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
All of you know how terrible the condo and HOA statutes are in terms of the association’s ability to collect unpaid assessments when a bank forecloses on a unit or home. If the bank gets back a unit in foreclosure, they owe the association the lesser of 1% of the mortgage or 1 year of assessments.…
Read more → Some years are quiet when it comes to the passage of new laws affecting Florida community associations. This was definitely not one of those years. Here are the new laws in summary form as a result of the passage of HB 841. 718.111 —- OFFICIAL RECORDS: The law now makes it clear that the association must…
Read more → Memorial Day is one of those holidays that makes you stop and think. It’s not just about bar b ques and baseball games and fun-filled festivities. It has more meaning than New Year’s Day and perhaps even July 4th. Today is the day we honor every person who ever fought for and gave their life for this…
Read more → Boards of Directors love to have extra money in the bank. Who doesn’t? But the question is…… when is enough enough? Boards of Directors are required to simply pass a budget that pays the association’s bills. Anything collected, above and beyond what pays the bills is “Common surplus” which means the…
Read more → You may recall that last year, The House and the Senate passed legislation that would have allowed condominiums in excess of 75 in height to opt out of a mandatory engineered life safety system. Legislation already existed that allowed these condominiums to opt out of sprinkler requirements. Condos opted…
Read more → On Friday morning it looked pretty bleak in terms of whether there would be any new condo and HOA laws passed this year. Friday, after all, was the last day of the legislative session and the bill, HB 841, seemed to have stalled in Florida’s Senate. By law, the legislative session was required to be over by…
Read more → Several months ago, I blogged about confusion that exists in the 2017 condo crime bill. That new statute states that: A board member may not serve more than four consecutive 2-year terms, unless approved by an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the total voting interests of the association or unless there…
Read more → TALK ABOUT RIDICULOUS Board members can e-mail each other – not a meeting. A quorum requires notice. Sitting next to each other – e-mailing each other – all is OK E-mails not official records. Facebook Twitter
Read more → With all of the negative press out there regarding condo and HOA boards, one would get the impression that all board members are united in their effort to accomplish a pre-planned agenda that serves the board members’ interests instead of the community interest as a whole. The truth is often times very…
Read more → Exactly a year ago now the now infamous Miami-Dade Grand Jury report came out that exposed some glaring issues with the DBPR and their role in Florida condominiums. Here is a segment from that report: The Select Committee heard numerous speakers at its hearings express their frustration with DBPR “delay and…
Read more → This week I am very proud to announce that our office drafted legislation that truly brings Florida into the 21st century. It is still being tweaked by others with input, but it seeks to address an issue that we will need to deal with on a large scale, sooner than later, and that is electric cars. Many…
Read more → So as you now know, Florida condominium law is amended to make it a crime for board members to: forge a ballot envelope or voting certificate used in a condominium association election; and destroy official records or refuse to allow inspection or copying of an official record of a condominium association……
Read more → 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 more → Representative George Moraitis has again filed a bill, House Bill 1061, that would allow community associations to opt-out of the requirement not only of a fire sprinkler system, but also for an engineered life safety system. You may recall that this was an extremely popular bill last year as it seeks to…
Read more → House Member Emily Slosberg recently co-sponsored House Bill 123 called the “Stand Up for Seniors Act ” which only applies to 55 and over...
Read more → This year, The Florida Legislature starts early. In fact, it is already in session. So what’s in store for community associations in...
Read more → Another year has come and gone. Another 52 columns written. Another time for me to wish of all of you and your families a Merry...
Read more → For all eternity, the first week of the new year brings talk of resolutions for the coming year. We resolve to eat right, exercise, lose...
Read more →Read it. Then watch it.
