVISION AND CONTROL of a licensed manager, and who does not assist in the management services defined in the statute, does not need a CAM license. The supervised assistant who processes paperwork but does not exercise the specialized judgment the definition describes is outside the requirement.
Maintenance only. A person charged ONLY with performing the MAINTENANCE of a community association, who does not assist in the enumerated management services, does not need a CAM license. The landscaper or maintenance worker is not a community association manager.
Both exceptions track the definition's focus on specialized financial and governance judgment. The moment a person crosses from supervised clerical support or physical maintenance into controlling funds, preparing budgets, running meetings, or coordinating the association's operations for compensation above the threshold, the CAM license requirement attaches. For the firm-level requirement, note that a business offering these services must generally also hold a CAM FIRM license, and a licensed firm must employ licensed persons in the direct provision of management services.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Does property management require a real estate license in Florida?
- Generally yes, when done for another for compensation. Renting or leasing real property for owners, collecting rent on their behalf, and negotiating leases for a fee are licensed real estate activities under Chapter 475, and a licensee performing them operates within a brokerage relationship subject to FREC rules and trust-accounting requirements. An owner managing and leasing their own property does not need a license; the requirement attaches to acting for a third party for compensation.
- When is a CAM license required?
- Under §468.432 and the threshold in §468.431(2), a person who manages a community association FOR COMPENSATION must hold a CAM license when the association or associations served contain MORE THAN 10 UNITS or have an ANNUAL BUDGET GREATER THAN $100,000. Either condition triggers the requirement. Managing a qualifying association without the license is a violation of Florida law by the manager, and boards have their own duties to use properly licensed managers.
- What is "community association management"?
- Section 468.431(2) defines it as practices requiring substantial specialized knowledge, judgment, and managerial skill, done for remuneration for an association above the threshold, including controlling or disbursing association funds, preparing budgets or other financial documents, assisting in the noticing or conduct of association meetings, and coordinating maintenance and other day-to-day operations. The definition centers on the financial and governance operation of the association, not on the physical upkeep of the property.
- Do maintenance workers or clerical staff need a CAM license?
- No. A person who performs only maintenance of a community association, and does not assist in the defined management services, does not need a CAM license. Likewise, a person who performs only clerical or ministerial functions under the direct supervision and control of a licensed manager, without assisting in management services, is not required to be licensed. The exceptions exist because those roles do not involve the specialized financial and governance judgment the license regulates.
- Can one person hold both a real estate license and a CAM license?
- Yes, and some do, because the two credentials cover different work. A real estate license authorizes brokering and leasing property for owners; a CAM license authorizes managing the affairs of community associations above the threshold. A professional whose business spans both — leasing units for owners and managing an association's operations — may need both credentials. They are separate licenses under separate chapters administered under the Department of Business and Professional Regulation.
- Does the size threshold use units or budget?
- Either. The CAM requirement is triggered when the association contains MORE THAN 10 UNITS or has an ANNUAL BUDGET GREATER THAN $100,000 — the two conditions are alternatives, so crossing either one requires the license for a paid manager. An association with only a handful of units but a budget above $100,000 triggers the requirement, and so does a larger-unit association with a modest budget. Only associations below both thresholds fall outside the requirement.
Bottom Line
Florida splits "managing property" into two licensed activities. Managing and leasing property FOR OWNERS for compensation is a real estate brokerage activity under Chapter 475 — the license hook is the broker definition in §475.01 (renting, leasing, or negotiating rentals for another for compensation), with §475.278 supplying the relationship duties — and it requires a REAL ESTATE LICENSE, with the brokerage's trust-accounting and relationship duties applying to the funds a property manager holds. Managing a COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION requires a separate CAM LICENSE under Chapter 468, Part VIII: §468.432 makes it unlawful to manage or hold oneself out as able to manage a community association without the license, and the threshold in §468.431(2) attaches the requirement when a paid manager serves an association with MORE THAN 10 UNITS or an ANNUAL BUDGET GREATER THAN $100,000 — either condition suffices. Community association management is defined in §468.431(2) around the financial and governance core: controlling or disbursing funds, preparing budgets, noticing or conducting meetings, and coordinating operations. Persons performing ONLY clerical or ministerial work under a licensed manager, or ONLY maintenance, are exempt. The through-line is that a real estate license governs acting for owners in leasing and brokering, while a CAM license governs running an association's operational and financial affairs above the threshold. For related topics, see our guides to sales associate license requirements, transaction broker versus single agent, and license law and conduct rules.
Source: Fla. Stat. §468.432 — Licensure of Community Association Managers and Firms; Exceptions (full text) · Fla. Stat. §468.431 — Definitions and Management Threshold · Florida DBPR — Community Association Managers and Firms FAQs