community associations Archives - Page 2 of 5

May 6, 2025May 9, 2025

Covenant Enforceability for HOAs & Condos | Recorded May 6, 2025

*Read Before Viewing* | This recorded video WILL NOT satisfy Florida state certification requirements for Board Members, NOR will this recorded version offer CEUs for CAMS or Board Members. It is for informational purposes only and is not to be considered as legal advice. Should you have any questions, contact your association counsel.

Instructed by Kerstin Henze, Esq. (Kaye Bender Rembaum) and co-hosted by GRS Community Mgmt.

The importance of timely and uniformly enforcing the covenants, learning about common restrictions to enforce, and possible enforcement issues that arise due to the lack of uniform and/or timely enforcement. Also learn the basics of enforcement options, including the statutory process to levy a monetary fine, to suspend the ability of a person to use the common areas, as well as suspending voting rights. Participants will also be provided with guidance on the formal dispute resolution process when a covenant violation occurs, including, as applicable, mediation, arbitration, and legal action being filed in State Court.

April 30, 2025May 9, 2025

HOA Board Member Certification | Recorded April 30, 2025

Peter C. Mollengarden, Esq. BCS (Instructor) from Kaye Bender Rembaum (course provider and co-host) led this HOA Board Certification Course. Board members received a comprehensive education of the statutory requirements and responsibilities that each volunteer must know to more effectively serve on the Board of Directors of a Homeowners’ Association. Co-hosted by GRS Community Mgmt.

April 15, 2025June 12, 2025

Not all Expenditures Can Be Collected from Delinquent Owners as Part of the Collection/Foreclosure Process – Why Not?

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

It is clear that Florida’s community association collection/foreclosure legislation allows associations to foreclose an owner’s home for nonpayment of assessments. However, not all of the monies expended by an association fit into the definition of an assessment. For example, let’s say that an association has a right to correct a deficiency on an owner’s lot, but the declaration of covenants at issue does not support converting the money spent into an assessment. In that event, the monies expended by the association would have to be recovered as part of a breach of contract action rather than as part of an assessment/foreclosure action. Sometimes, however, the declaration will provide that the monies expended can be treated as an assessment. If that is the case, then before those expenditures can be included as a part of the collection/foreclosure process, the board would need to convert the expenditure into an assessment against the noncomplying owner. (As to how that is done, you can discuss it with your community association’s attorney.) Florida’s collection/foreclosure legislation also provides for recovery of certain costs incidental to the collection/foreclosure process, but recovery of such cost must be rooted in a statute or by contract (i.e., the declaration of covenants).

Let’s look at the fee charged by a management company for sending the notice of late assessment letter, often referred as a NOLA letter, as required by Florida Statute, and determine whether it is a recoverable cost in an association’s collection/foreclosure action and whether including the NOLA fee as a part of the association’s collection/foreclosure proceedings violates the Federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (the Act).

The Act was passed into law because of abundant evidence of the use of abusive, deceptive, and unfair debt collection practices. It does not matter whether a debt collector used their best efforts to comply with the Act. Only strict compliance matters when it comes to the enforceability of…

Read the full article HERE

April 10, 2025May 9, 2025

HOA Board Member Certification | Recorded April 10, 2025

Emily E. Gannon, Esq. (Instructor) from Kaye Bender Rembaum (course provider and co-host) led this HOA Board Certification Course. Board members received a comprehensive education of the statutory requirements and responsibilities that each volunteer must know to more effectively serve on the Board of Directors of a Homeowners’ Association. Co-hosted by Affinity Mgmt.

March 28, 2025May 9, 2025

HOA Board Member Certification | Recorded March 27, 2025

A comprehensive education of the statutory requirements and responsibilities that each volunteer must know to more effectively serve on the Board of Directors of a Homeowners’ Association. Instructed by Kerstin Henze, Esq of Kaye Bender Rembaum. Co-hosted by Akam.

March 19, 2025June 12, 2025

Are Changes to Association Landscaping a Material Alteration That Requires a Vote of the Owners?

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

If you live in a community association, especially if you serve on the board, you may already be familiar with the term “material alteration.” In Sterling Village Condominium Association, Inc., v. Breitenbach, 261 So. 2d 685, 687 (Fla. 4th DCA 1971), the Court defined the term material alteration as follows:

[T]o palpably or perceptively vary or change the form, shape, elements, or specifications of a building from its original design or plan, or existing condition, in such a manner as to appreciably affect or influence its function, use, or appearance.

