Rembaum's Association Roundup Archives

July 23, 2024July 23, 2024

2024 Legal Update | Interim Clarifications and Corrections for HOA and Condominium Board Members and Managers

Rembaum’s Association Roundup | Jeffrey A. Rembaum, Esq., BCS | Visit HERE

Download our latest 2024 Legal Update today (Dated 7.22.24) – Click HERE to download

The purpose of this interim short article is to clarify:

i) homeowners’ association versus condominium association board member certification and continuing education requirements;

ii) provide greater clarity regarding condominium association hurricane protection requirements;

iii) clarify homeowners’ association website posting requirements, and remind homeowners’ association board members of three mandates from the 2024 legislation.

Board Member Certification Requirements and Continuing Education Requirements.

Condominium association board members must take a 4-hour board member certification course with certain subjects mandated within 90-days after being elected or appointed to the board.

Condominium association board members must take one-hour of continuing education per year.

Homeowners’ association board members must take a board certification course within 90-days after being elected or appointed to the board (no minimum time required, typically two hours).

Homeowners’ association board members with fewer than 2,500 parcels in the association must take 4-hours of continuing education per year and if 2,500 parcels or more in the association, then 8-hours of continuing education per year.

At the present time, no clarification has been provided whether the board certification courses will count towards the continuing education requirements.

With regard to condominium association hurricane protection requirements, in our last version of the 2024 Legal Update, there was a typo on page 32 where the word “irrelevant” was erroneously used instead of “relevant”.

Condominium Hurricane Protection Specifications. Each board of a residential condominium or mixed used condominium must adopt hurricane protection specifications for each building within the condominium operated by the association which may include color, style, and other factors deemed relevant by the board (please note that this provision used to apply to hurricane shutters but now applies to hurricane protection).

The following two homeowners’ association meeting notice requirements are applicable only to postings on the HOA website (or App), and not the physical posting at a conspicuous place in the community:

HOA: New Website Posting Requirement for Members’ Meetings.
Notice of any scheduled meeting of the members and the agenda for the meeting, as required by Section 720.306, Florida Statutes, at least fourteen (14) days before such meeting. The notice must be posted in plain view on the homepage of the website or app, or on a separate subpage of the website or application labeled “Notices” which is conspicuously visible and linked from the homepage. The Association shall also post on its website or application, any document to be considered and voted on by the members during the meeting, or any document listed on the meeting agenda, at least seven (7) days before the meeting at which such document or information within the document will be considered.

HOA: New Website Posting Requirement for Board Meetings.
Notice of any board meeting, the agenda, and any other document required for such meeting must be posted on the website or app no later than the date required for such notice.

Remember, every homeowners’ association board must:

1. Adopt hurricane protection standards/rules.
2. Provide copies of the rules and covenants to every association member before October 1, 2024 or, post same on the association’s website and send notice to each member at their address used for official notices as to where they can find it, etc.
3. Adopt rules governing official record retention.

May 2, 2024May 2, 2024

Why Is This Special Assessment Different from All Others and the Need for a Legislative Fix

Rembaum’s Association Roundup | Jeffrey A. Rembaum, Esq., BCS | Visit HERE

Not too long ago a condominium association foreclosed its assessment lien against a deceased unit owner and the sole heir. With the statutory prerequisites completed, including the recordation of the lien, the association commenced its foreclosure lawsuit. Ultimately, due to the failure of the defendants to respond, a final summary judgment in favor of the association was ordered, This judgment also included two special assessments that were properly levied by the association and remained unpaid. Here is where things begin to get interesting.

The special assessments were levied by the association after the lien was recorded and after the association commenced its foreclosure lawsuit. Therefore, the special assessments were not specifically referenced in the lien or in the foreclosure complaint because they were adopted after the lien was recorded and after the foreclosure action commenced. It is important to note that Section 718.116 (5)(b), Fla. Stat., provides the following, in pertinent part:

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March 12, 2024May 2, 2024

Dos and Don’ts of Election Challenges

Rembaum’s Association Roundup | Jeffrey A. Rembaum, Esq., BCS | Visit HERE

Pursuant to their relevant statutory provisions, election disputes that take place in condominium, homeowners’, and cooperative associations are subject to mandatory nonbinding arbitration before the Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes (the “Division,” for short). It is referred to as “nonbinding” because the arbitrator’s order is not final until 30 days after its issuance, which provides time for either party in the dispute to challenge the decision to their local circuit court, which hears the case de novo (anew).

As you will read, not every election dispute will be heard by the Division. As a threshold matter of importance, the Division will not hear election disputes within 60 days prior to an election or 60 days after the election has taken place. In order to bring an election challenge, Florida Statutes require prior written notice to the other party of the dispute, where a reasonable opportunity to correct the alleged error is provided, and it is clearly expressed that if the alleged error is not cured, an arbitration action will take place…

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February 6, 2024February 6, 2024

Civility In Community Associations | Does It Even Exist Anymore?

Rembaum’s Association Roundup | Jeffrey A. Rembaum, Esq., BCS | Visit HERE

Civility in Community Associations | Does It Even Exist Anymore?

It seems the growing trend is that tempers flare so much faster than in days gone by. One of the more difficult situations to deal with is when a cantankerous member of the association goes out of their way to make life miserable for their neighbors and/or their board. The situation can often get out of hand, requiring legal assistance, which then requires the entire community to bear the financial burden of the problem. In large part, the ability of an association to curtail such behavior will depend upon the type of behavior exhibited by the member, along with which remedies are provided for in the association’s governing documents, inclusive of its rules and regulations.

