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
The holidays are now in the rear view mirror. It doesn’t have to be doom and gloom however in your association. Resolve this year to start off on the right foot, get rid of the clutter, get a grip on your finances, and make sure you don’t get locked into bad deals for yet another year. Here are some…
Read: STARTING THE YEAR OFF RIGHT → This is a very interesting time of year in the condo and HOA world. Of course everyone’s thoughts turn to the holidays. We start thinking about Christmas, Chanukah, New Years and all of the days off we get to spend with friends and family. The problem is that this is typically the busiest time of year as…
Read: SOME YEAR-END OBSERVATIONS → Jan, Darlys and I write a lot. We write 50 columns a year for the past several years. No doubt, that’s a lot of talk. While we have said a lot throughout this year, and voiced our opinions and provided our comments, we want to conclude the year on a different note. That is to simply say that we wish each…
Read: MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR-PART 2 → Idon’t know why some people feel a need to bring their concealed weapon to the poker table or mah-jong game in the clubhouse, but you would be surprised how many times I have been asked whether or not the Board has the right to make a rule that would simply prohibit guns in the common areas. Here’s the funny…
Read: CAN THE BOARD BAN GUNS FROM THE COMMON AREAS? → Four years ago, I wrote a column about how difficult it is to be a community association manager. The amount of hats that a community association manager often has to wear is amazing. Simultaneously, he or she needs to serve as the number cruncher, interior designer, police man, collection agency, master of…
Read: MANAGING THE MANAGER – PART TWO → It’s our nation’s birthday today. Unfortunately, it seems as if the political climate of our country makes it seem that we are as divided today as we were since the 1960s, and it’s not one big happy birthday party. The tragedy in our own state has left scars that won’t heal any time soon. I haven’t met one…
Read: HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY → Over the years, our firm and I’m sure many other law firms that represent community associations have been fired or simply not hired for telling it like it is and giving answers or instructions to Boards that they simply may not want to hear. Even with all of the education now available, it still amazes me…
Read: YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH……….. → All of you who live in a condominium are now certainly aware that by December 31st, if your building is 75 feet or higher, you will be required to install a fire sprinkler system in your condominium, unless the unit owners vote to opt out. Many of you have already done so. A few weeks ago, I wrote in my…
Read: WHY IS THE DIVISION OF CONDOMINIUMS BEING SO DIFFICULT? → Some justice was done in an Orange County courtroom last week. The firm’s client was sued by her association because she started a website that included the name of the association in the website address. The website was also critical of the association and the Board. Other members of the community had…
Read: THE FIRST AMENDMENT IS ALIVE AND WELL → As much as I would like to move on from the politics of the election, it’s difficult to do when faced with a recent decision of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. It’s yet another example of political correctness gone crazy and the government interfering with your rights to decide who and…
Read: BEFORE YOU REJECT THAT CRIMINAL OFFENDER…… → Each and every year, without fail, the Department of Business and Professional Regulation is deluged with arbitration petitions filed against condominium associations, alleging that the association failed to properly conduct its elections. Knowing some basic law can go a long way toward finding your…
Read: AVOID DRAMA AT YOUR CONDOMINIUM ELECTION-PART 2 → Each and every year, without fail, the Department of Business and Professional Regulation is deluged with arbitration petitions filed against condominium associations, alleging that the association failed to properly conduct its elections. Knowing some basic law can go a long way toward finding your…
Read: AVOID DRAMA AT YOUR CONDOMINIUM ELECTION-PART 1 → Ialways get lots of e-mails from people complaining that the Board is spending their monies wildly and out of control, for things they don’t want, don’t need and for which there was no mention in the association’s budget. As we know, the Board must pass a budget to pay the association’s “common expenses.”…
Read: CAN THE BOARD SPEND YOUR MONEY ON ANYTHING THEY WANT? → As you all know by now, condo and HOA directors must get certified within one year prior to getting elected or appointed to the board or within 90 days of actually getting elected or appointed to the Board. They can do so in one of two ways. The first way is the chicken’s way out and quite frankly is an…
Read: JOIN US ON NOVEMBER 15TH → There’s plenty of talk this election season about water and energy conservation. There’s even a proposed constitutional amendment in Florida which would guarantee the right to use solar power in your home. Up until now, has Florida law encouraged us to conserve water, conserve energy or given any…
Read: DOES THE LAW ENCOURAGE OUR COMMUNITY ASSOCIATIONS TO CONSERVE WATER AND ENERGY? → Normally, when we talk about lawsuits in this blog, it’s between unit owners and their associations. Not this week. Today, learn about a lawsuit filed by the arbitrators that decide your cases against their employer, The Department of Business and Professional Regulation. Read about what the DBPR did…
Read: IN HOUSE FIGHTING AT THE DBPR LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD – BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE → Last year we blogged about a long awaited decision by The Florida Supreme Court regarding what a licensed community association can do, without being accused of practicing law without a license. It bears repeating. The Florida Bar tried hard to curtail what community association managers can do without a…
Read: CAMS BE CAREFUL ABOUT THE UNAUTHORIZED PRACTICE OF LAW → Well….. after eleven years, our luck ran out. We finally rolled a seven. We had a great run though. Unfortunately, it’s now time to deal with the disaster and clean up the mess. I can tell you one thing for sure and for certain. Those associations that put away money for a rainy day will recover a lot…
Read: HURRICANE HEADACHES →Read it. Then watch it.
