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
As we have written about a million times, each condominium unit pays $4.00 per year to the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, Division of Condominiums, Timeshares and Mobile Homes. That $4.00 is supposed to be spent on the people who are paying it. The law states that: All fees shall be…
Read: THE PERFECT JOB FOR THE DBPR → Ican’t tell you how many times I heard clients tell me that they were scared that a Board member was in their home unannounced or that they feared a Board member was going to come into their home unannounced. The claim is usually made by people who have had disagreements with the Board or a particular Board…
Read: GET OUT OF MY HOUSE! → Today, we finally conclude all off the new condominium laws that were passed in 2022 by The Florida Legislature. There is a lot to know. ALL CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATIONS MUST: Although the DBPR has yet to produce the required form: On or before January 1, 2023, condominium associations existing on or before July…
Read: OTHER NEW CONDO LAWS TO KNOW – PART THREE → DISTRIBUTION OF THE INSPECTION REPORTS Upon completion of a phase one or phase two milestone inspection and receipt of the inspector-prepared summary of the inspection report from the architect or engineer who performed the inspection, the association must distribute a copy of the inspector-prepared summary…
Read: SOME OTHER NEW LAWS CONDOS MUST FOLLOW – PART TWO → We all know by now the myriad of new safety laws condos that are 3 stories or more are required to follow. They include mandatory fire sprinklers or an engineered life safety system (for buildings 75 feet or higher only), a Phase One Milestone Inspection after 30 years and every ten years thereafter (25…
Read: SOME OTHER NEW LAWS CONDOS MUST FOLLOW – PART ONE → In a word — YES. Are all these new laws really necessary? In a word –YES. This is all happening due to a complete lack of foresight and planning by The Florida Legislature. Mandatory Reserves and Mandatory Inspections should always have been the law. I urged The Florida Legislature in May of 2018 to make…
Read: WILL THE NEW LAWS BE DEVASTATING FINANCIALLY TO SOME FLORIDA RESIDENTS? → For the past 364 days we have all been labeled at one time or another as either Democrat, Republican, Independent, Conservative, Pro Choice, Pro Life, Straight, Gay, LGBTQ, pro police, anti-police, pro open borders, anti open borders, For Black Lives Matter, Against Black Lives Matter, pro Trump, anti Trump,…
Read: FOR ONE DAY…………… → THE BIG CHANGE: NO LONGER IS THERE THE ABILITY TO WAIVE RESERVES OR USE THEM FOR OTHER PURPOSES Effective December 31, 2024, a unit-owner controlled association may not determine to provide no reserves or reserves less adequate than required by the items listed in the mandatory structural integrity reserve…
Read: FLORIDA’S NEW CONDO RESERVE and FIRE SAFETY LAWS – PART TWO → Over the last few weeks, I blogged about every condominium in every county now needing a “milestone inspection.” To recap, these “milestone inspections” will start after the 30 year mark and every ten years thereafter (25 years and every 10 years thereafter if your property is within three miles of the…
Read: THE NEW CONDO RESERVE LAWS – PART ONE - GET READY → So last week we discussed the fact that the change in the law will now require every condominium building in the state that is 3 stories or higher and at least 30 years old (25 years old if within 3 miles of the coast) to undergo a Phase One inspection, every 10 years, by a licensed architect or engineer who…
Read: MANDATORY BUILDING INSPECTIONS – PART TWO → et’s start discussing the new condominium laws that go into effect on July 1st. We won’t cover them all in one week, so look forward to next week’s blog as well. IF YOU HAVE A MANAGEMENT COMPANY the statute says: If a community association manager or a community association management firm has a contract…
Read: THE NEW CONDO LAWS ---- MANDATORY INSPECTIONS – PART ONE → The term “proxy” is often thrown around incorrectly. In simple English, if you can’t make it to a meeting to actually cast your vote or appear in person, you sign a document called a “proxy” which allows someone else to appear on your behalf. They act in your place. The proxy form may give the proxy holder…
Read: PROXIES: WHAT ARE THEY AND WHEN CAN WE USE THEM? → Ireally hate to be a Debbie Downer, but I have never been more afraid of an economic collapse in Florida, especially South Florida, as I do now. I couldn’t care less about the statistics that get reported about whether foreclosures are going up or not. I’m telling you that they are. I know because process…
Read: THE HOUSING NUMBERS JUST DON’T ADD UP → Iremember as a kid growing up in Brooklyn, Red Buttons would do a commercial that aired in New York, promoting Century Village. You were promised beautiful spacious apartments, amazing views, golf courses, endless entertainment and simply the perfect dream place to retire to. So forty years later, we learn…
Read: WERE WE SUCKERED IN BY FALSE ADVERTISING? → As we know, The Florida Legislature is having trouble fixing the problems of allowing condominium buildings to waive reserves, who the reserve studies should be performed by and how often the buildings should require safety certification by local building officials. The issue of course is how hard are we…
Read: ANOTHER FIRESTORM IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER → We got three extra days this year to pay up. Three extra days to turn in our income tax forms and pay Uncle Sam. Instead of April 15th being the day, it is April 18th. We see it come out of our paycheck each week, we complain. We fill out the necessary forms during tax season and we hope we don’t receive a…
Read: THE TAX MAN COMETH TODAY → (We blogged about this nearly 3 years ago, but in light of recent events, it bears repeating.) Here’s an issue that comes up every week in my practice for the past 30 years or so. I get a call from someone on a Board of Directors. And they tell me that they have a President on the Board who is a real…
Read: WHEN THE PRESIDENT THINKS THEY’RE THE KING → Even after the death of 98 innocent people at The Champlain Towers in Surfside, the fact is…….The Florida Legislature did not pass a single law regarding the need for more building inspections, mandatory funding of reserves, mandatory education for board members or anything whatsoever to prevent another…
Read: MAYBE IT’S TIME TO BRING BACK AND OLD LAW →Read it. Then watch it.