Most declarations have a nuisance provision similar to the following:

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January 4, 2024January 4, 2024

The Federal Corporate Transparency Act Requirements Affecting All Community Associations

Rembaum’s Association Roundup | Jeffrey A. Rembaum, Esq., BCS | Visit HERE

What Every Board Member and Manager Must Know

In January 2021 the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) was enacted by Congress. In 2024 its far-reaching requirements are planned to go into effect. The CTA was adopted by Congress to provide additional transparency in entity structures and ownership in an effort to combat tax fraud, money, laundering, and other illicit activities. It is designed to capture more information about the ownership of specific entities operating in or accessing the United States marketplace. A recent Small Business Administration reports over 27 million small businesses that are considered non-employer firms and thus have no employees. Learning of the beneficial ownership of these entities, Congress hopes to crack down on their misuse. The CTA is particularly targeted to these types of small businesses operating as so called “shell companies.”

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December 22, 2023January 4, 2024

Florida Legislature to Pass Law Prohibiting Associations From Charging Estoppel Fees

Rembaum’s Association Roundup | Jeffrey A. Rembaum, Esq., BCS | Visit HERE

YOUR ASSESSMENTS ARE ABOUT TO GO UP AGAIN

Act Now Before It’s Too Late!

Of all the subjects I never would have thought I would be writing to you about, it is this: the Florida Legislature is dangerously close to passing legislation that prohibits a Florida community association from charging a fee for the preparation and delivery of an estoppel certificate!!! The text of Senate Bill 278, along with its companion House Bill 979, fully prohibits condominium and homeowners’ associations from being able to charge the requesting party a fee for the preparation of the estoppel certificate. But, however, the professional who assists the association prepare and issue the estoppel, such as the management company and attorney, will now charge the association and not the party who requested the estoppel. This year’s legislative session starts very early, on January 9th. Your legislators need to hear from you that you do not want them to support these bills because they will cause financial harm to your association…

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December 12, 2023December 12, 2023

Political Yard Signs and Political Events

Rembaum’s Association Roundup | Jeffrey A. Rembaum, Esq., BCS | Visit HERE

PROBHIBITING POLITICAL YARD SIGNS

Unless you share similar political views, your neighbor’s front yard sign supporting a favorite political candidate may be upsetting. Can a Florida community association demand the sign’s removal? A well-crafted and properly adopted board rule prohibiting all signs, as compared to just prohibiting political signs, is likely enforceable with this caveat.

Section 720.304 of the Florida Homeowners’ Association Act provides that any parcel owner may display a sign of reasonable size provided by a contractor for security services within 10 feet of any entrance to the home. In examining an association’s “no-sign” rule, let us first address the argument heard most often, “This is America! The First Amendment protects the right of all homeowners to display political signs in their front yard!”

This is simply not true, and wishing this to be true will not help. In fact…

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November 7, 2023December 12, 2023

Is It Time to Consider Removing an Association’s Right of Self-Help to Cure an Owner’s Violation from the Declaration?

Rembaum’s Association Roundup | Jeffrey A. Rembaum, Esq., BCS | Visit HERE

Through the years Florida’s community associations have relied upon the court decisions that had routinely agreed that the provisions of Florida Statutes that expressly authorize an association to entitlement to an injunction (i.e., a judicial order requiring a person to take action) superseded the common law standard of the requirement that there be no adequate remedy at law before a party could seek an injunction. In other words, an association could pursue injunctive relief and seek a court order to force an owner to wash their dirty roof even if the governing documents also permitted the association to enter upon the lot and cure the maintenance violation by cleaning the roof (this remedy is often called “self-help”).

However, due to rulings from both the 2nd District Court of Appeals in April 2022 and now the 6th District Court of Appeals in August 2023, that may no longer be the case. As you may recall, the April 2022 appellate case requiring a community association to first exhaust its permissive right to use “self-help” and cure an owner violation of the covenants before seeking an injunction was addressed…

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October 4, 2023October 4, 2023

Board Member Certification | Should It Be Just The Beginning?

Rembaum’s Association Roundup | Jeffrey A. Rembaum, Esq., BCS | Visit HERE

The Florida legislature requires board members to be “certified” in order to be properly qualified to serve on the board of a residential community association. By now you might think that the requirements are exactly the same for condominium boards as compared against homeowner associations’ boards, but they differ with regard to how long the association is obligated to keep the proof of director certification.

The Florida Condominium Act, more specifically §718.112(2)(d)4.b., Florida Statutes, and the Florida Homeowners’ Association Act, more specifically §720.3033(1)(a), Florida Statutes, require the following:

Within 90 days after being elected or appointed to the board of an association of a residential condominium, each newly elected or appointed director shall certify in writing to the secretary of the association that he or she has read the association’s declaration of condominium, articles of incorporation, bylaws, and current written policies; that he or she will work to uphold such documents and policies to the best of his or her ability; and that he or she will faithfully discharge his or her…

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September 2, 2023September 2, 2023

Fiduciary Duty | What it Means to Your Community Association

Rembaum’s Association Roundup | Jeffrey A. Rembaum, Esq., BCS | Visit HERE

What duty does a community association board member owe to their association? What happens if that duty is breached? During the 2023 legislative session, legislation was proposed that would have made directors criminally liable for failure to timely respond to official record requests, among other provisions. The legislation in House Bill 919 was proposed by Representative Porras in response to the alleged $3.4 million dollar embezzlement scheme that took place at the Hammocks Community Association, located in Miami-Dade County. Parts of this proposed bill were well-intentioned; however, several provisions were commonly viewed as too broad and expansive.

On November 15, 2022, the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office announced charges related to the Hammocks’ criminal case, including racketeering, organized scheme to defraud, money laundering, grand theft, and fabricating physical evidence against five board members. These board members have been accused of the following:

i) running a scheme in which they used HOA checks and HOA credit cards from 55 bank accounts to pay for “no-show” work by shell companies or vendors,….

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