Florida condo & HOA news
Plain-English Florida condo and HOA law updates for owners, volunteer board members, managers, and everyone navigating community-association life.
Read the latest articles ↓From the front lines
Written by Eric M. Glazer · Florida attorney
Suppose an owner or a renter makes a request to keep an emotional support animal. Suppose further that the person’s disability is not readily apparent. What proof can the association ask for to prove the person is disabled? (b) If a person’s disability is not readily apparent, request reliable information…
Read: FLORIDA'S EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMAL STATUTE – PART TWO → Florida now has a statute that clarifies what associations should and should not do when someone asks to have an emotional support animal in a “no pet” community. We will try to answer a lot of your questions over the next two or three weeks regarding what you can and cannot do when an owner or renter asks…
Read: FLORIDA’S EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMAL STATUTE – PART ONE → It’s funny how many times over the years, Boards have told me “We weren’t having a meeting, we were only talking about the condo” or “We weren’t having a meeting, we were in a workshop.” For clarification, let’s see how a “meeting” is defined by law. For a condominium, the Florida Administrative Code says:…
Read: WHEN IS A MEETING A MEETING? → While the condo statute outlines a very specific and rigid procedure on how HOAs should conduct the election, the HOA Statute doesn’t say much at all: Elections of directors must be conducted in accordance with the procedures set forth in the governing documents of the association. Except as provided in…
Read: MAKE SURE YOU DO YOUR HOA ELECTION NIGHT RIGHT → Do you believe that your real estate taxes too high? Why not appeal your tax bill as a group? Under Florida Law, a condominium association can file a property tax appeal petition on behalf of all of the unit owners in the condominium. Once a petition is filed, the Value Adjustment Board sets the case for…
Read: SAVE MONEY! APPEAL YOUR REAL ESTATE TAXES AS A GROUP → This is a story about John and Jane. John lives in a condominium in Miami and Jane lines in an H.O.A. in Central Florida. Election season is approaching quickly in both of their communities. While it may seem at first glance that all things are equal…….that is certainly not the case. The election in John’s…
Read: A TALE OF TWO ELECTIONS-PART 1 → Yesterday was a big day. I turned 50. It’s a time to not only reminisce about the past, but also a time to think about the future, and retirement and whether or not a “retirement community” or “55 and over” community is in the future. So, what actually is a “55 and over” community? Generally speaking, state…
Read: 55 AND OVER COMMUNITIES – HOW TO BECOME ONE AND STAY ONE → After living at Peaceful Paradise Condominium for 10 years and minding her own business, Darlys Dogooder decides that she hasn’t done enough volunteer work in her life and chooses to become a Board member. In fact, Darlys goes on to be a role model board member, devoting countless hours to her condominium,…
Read: A LABOR DAY TRADITION CONTINUES-5 → s we said last week, The Florida Legislature is in session, and there have been some community association bills filed, but nothing to write home about. CCFJ and I have been working together to hopefully get legislation passed this year that will help communities. For example: Requiring HOAs to use the…
Read: SO WHAT'S IN STORE THIS YEAR AT THE FLORIDA LEGISLATURE? PART-2 → This year I am hearing the following complaint more than ever before: I live out of the state, or out of the country and I never received a ballot to vote in the election. A little over a year ago I was involved in a case where many owners who lived in Finland did not get their ballots timely. Instead of…
Read: VOTING FROM ABROAD-PART 2 → Two weeks ago, I wrote to you about House Bill 623 that is making its way through The Florida Legislature. Another change to the law currently included in the bill is the following language: 718.112 Bylaws.— (1) GENERALLY.— (c) Any provision of the declaration, the association bylaws, or reasonable rules…
Read: A PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO THE LAW THAT HAS DANGER WRITTEN ALL OVER IT → The Florida Legislature is in session, and there have been some community association bills filed, but nothing to write home about. CCFJ and I have been working together to hopefully get legislation passed this year that will help communities. For example: I drafted a proposed bill that does away with…
Read: SO WHAT’S IN STORE THIS YEAR AT THE FLORIDA LEGISLATURE-PART 1? → Sometimes we get lucky and the political world mirrors what takes place in the condo and HOA world. The Senate is about to start a trial regarding the impeachment of Donald Trump. As we all at least understood the process—-the whole purpose of a trial in the senate is to see if the president needs to be…
Read: CAN YOU REMOVE A PRESIDENT THAT HAS ALREADY BEEN REMOVED BY THE VOTERS? → Avery interesting case was just decided by Florida’s Second District Court of Appeal. RIVIERA-FORT MYERS MASTER ASSOCIATION, INC., v. GFH INVESTMENTS, LLC. 2020 WL 7767856. To simplify, in a mixed-use community, meaning a community made up of commercial property and residential housing, the Master…
Read: MASTER ASSOCIATION V. SUB ASSOCIATION – WHO WINS-PART 1? → In about 25 years a crisis is coming to the condo and co-op world that will be shocking to say the least. Here is the problem. Many of you think that by purchasing your condo or co-op, you can live there forever, as long as the mortgage, taxes and assessments are paid. You may be wrong. Very wrong. Florida…
Read: DO YOU OWN YOUR CONDO OR CO-OP OR DO YOU LEASE IT? ARE YOU SURE? → Today we continue with a very interesting case that was just decided by Florida’s Second District Court of Appeal. RIVIERA-FORT MYERS MASTER ASSOCIATION, INC., v. GFH INVESTMENTS, LLC. 2020 WL 7767856. To simplify, in a mixed-use community, meaning a community made up of commercial property and residential…
Read: MASTER V. SUB–PART 2 → Last week we blogged about some association bills that were filed in Florida’s Legislature. I thought two were bad but one was good. Here are some more: CS/HB 0623: Provides that if a condominium association’s insurance policy does not provide rights for subrogation against the unit owners in the…
Read: 2020 legislation-PART 2 → It’s becoming impossible to keep up with technology. Just when you think you bought the latest, greatest computer or cell phone the world may ever see, a month later there’s new technology that makes you device already seem outdated. It’s a never ending cycle. Well, one new technological advance is the RING…
Read: BEFORE YOU INSTALL THAT NEW RING DOORBELL →Read it. Then watch it.
