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
At a time when it would make sense for the condo and HOA laws to become easier to learn, they are becoming harder. Much has to do with why in the world are there such differences between the condo and HOA statutes? It’s actually ridiculous. For example: In order to get access to the official records, why…
Read: WHY THE DIFFERENCES? → This is definitely not the same Florida that it was even when I moved here in 1989. And it really isn’t the same Florida that that I remember as a kid coming down to visit my sister in the 70s. The amount of building of homes and businesses since then is like no other place in the country —–by far. But, is…
Read: HAVEN’T WE BUILT ENOUGH? → So last week we spoke about how a condominium may pass amendments to the declaration which would in effect limit or prevent leasing, but said amendment would not apply to those who did not vote in favor of the amendment. For a long time, Florida HOAs did not have language in the HOA statute which said sich…
Read: CAN YOUR ASSOCIATION PROHIBIT OR LIMIT RENTING? PART TWO → umors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated. I just spent a week in the hospital — again with kidney stone issues. This is I believe the 5th time I needed some sort of surgery for this never ending painful problem. I left the hospital with a tube coming out of my right side. I still need a…
Read: AN HONEST PERSONAL UPDATE → In light of the tragedy at The Champlain Towers in Surfside last year, The Florida Legislature, to its credit, passed massive condominium reform regarding safety, inspections and reserves. These laws are confusing to those who work in the industry every day, never mind to those who serve on condo Boards…
Read: IF THERE EVER WAS A TIME TO GET EDUCATED → Iam getting swamped lately with requests from both condos and HOAs as to how to limit the number of homes or units that are being rented. People are getting real tired of Air BNB type scenarios and want to know how they can put a stop to it. Some background on this topic is necessary. In the landmark case of…
Read: CAN YOUR ASSOCIATION PROHIBIT OR LIMIT RENTING? → Afew weeks ago on the Condo Craze and HOAs radio show, I was sent a chart by a listener that showed that just under 50% of condominiums were funding a reserve account in full each month. As I was broadcasting this information, I felt that it sounded a little high. It turned out that I was referring to a…
Read: LET’S GO TO THE NUMBERS → Nancy Knowitall is the President of Broken Dreams Condo, a 10 story 120 unit condominium here in South Florida. Nancy decides that because it’s Labor Day, she is going to prove to the owners just how dedicated her and her board are, by holding a Board meeting to discuss the state of the condominium and all…
Read: A LABOR DAY TRADITION IS BACK → 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 → It seems that for week after week we have been blogging about condominiums for the obvious reason that condo laws have undergone an absolutely dramatic change this year. Not only is the change dramatic, but it will no doubt lead to foreclosures of countless units when unit owners cannot pay the special…
Read: BACK TO HOAs THIS WEEK → 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? → 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 →Read it. Then watch it.
