The early-access step Florida law recognizes for a pre-construction condo is the reservation. Under section 718.502(2) of the Condominium Act, a developer may take reservation deposits only after filing an escrow agreement and a reservation form with the state, and you can get an immediate, unqualified refund on written request until you sign a purchase contract.
Everything below comes from the text of Chapter 718 of the 2026 Florida Statutes, read on October 21, 2026, and cited in the sources for this post. It is general information, not legal advice, and it does not describe any particular developer's program. Miami Condo HQ is published by Eltherion, LLC, a research publisher. We do not sell, reserve or list units.
What the statute calls early access
Interest lists, priority lists, VIP lists and friends-and-family rounds are marketing terms. None of them appears in the sections of Chapter 718 that govern pre-construction sales. What the statute regulates is money and the document it moves under: a reservation agreement before the developer can sign binding purchase contracts, and a purchase contract after.
That distinction tells you which protections apply. If you join a list and pay nothing, there is no deposit for the reservation rules to protect, and any promise about unit choice, release order or price exists only if a document you receive states it. If you pay a reservation deposit, sections 718.502(2) and 718.202(6) apply. If you sign a purchase contract, the contract rules and the 15-day cancellation right in section 718.503 apply instead.
The filing that has to come first
Section 718.502(2)(a) sets the order. Before the developer has filed its condominium documents with the state, and before it holds an interest in the land, it may not offer a purchase contract. It may accept reservation deposits only once a fully executed escrow agreement and reservation agreement form have been properly filed with the Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes and approved.
Two further conditions sit in the same paragraph. Each proposed reservation program is filed with a $250 fee, and the Division notifies the developer of any deficiencies within 20 days of receiving it. And reservations may not be taken at all unless the developer has an ownership, leasehold or contractual interest in the land where the condominium will be built. A reservation offered on a site the developer does not control in one of those ways is not one the statute allows.
Five things the reservation form must say
Section 718.502(2)(c) lists what every reservation agreement form must include. It must state the developer's obligation to file the condominium documents with the Division before entering a binding purchase agreement. It must state your right to receive all the condominium documents the chapter requires. It must give the escrow agent's name and address. It must say the deposit is payable to the escrow agent, and that the escrow agent must give you a receipt.
The remaining item is the one that decides what early access is worth. The form must also state whether the developer assures that the price in the reservation will be the price in the purchase contract, whether that price may be exceeded within a stated amount or percentage, or whether no assurance is given at all. Read that clause before anything else. A reservation with no price assurance holds your place in line, if the agreement says it does, but not your price.
Where the reservation money sits
Section 718.202(6) controls the deposit itself. Every reservation deposit goes into escrow, payable to the escrow agent rather than the developer. The funds may earn interest or not, but they must be available for withdrawal in full at all reasonable times, and the developer must keep separate records for each condominium or proposed condominium taking deposits.
The refund rule is direct. On written request to the escrow agent by you or the developer, the funds are refunded to you immediately and without qualification, in full. Any interest goes to you unless the reservation agreement provides otherwise, so check what yours says. The escrow agreement signed by the developer and the escrow agent must repeat the refund promise under section 718.502(2)(b), and the deposit may reach the developer only as a down payment, at or after the moment you sign a purchase contract.
When a reservation becomes a purchase
Signing the purchase agreement changes the rules. Under section 718.202(6), the reservation money and its interest stop being governed by the reservation subsection and become subject to subsection (1), the purchase-deposit escrow rules. The unqualified refund on request ends there. How Florida treats deposits up to and above 10% of the price is covered in /blog/florida-preconstruction-condo-deposit-protection, so we do not repeat it here.
Two protections carry into the contract. Section 718.503(1)(a) requires the contract to state that you may cancel by written notice within 15 days after you sign and receive all the documents the developer must deliver, and again within 15 days after receiving an amendment that materially changes the offering to your disadvantage. Any waiver of those rights has no effect, and they end at closing. Separately, section 718.502(1) makes a contract voidable by the buyer before closing until the developer has filed its documents, and bars closing until the Division notifies the developer that the filing is proper.
Questions buyers ask about Miami pre-construction reservations
Can I get my reservation deposit back on a Miami pre-construction condo?
