Last year the Florida Legislature was silent when it came to passing any laws affecting community associations. Not this year. This year four bills were approved and signed by the governor and one was vetoed. SB 398 applies to condos, cooperatives and HOAs and prescribes a “form” for estoppels certificates. We discussed that bill last […]
There were five (5) bills approved this year by the Florida Legislature affecting community associations. As of the writing of this article, only one bill had been signed by the Governor, SB 398, that prescribes new detailed information and procedures required to be followed by condos, cooperatives and HOAs in response to request for estoppel […]
With many of the local condominium and homeowners’ associations clubhouse buildings now reaching 30 to 40 years of age, many associations are looking at doing major remodeling projects to the inside or outside of the buildings to keep their look competitive with new products reaching the market. Because such improvements are considered material alterations, it […]
We often get asked by board members, officers and managers of community associations whether their association can charge a capital contribution fee to new owners or charge a fee for processing unit sales and lease applications. The laws pertaining to such fees are quite restrictive for condominium associations while the laws for such fees in […]
This is the time of year when most condominium and homeowner associations have their annual meeting. When there is something to vote on, such as amending the governing documents, approving a property enhancement project, or waiving the annual audit, proxies are sent to the owners so that the requisite vote can be obtained to approve […]
With the ever-increasing influx of new visitors and residents coming to Southwest Florida, it is becoming even more important that new people coming to your condominium or neighborhood are adequately screened or vetted before they become residents. We have found, along with all the good folk moving to the area, there are few bad characters […]
With the return of snowbirds in season, we start getting phone calls from associations telling us some condominium unit owners are complaining about the conduct of their neighbors and they want the association to do something about it. The complaints are usually about either noise or smoke emanating from a neighboring unit or unit lanai. […]
A condominium or residential neighborhood can suffer detrimental effects to property values and the well-being of its residents if it does not have in place rules concerning residents’ and guests’ vehicles that the majority of the members in a community want. Condominiums have a limited number of parking spaces, and many newer gated communities have […]
Last month we discussed the benefits of implementing new governing document regulations for allowing security camera installations in community common areas, single-family homes and condominium units to stop and prevent vandalism or violations of rules and regulations while at the same time protecting the privacy rights of residents. Today, we will look at an example […]
We are seeing more and more homeowners and condominium unit owners wanting to protect their property by installing security cameras. This can be a good idea but must be weighed against the privacy concerns of their neighbors. Many homeowner and condominium associations also want to protect the common areas from vandalism and rule violations; such […]
