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
Iam getting swamped lately with requests from both condos and HOAs as to how to limit the number of homes or units that are being rented. People are getting real tired of Air BNB type scenarios and want to know how they can put a stop to it. Some background on this topic is necessary. In the landmark case of…
Read: CAN YOUR ASSOCIATION PROHIBIT OR LIMIT RENTING? → Ican’t tell you how many times I heard clients tell me that they were scared that a Board member was in their home unannounced or that they feared a Board member was going to come into their home unannounced. The claim is usually made by people who have had disagreements with the Board or a particular Board…
Read: GET OUT OF MY HOUSE! → Today, we finally conclude all off the new condominium laws that were passed in 2022 by The Florida Legislature. There is a lot to know. ALL CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATIONS MUST: Although the DBPR has yet to produce the required form: On or before January 1, 2023, condominium associations existing on or before July…
Read: OTHER NEW CONDO LAWS TO KNOW – PART THREE → DISTRIBUTION OF THE INSPECTION REPORTS Upon completion of a phase one or phase two milestone inspection and receipt of the inspector-prepared summary of the inspection report from the architect or engineer who performed the inspection, the association must distribute a copy of the inspector-prepared summary…
Read: SOME OTHER NEW LAWS CONDOS MUST FOLLOW – PART TWO → We all know by now the myriad of new safety laws condos that are 3 stories or more are required to follow. They include mandatory fire sprinklers or an engineered life safety system (for buildings 75 feet or higher only), a Phase One Milestone Inspection after 30 years and every ten years thereafter (25…
Read: SOME OTHER NEW LAWS CONDOS MUST FOLLOW – PART ONE → THE BIG CHANGE: NO LONGER IS THERE THE ABILITY TO WAIVE RESERVES OR USE THEM FOR OTHER PURPOSES Effective December 31, 2024, a unit-owner controlled association may not determine to provide no reserves or reserves less adequate than required by the items listed in the mandatory structural integrity reserve…
Read: FLORIDA’S NEW CONDO RESERVE and FIRE SAFETY LAWS – PART TWO → As we know, The Florida Legislature is having trouble fixing the problems of allowing condominium buildings to waive reserves, who the reserve studies should be performed by and how often the buildings should require safety certification by local building officials. The issue of course is how hard are we…
Read: ANOTHER FIRESTORM IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER → Even after the death of 98 innocent people at The Champlain Towers in Surfside, the fact is…….The Florida Legislature did not pass a single law regarding the need for more building inspections, mandatory funding of reserves, mandatory education for board members or anything whatsoever to prevent another…
Read: MAYBE IT’S TIME TO BRING BACK AND OLD LAW → It’s almost a dream, but a year ago things were certainly different in the condo world than they are today. I was dealing with fights about mandatory masks in the common areas, fights to re-open the pool and gym, meetings only being held by Zoom and all sorts of other issues all related of course to the…
Read: WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES → Florida Statute states: 120.565 Declaratory statement by agencies.— (1) Any substantially affected person may seek a declaratory statement regarding an agency’s opinion as to the applicability of a statutory provision, or of any rule or order of the agency, as it applies to the petitioner’s particular set of…
Read: BEFORE YOU HIT THAT "SEND" BUTTON → The Florida Legislature is in full swing. Each year lots of bills get filed, but few make it to the finish line and become law. Here’s an update on two bills that are moving towards becoming law: SB 394: This is my mandatory education bill, requiring directors to get certified by attending a course. Senator…
Read: LEGISLATIVE UPDATE → I mean no disrespect to anyone who suffered from Covid or who had a family member suffer from Covid over the last two years. My sympathies are with you wholeheartedly. However, in terms of having unit owners participate in the affairs of their communities by way of telephone or ZOOM, Covid was the kick start…
Read: SO DO WE NEED IN PERSON MEETINGS OR NOT? → This is such an important topic that is often times difficult to teach. In a nutshell however, assume the following: Your condominium or HOA was created in the year 2000. That was when your declaration of condominium or declaration of covenants was recorded. Your declaration only adopts The Florida…
Read: SUPPOSE YOUR DEC DOES NOT HAVE KAUFMAN LANGUAGE? → Afew weeks ago, I wrote a blog called It’s Time To Stop A True Florida Farce. The blog spoke about the fact that members of community association boards of directors can still get certified without taking an educational class. Instead, they can sign a rather silly piece of paper that states they have read…
Read: THANK YOU SENATOR ANNA MARIA RODRIGUEZ! → Over a decade ago The Florida Legislature thought it was a good idea for members of condo and HOA boards to become “certified.” Sounds like a good idea. The problem is that the legislators allowed for two ways to become certified. One way is by going over to your computer and printing a form that is on…
Read: IT’S TIME TO STOP A TRUE FLORID → Imagine a world where accountants can examine your heart and give you an opinion regarding its condition and your life expectancy. Suppose an auto mechanic can examine your kidneys and liver and give his opinion on whether or not they are healthy. Perhaps one day you can walk into my office and one of the…
Read: EVERYONE IS AN EXPERT → It’s hard to believe that we have been dealing with COVID for a year and a half now. It’s harder to believe that it looks like we will be dealing with it for at least another year and a half. It’s a never-ending nightmare with no end in sight apparently. Who would ever have thought this could happen? While…
Read: BOARDS ARE NOT POWERLESS WHEN IT COMES TO COVID → It’s hard to believe that we have been dealing with COVID for a year and a half now. It’s harder to believe that we will be dealing with it for at least another year and a half. It’s a never-ending nightmare with no end in sight apparently. Who would ever have thought this could happen? While we are…
Read: WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH…………… →Read it. Then watch it.
