The Board of County Commissioners for Broward County will be holding a public hearing on Tuesday, September 10, 2013, at 2:00 p.m., in Room 422 of the Governmental Center, to consider a proposal to revise Section 16 ½ and add a new Section 16 ½ – 35.6, purportedly regarding restrictions on discrimination in housing. This issue is of significant importance to community associations in Broward County and needs your attention.
Under the proposal, condominium, homeowner and cooperative associations that undertake review and approval/disapproval of proposed sales and leases in Broward County will be required first to provide a written receipt of an application to the applicant within 10 days of its receipt. If the application is incomplete or completed incorrectly, the acknowledgment must specifically identify each item that needs to be completed or corrected. It further provides that within 45 days after receipt of a complete application, the association must either reject or approve the application and provide the applicant with a written notice of the decision. If the application is rejected, the written notice must state with specificity each reason for the rejection.
It is the opinion of this Firm that this proposal is not in the best interest of community associations nor appropriate for the County Commission to be incorporating into the restrictions on discrimination within the County Ordinances. Additionally, it will impose on community associations burdens that are far greater than currently exists under present State and Federal laws. The legal standard in place currently is for all communication regarding proposed sales and leases to be through the current owner, not the applicant. Further, if a transaction is rejected, and the rejection complies with present Florida law, the notice of rejection is sent to the current owner. Most importantly is that specific reasons for the disapproval are to be kept confidential and a disapproval should only contain a statement that the applicant fails to qualify under the governing documents for the community.
The proposed Ordinance is creating requirements on associations that are well beyond the scope of anti-discrimination and are not needed in this regard. Associations already may not reject sales or leases for reasons that fall within protected classifications. It is the opinion of this Firm that the proposed Ordinance will add significant administrative burdens on community associations in Broward County and require the disclosure of information that is currently protected under State and Federal laws.
For any association within Broward County that has a review and approval process in place, it is recommended that you attend this Public Hearing, if possible, and voice your opposition to it being passed by the Commission. The more opposition that is heard by the Commissioners, the better the possibility that this faulty proposal does not pass.