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​Boards of Florida condominium associations and homeowner associations are allowed to make rules regarding use of the common areas, access to records, the right to speak at meetings,and in a few other areas.  Here are a few rules regarding rules: 1. Rules must be reasonable: Rules have to have a valid purpose.  They cannot be…

Suppose you ask for access to certain condominium records, they are never given to you, but months later the association says they were?  What do you do now? Well, for condominiums only The Florida Legislature attempts to address this issue in House Bill 1021 which goes into effect July 1st and says: In response to…

In 2011, I argued a case in front of The Supreme Court of Florida called Cohn v. The Grand Condominium.  Here’s a quick summary of the facts: The Grand is a large condo building built in 1986 in Dade County.  The declaration of condominium was recorded in 1986.  It contains 1,200 units.  800 of the…

I’m thinking about that condo President, perhaps but not necessarily in a 55 and over community, who has been on the board for over 10 years.  He or she has put in countless hours for the community and hasn’t been paid a dime.   For the last decade, every day the residents of the community wave…

There were even changes this year to the laws involving condominium records. For example, Florida Statute 718.111(12) is being amended to state that the association’s accounting records must include, but are not limited to: All invoices, transaction receipts, or deposit slips that substantiate any receipt or expenditure of funds by the association. A copy of…

I recently blogged about the new statute requiring education for HOA Board Members.  This week, let’s talk about mandatory education for condominium Board members.  There is definitely a difference between the two. So here’s the new law……. 718.112(2)(d)4b – CONDOMINIUM DIRECTOR EDUCATION A director of a board of an association of a residential condominium, shall:…

HB 1203 made some major changes regarding architectural review committees.  To sum it up, their powers were greatly slashed.  Let’s take a look: An association or any architectural, construction improvement, or similar committee of an association must reasonably and equitably apply and enforce on all parcel owners the architectural and construction improvement standards authorized by…

I think everyone reading this knows how long and how hard I have fought for mandatory education for Board members.  I always thought it was disgraceful to allow someone to get certified by signing a dumb form that says I read my governing documents and promise to enforce them.  Finally, we have a change in…

 FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY If the unit owners elect to do so, they can vote for the association to prepare a lesser year-end statement than what is required by law.  The law has changed and now states: An association may not prepare a lesser financial statement than what is required by law for consecutive fiscal years. NO…

An HOA here in South Florida recently fought the State Attorney’s Office tooth and nail when they attempted to obtain copies of the association’s official records.  There’s no doubt that as a result of that one HOA, the following law was passed: HB 1203 Florida Statute 720.303 (i) If an association receives a subpoena for…