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
We all remember just how bad our communities suffered about a dozen years ago during the great recession. Our firm represented condominiums where nearly half of all units went into foreclosure. It was terrible for community associations. The paying owners were often times forced to pay double to make up…
Read: WILL IT BE THE FORECLOSURE CRISIS ALL OVER AGAIN? → We all know that the condo and HOA statutes contain differences that often times don’t make any sense. Let’s review two more instances of there being no real justification for differences among the statutes. In an HOA, before the Board files suit, there is a statute they need to consider: 720.303(1): Before…
Read: OTHER LAWSUIT ISSUES → Last week we spoke about what you want to see in a law firm or attorney. Let’s take it one step further today. Let’s say that you run into trouble and you get sued, or someone is threatening to sue the association or an officer or director. What should you do? As a general rule, the minute that someone…
Read: YOU HAVE BEEN SUED – NOW WHAT? → Last week we blogged about some association bills that were filed in Florida’s Legislature. I thought two were bad but one was good. Here are some more: CS/HB 0623: Provides that if a condominium association’s insurance policy does not provide rights for subrogation against the unit owners in the…
Read: SO WHAT MAY BE IN STORE FOR 2020– PART 2? → I was involved this week in yet another situation where an association’s money was stolen by their management company. Literally take out of their account by a management company employee and diverted to his own. He was bright enough to create an elaborate system that made it appear legitimate bills were…
Read: WATCH THE PEOPLE WHO ARE WATCHING YOUR MONEY → It’s the end of the summer. Millions of kids across our state have to suck it up and return to school. And if the kids have to endure school for the next ten months, all of you can endure a measly three hours. I’m talking of course about Condo and HOA Board Certification and Legal Update Course. There’s a…
Read: IT’S BACK TO SCHOOL TIME-PART 4 → Insurance is a very strange product. Everyone is scared to death to be without it, but when it’s time to put in a claim, everyone is scared to death to use it. Delay in reporting a claim to your insurance company can be a costly mistake. Every policy contains provisions that require the insured to report…
Read: DON’T WAIT TO REPORT A CLAIM → This INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR agreement is entered into by and between Annael Harrrar (contractor) and CLS DISTRIBUTORS, FL. LLC,...
Read: INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR AGREEMENT → We all know that condominium and homeowner associations sue and get sued all the time. Are there any specific obligations to inform the unit owners that the association has filed suit? Are there any specific obligations to inform the owners or potential buyers that the association has been sued? Believe…
Read: LITIGATION LIMITS → Florida Statute 718.111(d) states: An officer, director, or agent shall discharge his or her duties in good faith, with the care an ordinarily prudent person in a like position would exercise under similar circumstances, and in a manner he or she reasonably believes to be in the interests of the association.…
Read: WHEN AN OFFICER OR DIRECTOR’S CONDUCT CROSSES THE LINE → With the thousands of condominium and HOA communities built in the last two decades or so, it was inevitable that The Florida Bar would, and has now officially, recognized Condominium and Planned Development Law as an area of the law where practicing attorneys can distinguish themselves by becoming Board…
Read: CONDOMINIUM AND PLANNED DEVELOPMENT LAW RECEIVES SPECIAL RECOGNITION → Last week, we discussed when turnover from developer control to unit owner control is triggered. Relinquishing control of the Board of Directors is not the only responsibility of the developer at the time of turnover however. What Documents Must Be Turned Over by the Developer at Turnover? Generally…
Read: TURNOVER – PART 2 → So you did your job as a director and you made sure to purchase insurance for the association. So what is actually insured? Florida Statute 718.111 says: f) Every property insurance policy issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2009, for the purpose of protecting the condominium must provide primary…
Read: SO WHAT ACTUALLY GETS INSURED? → Let’s assume that a storm has just damaged your condominium. Of course, the board has the authority to start making repairs to the common elements. But can a unit owner beging making repairs to their damaged unit with no questions asked? Florida Statute 718.111 states: A unit owner may undertake…
Read: 55 AND OVER COMMUNITIES – HOW TO BECOME ONE AND STAY ONE → Hurricane season starts June 1st. If you haven’t ensured that the association property is properly insured, you better get busy. And fast. Let’s go over what the condo statute says about a board’s obligation to insure the condominium property. Florida Statute 718.111(11) states: (a) Adequate property…
Read: THE PERFECT TIME FOR AN INSURANCE PRIMER → 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 → This INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR agreement is entered into by and between Annael Harrrar (contractor) and CLS DISTRIBUTORS, FL. LLC,...
Read: INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR AGREEMENT → Florida courts have always been clogged with construction litigation cases where the plaintiff is alleging something was not built right, designed right and eventually broke. In an effort to reduce these cases from the court’s docket, the Florida Legislature created Florida Statute 558 which states: 558.001…
Read: 558 REASONS TO BE CAREFUL WHEN SUING FOR BAD CONSTRUCTION →Read it. Then watch it.
