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
If there is one discrepancy between condominium and homeowner association law that makes absolutely no sense, it’s the laws regarding...
Read: WHERE DO WE START? IN COURT? MEDIATION? ARBITRATION? → 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: HERE THEY ARE………..THE NEW ASSOCIATION LAWS FOR 2018 → 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: DO THE NEW LAWS DETER PEOPLE FROM SERVING ON THEIR CONDO BOARD? → 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: SOME OTHER COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION PENDING LEGISLATION → 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: AVOIDING CHAOS AT YOUR HOA ELECTION → Ihad the honor and pleasure of spending a few days in Tallahassee last week. I testified at hearings before the House of Representatives. I drafted proposed legislation and had several meetings with legislators and staff. One thing is very clear this legislative session. IF YOU ARE A BOARD MEMBER OR…
Read: LEGISLATIVE UPDATE → Attorneys like me who have spent their careers litigating will tell you that litigation in court is grueling, expensive, lengthy, aggravating and time consuming. And those are the good points. As a result, and due to the need to un-clog the court system, The Florida Legislature created mandatory…
Read: CAN A JUDGE BE BOUGHT…………LEGALLY? → No question that the Miami-Dade Grand Jury report slammed the Department of Business and Professional Regulation. Unquestionably, the report made the Department of Business and Professional Regulation look bad. Have an open mind however about the Grand Jury proceedings. It’s easy to indict the DBPR if all…
Read: SO WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? → Sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction. On Friday, we watched a billionaire get sworn into office as The President of The United States of America. Here’s a guy who certainly didn’t need the aggravation of the job at this point in his life. His money will out-live him and many future generations, so…
Read: BUT WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME? → 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 → Tonight may prove to be the most watched debate in the history of politics. People are going to tune in in record numbers, many of whom having never even voted in an election before. The amount of interest being generated is amazing as everyone wants to hear what their candidate has to say, while hoping…
Read: WHY NOT HAVE DEBATES IN YOUR CONDO ELECTIONS? → Week in and week out, we are always hearing about the negatives in our Florida community associations. Whether it’s stealing money, taking kick-backs, rigging elections, management companies on the take, crumbling properties or the like, there is always something in the news which makes our Florida…
Read: THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF REASONS TO BE HOPEFUL → The three of us were certainly flattered by how many people read and participated in our blog discussion last week regarding The Miami Herald’s expose’ into condo fraud in South Florida. Those of you who live in HOAs must be wondering why the findings were limited to condominiums and not expanded to include…
Read: WELL WHAT ABOUT HOAs and WHAT DO WE DO ABOUT VOTER FRAUD? → Let’s pretend it’s the night of your annual meeting. It’s time to verify the signatures and count the ballots. Someone reminds the attorney not to count the votes of any owners who are more than 90 days delinquent. Are they right? Maybe…. I would first argue that without the Kaufman or “as amended from…
Read: SOME OTHER CONFUSING VOTING ISSUES → You have all heard the saying “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Apparently, The Florida Legislature overlooked this concept when it recently passed a bill which authorizes owners in community associations to vote by e-mail in their elections and for other unit owner votes. In condos, H.O.A.s and co-ops,…
Read: VOTING BY COMPUTER --- LET THE GAMES BEGIN → 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 2 → So Tuesday has come and gone. We can finally watch TV again without being told which political candidate is the lesser of two evils during every single commercial break. No more annoying pop up ads on the internet begging for money or spam e-mails begging for your vote. Election season is finally over.…
Read: NOW THE REAL ELECTION SEASON KICKS IN →Read it. Then watch it.
