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
Like I have been saying over the last few weeks, The Miami Dade Grand Jury Report changed everything. Tackling the issues of an owner’s inability to obtain access to records, election fraud and violations of The Florida Condominium Act no doubt became a high priority in The Florida Legislature this…
Read: HOA MEMBERS AGAIN CRY – WHAT ABOUT US? → For those of you who read the Miami Dade Grand Jury Report you know that right off the bat the report starts off with the fact that the problem of unit owner access to records is worse than ever before. It’s a problem that exists for decades. The Florida Legislature has not addressed the problem at all and…
Read: HERE’S A LAW THAT NEEDS TO BE PASSED PRONTO → Last week our new President ordered the federal government to immediately start building the wall on our southern border. Trump claims that the wall will help security measures designed to keep the United States safe from entry by illegal immigrants and that the wall will help prevent crimes in the…
Read: CAN WE REALLY BUILD THAT WALL? → Ialways get lots of e-mails from people complaining that the Board is spending their monies wildly and out of control, for things they don’t want, don’t need and for which there was no mention in the association’s budget. As we know, the Board must pass a budget to pay the association’s “common expenses.”…
Read: CAN THE BOARD SPEND YOUR MONEY ON ANYTHING THEY WANT? → There’s plenty of talk this election season about water and energy conservation. There’s even a proposed constitutional amendment in Florida which would guarantee the right to use solar power in your home. Up until now, has Florida law encouraged us to conserve water, conserve energy or given any…
Read: DOES THE LAW ENCOURAGE OUR COMMUNITY ASSOCIATIONS TO CONSERVE WATER AND ENERGY? → Ireally wish I didn’t have to write this particular blog this week. It’s about another HOA President who helped herself to the association’s funds when she thought she wouldn’t get caught. And if not for the hard work of a particular resident of the community, she might have been right. Three years after…
Read: ANOTHER DIRECTOR CONVICTED. THIS TIME IN BROWARD → Lots of associations have the right to screen and reject proposed renters of homes and units in their communities. I previously blogged about a new Dade and Broward ordinance that forces associations to act quick when purchasers or renters file an application with the association. The association has 15…
Read: ASSOCIATIONS MUST ACT QUICK WHEN A SERVICE MEMBER WANTS TO MOVE IN → Great response from our readers to Part 1 last week. Now let’s talk about the applicable laws and some do’s and don’ts. For most community associations in Florida, the primary laws that deals with this issue are the Federal and Florida Fair Housing Acts, not the Americans With Disabilities ACT, or A.D.A…
Read: SERVICE ANIMALS AND EMOTIONAL SUPPORT ANIMALS–PART 2 → Basically, every year, The Florida Legislature passes laws that effect condominiums and Homeowner Associations. You may be surprised to learn however that just because these laws are passed by The Florida Legislature, it doesn’t mean that these laws automatically apply in your community association. The…
Read: DO YOUR GOVERNING DOCUMENTS CONTAIN THE MAGIC LANGUAGE? → Despite the fact that legislative progress has been made in getting owners access to association records, there is still confusion as to whether or not associations and/or management companies can charge an owner for such access and for photocopies of the records. Let’s address the law for both condominiums…
Read: ACCESS TO RECORDS – SO IS THERE A COST OR NOT? → 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? → Everyone knows that whether you live in a condominium or an HOA, your association has an obligation to provide the unit owners access to the association’s records. What is an association to do however with the owner that won’t stop asking for access? Week after week, month after month, year after year, the…
Read: THE NEVER ENDING RECORDS REQUESTS → We already blogged about a new law that will bring further chaos and confusion to the association election process, and that is the law that now allows voting via the internet if a plethora of conditions are met. The Florida Legislature passed some other association laws as well this year. Let’s see what…
Read: SOME OTHER NEW LAWS THAT MAY OR MAY NOT APPLY IN YOUR ASSOCIATION → It seems like no matter how early, or on what day of the week we hold our Board Certification seminars for both condominium and HOA members, the classes are packed to the rafters. There’s often times complaints about communities going to hell because of unit owner apathy. When you see a room full of…
Read: BOARD MEMBER APATHY → Last week, we spoke about how difficult it is to obtain personal liability against an individual director of a community association. The plaintiff would basically need to show a crime, fraud or self-dealing. What about when the directors make decisions that may ultimately be incorrect but were made in…
Read: THE FLORIDA BUSINESS JUDGMENT RULE → Let’s say your condominium building needs a paint job. It just so happens that the President of the association is the owner of a general contracting firm. He tells the Board to stop racking their brains trying to find a company. He promises to have his company do the job right. He will certainly give…
Read: SHOULD THE BOARD HIRE A BOARD MEMBER'S COMPANY? → Funny how things work sometimes. Over the past 23 years, I have noticed an interesting pattern in Florida community associations. When money is tight and foreclosures are soaring, associations are far less likely to engage in litigation. Suddenly, nobody really cares what color someone painted their house…
Read: YOU MAY WANT TO WAIT BEFORE YOU LITIGATE → Ijust researched why golfers often times yell the word “FORE” when they’re about to hit a golf ball. It’s basically done as a warning to others to be on the lookout. It’s also very appropriate to yell to people who own or who are looking to own in community associations that mandate golf course membership.…
Read: FORE! →Read it. Then watch it.
