Community Association Industry Legal Blog

With the number of community associations throughout Florida and the constant rotation of board members via yearly elections and other means, it is inevitable that conflicts of interest occasionally arise. For example, maybe the preeminent landscaping company in town just happens to be owned by an association’s vice president? Or, what if the best pool guy in the area is the son of a current board member? Such conflicts do not mean the association is automatically relegated to lower quality service. Moreover, the existence of a conflict in interest is not inherently a bad thing or evidence of corruption. The law requires board members to disclose conflicts of interest, and the Florida Statutes establish certain procedures that must be followed when conflicts exists. This blog post will provide an overview of the disclosure requirements when association board members have a conflict of interest, according to the Florida Condominium Act and the Florida HOA Act.

Association assessment collection is every day business for Florida community associations. Often times, the unit owner will file bankruptcy to avoid this legal obligations. The law governing condominium and homeowners association assessments with regard to bankruptcy actions is found at 11 USC § 523 (a)(16). This law which generally states […]

Board members oftentimes hesitate in taking necessary actions as they become frozen by the fear that their decisions may lead to unintended consequences. This results in critical decisions being delayed—the proverbial kicking the can down the road. Yet, depending upon the situation, the failure to act could produce a worse outcome. Board members do have a fiduciary duty and responsibility to their associations, and the fear of breaching this duty is what leads to board members hesitating when it comes to making major and difficult decisions. However, the “business judgment rule” applies to association board members just as it applies to other corporate directors and officers. This Blog post will discuss how community association board members are protected by the business judgment rule.

This is the time of year when many community associations hold their annual meetings where elections are held and newly elected members assume their roles within the board of directors for the first time. Being a board member is a major commitment, both in terms of time and responsibility. Because most association bylaws state that board members shall serve without compensation, those who serve truly do so because they love their communities and desire to improve them. Despite those good intentions, many newly elected board members are not familiar enough with association governance to make an immediate and positive impact on their communities. This Blog post is for the newly elected director and lists the ten things every community association board member should know.

Many Florida condominium associations have breed, weight, size, and other limitations on animals, but that does not mean those limitations are enforceable against every owner. Florida condominium associations are subject to compliance under the Fair Housing Act (“FHA”) and are prohibited from engaging in discrimination based on a disability.  The […]

Condominium association budgets suffer significantly when unit owners become delinquent in paying assessments. Moreover, the burden for those unpaid assessments falls on the responsible unit owners who must make up the shortfall in the next yearly budget, which often results in higher assessments across the board. For this reason it is important that associations have collections policies in place to pursue unpaid assessments. However, associations must ensure that in their zeal to collect unpaid assessments that accepting partial payments from delinquent unit owners won’t be considered payment in full of the entire debt owed. This blog post will discuss a recent court case which serves as a loud warning to all associations when accepting partial payments from delinquent unit owners.

One of the most challenging aspects of effectively running and operating a condominium association is the constant turnover in board membership and the inconsistency this creates concerning rules enforcement. Most association board seats are up for reelection at least every two years if not every year. When members decide to run for the board, they often do so because they feel the current board is not properly running the association or enforcing its rules. Yet once a newly elected and motivated board attempts to right the ship and enforce the bylaws and rules and regulations, it finds itself having to respond to selective enforcement defenses due to the prior board’s failure to act. This presents quite the conundrum. Board members have a fiduciary duty to enforce the association’s governing documents but cannot do so effectively. There must be a solution. This Blog post will discuss how a board can avoid the selective enforcement defense when enforcing condominium association rules and regulations.

The Condominium Act and the Homeowners’ Association Act create separate thresholds for perfecting a claim of lien for delinquent assessments. Both acts require specific notices to the delinquent owner before the association may record a claim of lien. Even with all of these statutory requirements, a savvy unit owner may be able […]

The declaration of condominium is the instrument by which a condominium is created. Fla. Stat. § 718.103(15). Florida courts have often referred to a declaration of condominium as the condominium’s “constitution” because it “strictly governs the relationships among the condominium unit owners and the condominium association.” Woodside Vill. Condo. Ass’n, Inc. v. Jahren, 806 So.2d 452, 456 (Fla. 2002). Yet what commonly happens is that, over time, unit owners and/or the board of directors of condo associations grow to dislike certain declaration provisions. Those bound by the declaration cannot simply ignore those unwanted provisions; rather, they must take action to amend and/or otherwise change the declaration. Fortunately, Condo Associations have the statutory right to amend their declarations and may even unilaterally void declaration provisions in certain circumstances. This blog post will discuss this right in more detail.

The Condominium Act and the Homeowners’ Association Act create separate thresholds for perfecting a claim of lien for delinquent assessments. Both acts require specific notices to the delinquent owner before the association may record a claim of lien. A claim of lien creates an interest in real property in favor of the […]