Generally, an association’s declaration provides the manner in which material alterations to the common elements and common areas are to be accomplished and the necessary percentage of the unit owners required to approve material alterations, if any. In a homeowners’ association such decisions are left to the discretion of the board of directors unless the governing documents provide otherwise. As to condominium associations, absent a provision in the association’s declaration providing otherwise, section 718.113(2)(a), Florida Statutes, provides in relevant part that 75 percent of the total voting interests of the association must approve the alterations or additions before the material alterations or substantial additions are commenced.

Read the full article….HERE

March 2, 2025March 4, 2025

U.S. Treasury Department Announces the Suspension of Enforcement of the Corporate Transparency Act Against U.S. Citizens and Domestic Reporting Companies

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

Keeping up with the “on again, off again” requirements of the Corporate Transparency Act is like watching a basketball bounce up and down. Finally, however, it appears as though the point guard took the shot and the basket is made.

On March 2, 2025, The Treasury Department announced that, with respect to the Corporate Transparency Act, not only will it NOT enforce any penalties or fines associated with the beneficial ownership information reporting rule under the existing regulatory deadlines, but it will further NOT enforce any penalties or fines against U.S. citizens or domestic reporting companies or their beneficial owners after the forthcoming rule changes take effect either.

The Treasury Department will further be issuing a proposed rulemaking that will narrow the scope of the rule to foreign reporting companies only. Treasury takes this step in the interest of supporting hard-working American taxpayers and small businesses and ensuring that the rule is appropriately tailored to advance the public interest.

“This is a victory for common sense,” said U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent. “Today’s action is part of President Trump’s bold agenda to unleash American prosperity by reining in burdensome regulations, in particular for small businesses that are the backbone of the American economy.”

You can view the official Press Release HERE.

It was also rumored that the Executive branch made an announcement that the United States Treasury will be suspending all future enforcement of the Corporate Transparency Act on American businesses and is working towards an emergency rule for codification of the new enforcement policy in furtherance of its goals toward less governmental regulation.

As new information is obtained we will share it with you, our readers.

February 17, 2025March 4, 2025

Thinking of Filing a New Lawsuit?

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

The Florida Supreme Court approved multiple substantial amendments to the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure that went into effect on January 1, 2025. While these changes are significant, they do not appear to be terribly overwhelming. This article is not intended to provide a comprehensive review of these changes but rather to point out some of the more interesting changes. It is important to note that these new procedural amendments to the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure only apply to lawsuits filed on or after January 1, 2025. In speaking with several litigators about these new rules, their takeaway is that a plaintiff best be ready for trial when filing your lawsuit. They say this because of the new discovery rules that fast track the process.

Courts now have the authority to extend deadlines for responding to motions either with or without a formal motion and with or without notice. This increased flexibility should streamline… [Read the Rest]

January 16, 2025January 23, 2025

Association Leadership: S6, E3 | Navigating Association Records | January 15, 2025

Castle Group hosts Season 6, Episode 3 of Association Leadership: Navigating Association Records -Clarity, Compliance, and Community Best Practices

The webinar was moderated by Brian Street, Castle Group, and is joined by Jeffrey A. Rembaum, Esq. BCS, & Alan Schwartzseid, Esq. BCS of Kaye Bender Rembaum.

Note: Viewing this video will not satisfy any Florida State requirement for CAMs or Board Members. This is strictly informational and for review.

January 7, 2025January 11, 2025

The Consequences of Failing to Maintain the Official Records

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

The following scenario happens all too often. A member makes a written records request to inspect the official records of the association and proceeds to provide a laundry list of documents that the member wants to inspect. In response, the association may arrange to have the member come to the property management office to inspect the records or, if the laundry list is not extensive, provide the requested records to the member by making copies or providing them electronically. Sometimes, however, associations do not always maintain official records in accordance with the requirements of Chapters 718 and 720, Fla. Stat., and an association may argue that it gave the member what it could, so that is all that really matters, right? Wrong! If your association operates this way, you are in for a surprise.

In the case of William Pecchia and Kathleen Porter v. Wayside Estates Home Owners Association, Inc., 388 So. 2d 1136 (Fla. 5th DCA 2024), litigation initially arose between the homeowners (Pecchia and Porter) and the association due to the belief by Pecchia that the association was failing to maintain the common area and that the association was not enforcing violations. Pecchia observed that over the years the association lowered annual assessments and seemed to spend less money on maintenance despite observable deteriorating conditions to the property. [Read the Rest]