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
While an education requirement is not mandatory for condo and HOA board members, I wish it were. The more educated Board members are about the legal requirements of running their community, the less likely it is that the association will have costly disputes with the owners whether it be in mediation,…
Read: GET READY FOR A FUN DAY! → Last week we blogged about the ability to have Bingo games in our communities. I may be wrong, but I have never seen Bingo games catch on among men. Generally, Bingo is for the women, while the men like to play cards, more specifically poker and rummy. My dad loved both and never once went to play bingo.…
Read: CAN WE GAMBLE IN THE CONDO OR HOA? → There’s a lot that goes into my job as an attorney working in condominium and HOA law. Each week, I working on my current cases, keep abreast of the changes in the law, advocate for legislative reform, work on the Condo Craze Radio Show and write a blog each Monday. Without a doubt however, my favorite…
Read: THE IMPORTANCE OF CONDO AND HOA EDUCATION-PART 2 → Republicans always knock the Democrats for never actually solving a problem, but choosing instead to form a committee to investigate solutions that may one day hypothetically come up with the answer to the problem and which may ultimately and possibly be utilized in the future to solve the problem, after…
Read: GOVERNOR SCOTT………THE DEMOCRAT → You may remember that about two years ago, a Miami Dade Grand Jury was convened to investigate condominiums and the DBPR. The findings were scary. The Grand Jury found condo crime was rampant and that The Department of Business and Professional Regulation was not part of the solution, but rather part of…
Read: NEW GRAND JURY REPORT SAYS ALL IS WELL → The summer is here and in Florida that often times equates to lots and lots of empty condominium units because the owners have returned up north. Just because you leave your Florida condominium for a few months however does not mean that your responsibility to maintain your unit stops once you hit the…
Read: COLLECTIONS LAW UPDATE → Sometimes, a unit owner will take the position that the association can’t take certain action against them because they have “vested rights.” At least in their mind, the owner thinks that a certain right they have can’t be taken away from them, can’t be modified and can’t be messed with in any manner. Here…
Read: SO WHAT ARE VESTED RIGHTS → In the world of community associations, this is a pretty important time of year. In most associations, the fiscal year ends on December 31st. The condo, HOA and co-op statutes provide: Within 90 days after the end of the fiscal year, or annually on a date provided in the bylaws, the association shall…
Read: COMMUNITY ASSOCIATIONS --- IT’S TIME TO REPORT! → In a post 9/11 world, big brother is watching us like never before. Walk into any business and you can bet you’re on camera being video taped. Same thing goes while walking down any city street for that matter. Indeed, many of us live in communities where there are security cameras all over the place…
Read: SMILE ---- YOU’RE ON CANDID CAMERA → Today we discuss an often litigated topic, “material alterations.” As many of you know, a board of directors in a condominium can’t make “material” changes to the common areas unless a vote of the community is obtained. Usually, a 75% vote in favor of the change is required. You may be surprised to learn…
Read: MATERIAL ALTERATIONS – LOOK BEFORE YOU LEAP → Originally, I was going to blog about resolutions that Board members should make for 2014, but that topic has been written about a million and one times. Everyone seems to have suggestions about how to be a better Board member. Let’s flip it around this time and resolve to be better unit owners, neighbors…
Read: A NEW YEAR AND SOME NEW RESOLUTIONS → Each year at this time the New Year’s Resolutions start flying. We promise ourselves that from now on we will do this or that to make us act better, look better and feel better. By around the 10th of the month we’re no longer exercising, we go back to eating unhealthy and we’re still drinking. But are there…
Read: A NEW YEAR. → This week, I simply write to say that I thank each and every one of you for sharing your Monday mornings with me for another year. It is truly an honor and a privilege to know that so many of you participate in reading our blog and enjoy posting your comments. Please know that each year I continue to learn…
Read: MERRY CHRISTMAS → We all know that in both a condo and an HOA board members serve without compensation. Suppose however that a member of the Board owns a business and that business wants to enter into a contract with the association? For example, let’s say the condominium needs a paint job. The condo President is a general…
Read: HAVE I GOT A DEAL FOR YOU → My what a difference a year makes. This time last year, we had no idea how many HOAs there were in the State of Florida, unit owners weren’t allowed to use their cameras and cell phones to take pictures of the official records, exorbitant fees were being charged by some management companies for copies of…
Read: A NEW YEAR, A LOOK BACK AND A PEEK INTO THE FUTURE → HOA owners who never heard of Florida’s Marketable Record Title Act, better known as MRTA, better get to know this topic well. To simplify what the Act stands for, it basically means that your governing documents in your homeowner’s association can literally expire and disappear after they have been…
Read: HEY HOA OWNERS – YOU NEED TO MEET MRTA → Now that Thanksgiving is over, there’s a race to get those Christmas decorations up. It’s no longer too early to start as recently suggested by one HOA. Twinkle the lights, plug-in the blow-ups, put up the signs, sprinkle the lawn with fake snow, place reindeer in the driveway and most of all, get in the…
Read: HOLIDAY DECORATIONS --- WHAT ARE THE LIMITS? → It’s the time of year when Boards are concentrating on passing the association’s new budget. In a Florida condominium, the budget must contain fully funded reserve accounts that shall go into effect, unless a majority of a quorum of unit owners vote to waive or reduce the funding of reserves. Reserves must…
Read: RESERVES: SHOULD WE FUND THEM OR SHOULD WE WAIVE THEM? →Read it. Then watch it.
