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
After living at Peaceful Paradise Condominium for 10 years and minding her own business, Darlys Dogooder decides that she hasn’t done enough volunteer work in her life and chooses to become a Board member. In fact, Darlys goes on to be a role model board member, devoting countless hours to her condominium,…
Read: A LABOR DAY TRADITION CONTINUES-5 → It’s becoming impossible to keep up with technology. Just when you think you bought the latest, greatest computer or cell phone the world may ever see, a month later there’s new technology that makes you device already seem outdated. It’s a never ending cycle. Well, one new technological advance is the RING…
Read: BEFORE YOU INSTALL THAT NEW RING DOORBELL → The question of whether or not an association may deny a proposed renter who seeks to live in a community may depend upon where the condominium of HOA is located. To simplify, Section 8 Housing is a government program that helps pay the rent for a family that can’t afford it. The government pays the rent…
Read: CAN AN ASSOCIATION DENY SECTION 8 HOUSING? → So you hire a professional management company and leave it to them to run the place. What can go wrong? Well, as lawyers, we are trained to think that everything can go wrong. Board members and managers are both human. Mistakes can be made by anyone. You may not believe this, but even lawyers make…
Read: THE BLAME GAME → After living at Peaceful Paradise Condominium for 10 years and minding her own business, Darlys Dogooder decides that she hasn’t done enough volunteer work in her life and chooses to become a Board member. In fact, Darlys goes on to be a role model board member, devoting countless hours to her condominium,…
Read: A LABOR DAY TRADITION CONTINUES5 → New Florida Statute 760.27 defines “Emotional support animal” as an animal that does not require training to do work, perform tasks, provide assistance, or provide therapeutic emotional support by virtue of its presence which alleviates one or more identified symptoms or effects of a persons disability.”…
Read: EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMALS AND SOME NEW FLORIDA LAWS → So things are coming back to normal little by little. Although, I still need a dam haircut. If I wait another week or two, I figure my dog and I can go together. To his groomer. The ”emergency powers” given to Boards of Directors expire today. The Governor is allowing public places to slowly re-open.…
Read: TO OPEN OR NOT TO OPEN → Last week we suggested that now was a good time to consider spending some time reviewing your declaration and finally trying to amend those provisions that need amending. I hope you listened. Since we’re not quite back to life being normal, keep busy and now think about amending your rules. Some general…
Read: AND DON'T FORGET YOUR RULES → Ican’t hold it in any longer. I must tell someone. I have been less than honest with the readers of this blog and the listeners to the Condo Craze and HOAs Radio Show. I’m a fake and a fraud. The truth is…………despite the fact that I urge all of you out there to get involved in your community, to run for…
Read: I MUST CONFESS → Every year at this time we head into the peak of hurricane season hoping that “the big one” stays away for another year. In my 30 years now in South Florida there have been three or 4 named storms that wreaked some havoc on our communities in South Florida and even more on the west coast and in the…
Read: HURRICANE HEADACHES → Ihave written several blogs about a unit owner’s responsibility to look after their unit, even when they go away for the summer or back to their home in the northern part of the country. Does the same responsibility apply to members of the Board? I believe it does. Board members deserve breaks too. They…
Read: OUT OF SIGHT DOESN’T MEAN OUT OF MIND – PART 2 → So, The Florida Legislature wrapped up its 2019 session last week. In a word, when it came to community association law, the session was simply unproductive. Not a single community association law bill passed. There was one change that effects high-rise condominiums however. There was an attempt made to…
Read: LEGISLATIVE / FIRE SAFETY – UPDATE → The 2019 session of The Florida Legislature is quickly drawing to a close. So, what new laws can we expect to see that will have an...
Read: WHAT NEW LAWS CAN WE EXPECT? → 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 → 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 → You may recall that last year, The House and the Senate passed legislation that would have allowed condominiums in excess of 75 in height to opt out of a mandatory engineered life safety system. Legislation already existed that allowed these condominiums to opt out of sprinkler requirements. Condos opted…
Read: IMPORTANT REMINDER: EVEN IF YOU VOTED DOWN SPRINKLERS YOU’RE NOT OUT OF THE WOODS → 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 → House Member Emily Slosberg recently co-sponsored House Bill 123 called the “Stand Up for Seniors Act ” which only applies to 55 and over...
Read: DO SENIORS REALLY NEED THIS? →Read it. Then watch it.
