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
So The Florida Legislature has ended their session and I’m sure everyone wants to know what association laws passed this year. So here we go….. Subrogation New law: If a condominium association’s insurance policy does not provide rights for subrogation against the unit owners in the association, an…
Read: HERE ARE THE NEW LAWS EFFECTIVE JULY 1ST → Almost every association I ever represented complains about the community pest who won’t stop asking for access to records. Can the association stop it or at least limit it? Florida Statute 718.111 (12) states: The association may adopt reasonable rules regarding the frequency, time, location, notice, and…
Read: LIMITING ACCESS TO RECORDS – IT AIN'T EASY → The Supreme Court of Iowa came out with a big decision regarding emotional support animal law that I’m hoping Florida eventually follows as well. Karen Cohen vs. David Clark And 2800-1 LLC. This case involves a tenant with pet allergies who deliberately moved into an apartment building due to its no-pets…
Read: IOWA SUPREME COURT BRINGS COMMON SENSE TO THE EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMAL ISSUE → It’s amazing when you think about it……. I get asked questions about emotional support animals all the time. I tell everyone that sometimes I can’t give an answer off the cuff. I would need to know more, it’s not that simple. Well, to prove that point, this is the third week in a row I’m writing about…
Read: FLORIDA'S EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMAL STATUTE – PART THREE → 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 → Ioften times get phone calls from board members who are upset about the fact that some new owner went through the screening process, filled out the application, paid the fee and showed up for an interview. But it turns out that there are more people living in the unit than expected and none of them went…
Read: BUT THEY WEREN’T SCREENED AND APPROVED! → 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? → There certainly have been a few debates lately and there may be another on the way. Who Knows? Maybe you think Trump won. Maybe you think Biden won. Maybe you think Pence won or maybe you think Harris won. It doesn’t matter if some of you even think the fly won. The bottom line is that it’s apparent that…
Read: LET'S HAVE A DEBATE → 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 → Joe Hadanuf is the President of Livinhel Condo. Joe and his Vice President, Haywood Ukilme plan on getting up early, spending the day at the beach and leaving Livinhel in the rear view mirror just for today. After all, it’s Labor Day and even Board members are entitled to one day without dealing with all of…
Read: A LABOR DAY TRADITION CONTINUES-4 → Today is March 15th, otherwise known as “the ides of March.” This was the day The Romans considered as a deadline for settling debts. But most of us relate this phrase to William Shakespeare. In his play Julius Caesar, a soothsayer attracts Caesar’s attention and tells him: “Beware the ides of March.” And as…
Read: BEWARE THE IDES OF MARCH → There really is a lot to know when it comes to e-mails. Here’s a brief outline: Can Directors Communicate and Vote By e-mail? Members of the board of administration may use e-mail as a means of communication but may not cast a vote on an association matter via e-mail. Example: Friday night is a board…
Read: ALL ABOUT E-MAILS. → 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 →Read it. Then watch it.
