HB 657 Is Going to Hurt HOA Members. Representative Porras, Let’s Talk About It.

Representative Juan Porras has introduced HB 657, a bill that would effectively dismantle decades of alternative dispute resolution policy for Florida HOAs.

That is not a small tweak. That is a major shift.

For context, prior to 2004, HOA owners were routinely dragged into court over minor disputes. Because Chapter 720 awards attorney’s fees to the prevailing party, the moment an owner was sued, they were staring at thousands of dollars in legal exposure. It was lopsided. Associations had assessment power. Owners had personal checkbooks.

So the Legislature stepped in.

Florida Statute 720.311 was enacted with clear intent, reduce court dockets, reduce legal fees, and require mediation before litigation. In 2007, the process was strengthened to require presuit letters and structured mediator selection. The goal was simple, resolve disputes early and cheaply.

The Condominium Act contains similar findings. The Legislature explicitly recognized that owners are financially disadvantaged in litigation against their associations and that mediation and arbitration reduce delay and attorney fees.

This was not accidental policy. It was deliberate consumer protection.

Representative Porras, you are now proposing to undo that structure.

So here are the questions.

What problem are you solving?

Is there data showing mediation is failing HOA owners?

Is there a study showing owners prefer immediate litigation over mediation?

Are you aware that most presuit mediations resolve without a lawsuit being filed?

If mediation is working in the majority of cases, why eliminate it?

Under HB 657, owners will be pushed straight into court. They will need to hire lawyers. They will fund both sides of the fight through assessments. Attorney’s fees exposure will once again become the pressure point.

Is that the intent?

You are also proposing a specialized court track for HOA disputes. Have you evaluated how many of these cases will be filed annually?

Have you spoken to judges about whether one assigned division can realistically absorb that volume?

Because anyone who has practiced law knows what happens when dockets get overloaded.

Cases stall.

Costs increase.

And guess what judges routinely order when parties show up in court?

Mediation.

So respectfully, Representative Porras, why are we dismantling a structured, cost-controlled mediation system that has protected HOA owners for decades, only to replace it with a process that increases litigation, increases attorney involvement, and increases financial risk for homeowners?

If there is compelling evidence that thirty years of legislative policy has failed, present it.

Show the data.

Show the harm.

Show why forcing owners into court is better than resolving disputes before a lawsuit is filed.

Because absent that proof, this bill does not look like reform. It looks like a rollback of consumer protections that were put in place specifically to shield homeowners from crushing legal costs.

HOA owners do not need more litigation.

They do not need more attorney’s fees exposure.

They do not need crowded courtrooms and delayed resolutions.

They need affordable dispute resolution.

HB 657 moves in the wrong direction.

Representative Porras, reconsider this proposal and withdraw it before Florida homeowners are the ones who pay the price.