Yes, until you sign a purchase contract. Section 718.202(6) of the Florida Statutes requires reservation deposits to be held in escrow and refunded in full, immediately and without qualification, on written request to the escrow agent by the prospective purchaser or the developer.
Does a reservation lock in the price of a Florida pre-construction condo?
Only if the reservation agreement says it does. Section 718.502(2)(c) requires the form to state whether the developer assures the reservation price, whether the price may be exceeded within a stated amount or percentage, or whether no price assurance is given.
Is a reservation agreement the same as a purchase contract in Florida?
No. The reservation form must state that the developer has to file its condominium documents with the state before entering a binding purchase agreement, and the reservation deposit becomes a purchase deposit only when a purchase contract is signed.
How long do I have to cancel a Florida pre-construction condo contract?
Section 718.503 requires the contract to let you cancel by written notice within 15 days after you sign it and receive all the documents the developer must deliver, and within 15 days after an amendment that materially changes the offering against you. The right cannot be waived and ends at closing.
Before you put money down
Ask for the reservation agreement and the escrow agreement, not a brochure. Confirm that the deposit is payable to the named escrow agent, not the developer, and keep the receipt the statute requires. Find the price clause and note which of the three options it uses. Ask what the interest arrangement is, and get any promise about unit selection or release order in writing, since the statute does not define a priority list. Have a Florida real estate attorney review both documents before you pay.
Our directory of projects still being built is at /preconstruction, and branded towers are grouped at /branded-residences. The documents to request once a building has an association are listed at /condo-associations. Miami Condo HQ has no live MLS feed and publishes no Miami prices or availability; the homes on /condos-for-sale are samples.
Sources and review scope
Sources checked 2026-10-21. The notes identify which facts each publication supports.
- The Florida Senate — 2026 Florida Statutes, Section 718.502 (Filing prior to sale or lease), read October 21, 2026
718.502(1)(a): until the developer files the documents required by ss. 718.503 and 718.504, a contract for sale is voidable by the purchaser before closing; (1)(b): no closing until the division notifies the developer that the filing is proper; (2)(a): before that filing and before acquiring an interest in the land, a developer shall not offer a purchase contract, but may accept reservation deposits upon approval of a fully executed escrow agreement and reservation agreement form properly filed with the Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes, with a $250 filing fee; no reservations unless the developer has an ownership, leasehold or contractual interest in the land; the division notifies deficiencies within 20 days; (2)(b): escrow agreement must state an immediate, unqualified refund on written request and that money is released to the developer only as a down payment when a contract is signed; (2)(c)1–5: reservation form must state the developer's obligation to file documents before a binding purchase agreement, the right to receive all condominium documents, the escrow agent's name and address, whether the price is assured, may be exceeded within a stated amount or percentage, or carries no assurance, and that the deposit is payable to the escrow agent, who must provide a receipt.
- The Florida Senate — 2026 Florida Statutes, Section 718.202 (Sales or reservation deposits prior to closing), read October 21, 2026
718.202(6): all reservation deposits go into escrow, payable to the escrow agent, who gives a receipt; funds in interest-bearing or non-interest-bearing accounts but available for withdrawal in full at all reasonable times; separate records for each condominium; on written request by the prospective purchaser or developer, funds are refunded immediately and without qualification in full, with any interest to the purchaser unless the reservation agreement provides otherwise; not released to the developer except as a down payment with or after execution of a contract; on execution of a purchase agreement the reservation funds become subject to subsection (1). 718.202(1)–(3): escrow of payments up to 10 percent of the sale price before substantial completion, and the rules for funds above 10 percent.
- The Florida Senate — 2026 Florida Statutes, Section 718.503 (Developer disclosure prior to sale; voidability), read October 21, 2026
718.503(1)(a) required contract clause: the agreement is voidable by the buyer by written notice within 15 days after the buyer's execution and receipt of all items the developer must deliver under s. 718.503, and within 15 days after receipt of any amendment that materially alters the offering adversely to the buyer; any purported waiver is of no effect; the right to void terminates at closing; (1)(b): until the documents are furnished, the contract may be voided with a refund of the deposit and interest as provided in s. 718.202.
Written by
Publisher and editor, Miami Condo HQ
Miami Condo HQ is published by Eltherion, LLC. This article is not reviewed by a licensed real estate agent or broker and is not professional advice.
