When the original bill was filed that required condominiums to have a website, the statute was only going to apply with condominiums of 500 units or more. In effect, the statute would have applied to less than one percent of all condominiums in the state. I met with the legislator who drafted the bill and suggested that the bill be revised to apply to all condominiums with 50 units or more. The compromise was 150 units.
As we know, The Florida Legislature does not like to regulate HOAs, so for whatever reason, HOAs with 150 homes or more are not required to have a website. Instead, if a homeowner wants access to records, they must make the request by certified mail, return receipt requested. If the association ignores them, the unit owner has to ask for pre-suit mediation. If that fails, the unit owner has to file a lawsuit. All because they wanted copies of some of the official records. It’s ridiculous.
Why not make your community more transparent and accessible now? Who cares if you’re an HOA and you’re not required by law to have a website? Set one up anyway, regardless of the number of homes you have. Are homeowners in a 50 home community less entitled to see the records than an owner in a 150 home community? Of course not.
If you’re in a condominium of less than 150 units, I understand that the law does not require your condominium association to have a website containing the official records. So what? Create one anyway. I can tell you that over the past two years, as least as far as the larger condominiums go, there has been less arguments between owners and the board when it comes to being able to access the official records, simply because the association is required to have these official records on an association website.
I will also warn condominium associations that the DBPR is not fooling around when making sure that condominium associations with 150 units or more comply with the law. They will investigate any complaint received from an owner who claims their association is not complying with the law. They want those records posted on-line. The association’s failure to do so can and will result in a fine for several thousand dollars.
Placing the records on-line frees up the manager’s valuable time because now they are less likely to have to respond to unit owner requests for access to records. I’m looking forward to see how Rafael feels about the law. Have you had success in your community with the association’s website? If your community doesn’t have one, would you want one?