1200 Park Central Blvd. South, Pompano Beach, FL 33064
9121 North Military Trail, Suite 200, Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410
855 E SR 434., Suite 2209, Winter Springs (Orlando area), FL 32708
1211 North Westshore Blvd., Suite 409 Tampa, FL 33607
Offices in Miami-Dade (by appointment)
Reach any office: 800.974.0680

1200 Park Central Blvd. S., Pompano Bch, FL 33064
9121 N. Military Trail, Ste. 200, Palm Bch Gdns, FL 33410
855 E SR 434., Suite 2209, Winter Springs (Orlando area), FL 32708
1211 N. Westshore Blvd., Ste. 409, Tampa, FL 33607
Offices in Miami-Dade (by appointment)
Reach any office: 800.974.0680

Accusations Of Racial Discrimination by the HOA

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

Admittedly there are always two sides to every story. This is why we have the American judicial system to get to the resolution of a matter as decided by the “trier of fact,” be it the judge or jury, after hearing from both the accuser and the accused (or in civil terms, hearing from the plaintiff and defendant). In most civil cases a plaintiff only needs to prove that a particular event was more likely than not to have occurred. This is referred to as a “preponderance of the evidence” standard of proof, meaning that a majority of the evidence favors the plaintiff’s position. But, before the parties can get to that stage, the plaintiff first must sufficiently allege a cause of action against the defendant. If not, then the plaintiff’s lawsuit is subject to being dismissed. Well, that is exactly what happened in the recent federal appellate case of Watts v. Joggers Run Property Owners Association, Inc., 133 F.4th 1032 (11th Cir. 2025), in which the plaintiff, Watts, appealed the dismissal of her case in its entirety by the lower court, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

In the underlying action, Watts alleged Joggers Run of taking unlawful actions against her, her family, and her guests due to their race and brought claims against Joggers Run under both the Fair Housing Act and the Civil Rights Act. Watts accused Joggers Run of selectively enforcing its rules pertaining to parking, pets, yard sales, and penalty fees against her and her family but not against non-Black residents. She accused the association’s president of referring to Black people as “monkeys” and another director of using derogatory, race-based comments. She alleged that she was limited to three minutes when…

Read the full article HERE

Appellate Court Decision Addresses Failure to Properly Handle Official Record Inspection Requests

Written by Andrew B. Black, Esq. BCS, Kaye Bender Rembaum, P.L.

It is not uncommon for a board of directors to be faced with requests from owners involving accessing the official records of the association. Florida law, as set forth in the applicable statutes for condominium, homeowner, and cooperative associations, provides detailed requirements for the maintenance and inspection of the official records (as well as which records are exempt from such inspections). Among other key provisions, the law requires the official records to be maintained in an organized manner that allows for an easy inspection by an owner. Importantly, upon receipt of a proper request, the records must be made available to the requesting owner within ten (10) working days from receiving the request. If a timely response to the request is not provided, the statutes create a rebuttable presumption that the failure to comply was willful, which can result in sanctions and monetary damages for the owner. Further, repeated and knowing violations of the statutes can even lead to misdemeanor charges in certain situations. Accordingly, it is vital that the board has a clear understanding regarding its official record inspection responsibilities under the applicable statutes to avoid such a bad result for the association.

In a recent decision of the Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal, in Alberto M. Ruiz De Gamboa v. Newth Gardens Condominium Association, Inc., Case No. 4D2024-0217, June 4, 2025 (“Newth Gardens”), the Court reviewed the actions taken by the Board of Directors of Newth Gardens Condominium Association, Inc. (the “Association”) in handling a written request by an owner to have access to its official records. The Association was found by the appellate court to have willfully denied access to the records.

The relevant facts of the case are that the President of the Association claimed that, upon receipt of the request by the owner, he had a letter timely mailed to the owner setting an appointment for the inspection. However, the owner claimed the scheduling letter was never received by him. At trial, the President testified that he “probably gave [the association’s response] to one of [his] staff members to mail”. Prior to commencing legal action, the owner sent a second letter to the Association informing the Board he had not received any response to the original request, allowing the Association to cure any issues by now making the records available. However, the Association did not offer the owner any further responses. The owner brought the matter to arbitration with the Division of Condominium, who ruled in favor of the owner. The Association appealed that ruling to the Circuit Court, which decided that the Association letter was likely lost in the mail and that it was not willful in its denial of access. The owner appealed to the 4th DCA, which resulted in this opinion.

The Appellate Court decided that there was not any competent and substantial evidence presented at the trial by the Association (such as an affidavit swearing that the original scheduling letter was mailed, or other evidence of regular business practices that a staff member mailed the letters for the President). Consequently, there is a presumption that the Association willfully failed to comply, and that such presumption could have been rebutted by the Association. However, since the Appellate Court decided that no credible rebuttal was offered at trial by the Association, as the failure to provide the requested records for inspection within 10-working days occurred, and, that the additional non-response by the Association when the owner tried again doomed any argument made by the Association that its actions were not willful, the Court ruled in favor of the owner and reversed the decision of the Trial court.

The key takeaways for board members are to carefully track each and every request it receives by an owner to inspect the official records and to document internally the 10-business day deadline to comply and a clear designation as to who will reply to the request on behalf of the association. Further, the statutes allow a board to adopt reasonable rules regarding the frequency, time, location, notice, and manner of record inspections and copying. As such, if your community does not already have these rules, you should contact your legal counsel to assist in drafting these policies. For instance, requiring record inspection requests to be sent via certified mail, return receipt requested and/or to reasonably limit the number of requests per 30-day period have been ruled as reasonable and can help streamline the record inspection process and avoid repetitive requests. Additionally, legal counsel should be contacted to confirm the recent requirements for communities of certain sizes to maintain an association website where several official records must be posted and available to owners, as well as having your association counsel confirm any “checklist” requirements that must be provided to condominium unit owners.

Without careful attention being paid to these record inspection requests, and without such clarity in your community policies, the association can find itself facing the possibility of having to rebut a presumption that its failures were willful, which can create potential significant damages and sanctions. The unnecessary costs to the association of such an occurrence can be avoided with proper planning. Legal counsel familiar with the applicable community association statutes (Chapters 718 for condominiums, 719 for cooperatives, and 720 for homeowner associations) should be involved to assist with these matters.

Navigating the FFHA – Assistance Animal or Pet? | Recorded May 22, 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.

Led by Danielle M. Brennan, Esq. BCS (Kaye Bender Rembaum).

Learn about HUD regulations and Florida Legislation pertaining to assistance animals, as well as common issues concerning assistance animals and addressing requests by residents for reasonable accommodations.

HOA Board Member Certification | Recorded May 20, 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.

Join ACE by TSK (host) and Kerstin Henze, Esq. (Instructor) from Kaye Bender Rembaum (course provider and co-host) for this HOA Board Certification Course. Board members will receive 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. Recorded May 20, 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.

HOA Board Member Certification | Recorded April 30, 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.

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.

HOA Board Member Certification | Recorded April 10, 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.

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.

HOA Board Member Certification | Recorded March 27, 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.

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.

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.

HOA Board Member Certification | February 19, 2025

*Read Before Viewing* This recorded video WILL NOT satisfy Florida state 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.

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 Artemis Lifestyles, with Dianne Skinner.