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
Believe it or not……I received more than one e-mail this year from people complaining that their annual meetings are being conducted in a language other than English and some people are fighting mad about it. I’ll risk being politically incorrect and say that I think it’s absurd that that a unit owner can…
Read more → It’s that time of year again when The Florida Legislature convenes in order to debate and pass new laws. There’s always at least a few bills that have something to do with our Florida community associations. Over the next few weeks, we will discuss the bills that have been filed, track their progress and…
Read more → In Woodside Village Condominium Association, Inc. v. Jahren 806 So.2d 452 (Fla. 2002) The Florida Supreme Court heard the story of a unit owner who owned 4 units in a condominium and who basically lost the ability to rent those units because the unit owners voted to amend their declaration of condominium…
Read more → It seems as if the foreclosure crisis is certainly not as bad as it once was, even though Florida is still the worst state in the nation, with approximately one in every 346 homes in foreclosure. The percentage of delinquencies in our community associations are certainly down from where they were just a…
Read more → Afew weeks ago, we blogged about how to run a successful annual meeting. I not so jokingly said the best way to make the meeting run smoothly was to order food. Lots of it. I also made it clear not to serve liquor. I wasn’t joking about that either. As many of us know, liquor tends to fuel the emotions and…
Read more → 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 more → Two years ago, you may remember that a Miami Dade Grand Jury issued a scathing report about condominium board members in Miami Dade County. In sum, the report concluded that they’re basically all a bunch of thieves who get on the board with evil intentions including purposely diverting the association’s…
Read more → 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 more → The right to rent your unit has undergone some change over the years. It all started in a landmark case called Woodside v. Jahren which was ruled upon by The Florida Supreme Court in 2002. A condominium in Clearwater amended its declaration of condominium to suddenly prohibit the rental of your unit to no…
Read more → 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 more → Insurance payments may be the single largest expense of an association’s budget. Typically, and to over-simplify, the association pays for general liability insurance should someone get injured while on the association’s property. In addition, the association pays for windstorm insurance which covers…
Read more → Insurance payments may be the single largest expense of an association’s budget. Typically, and to over-simplify, the association pays for general liability insurance should someone get injured while on the association’s property. In addition, the association pays for windstorm insurance which covers…
Read more → We have blogged before about the battle brewing in Tallahassee between Community Association Managers and The Florida Bar. In fact, we are awaiting a decision from The Florida Supreme Court concerning what activities a community association manager can perform and which actions go too far and constitute the…
Read more → 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 more → Several years ago, our firm was involved in a lawsuit representing many condominium unit owners against their association, alleging that material alterations were made without a 75% vote of the unit owners before the material alterations were made. We alleged that the amount of the assessments for these…
Read more → 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 more → 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 more → 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…
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