Posted on March 8, 2011 by Lisa Magill

2011 Florida Legislative Session Opens Today

Have doubts about the 2010 laws?  Can you cut off cable or not?  Does a tenant have to turn over the entire rent check?  Can you still publish a directory?  There are several bills impacting associations filed for consideration by the 2011 legislature - some clearing up unresolved ambiguities.  Here is a preview of the issues raised in bills tracked by the Community Association Leadership Lobby (CALL). 

 

SB 530/HB 1035:  This is the bill partially drafted by the CALL team.  If it becomes law it will:

  • Enable owners to review employment agreements and see financial records that show compensation paid to employees.
  • Clarify that owners may allow the association to publish a directory or other document with their phone numbers, email addresses and other contact information. 
  • Allow condo boards to hold closed meetings to discuss personnel matters, without an attorney being present, just like homeowners’ association boards. 
  • Enable condos and HOAs to pass management collection fees on to the delinquent owner.
  • Make it perfectly clear that all rent shall be paid to the association until a unit owner's delinquency is paid in full.
  • Clarify the procedure to suspend use and voting rights (when an owner is delinquent for more than 90 days), as well as some other issues.

SB 328/HB 59:  Specifically permitting process servers in to common areas of condominiums, gated communities, or any secured residential areas without notice when serving a summons or other process.

SB 332/HB 173:  Equalizing treatment of multi-family (i.e. condominiums) and single family residences with respect to submerged land leases. Currently, multi-family residences are treated like commercial, profit-making entities.

SB 476/HB 883:  Addressing public lodging establishments. Chapter 509 creates two classes:1) transient (allows rentals more than three times per year for periods of a month or less); and 2) non transient (rentals for a month or more). This bill raises the transient/non transient threshold from one month to six months.

SB 646:  Requiring a mobile home park owner to notify the officers of the homeowners’ association created by ss. 723.075-723.079 of a bona fide offer for purchase.

SB 650/HB 423:  Allowing local governments to enforce violations of certain mobile home statutes and requiring notice before a park owner can evict a mobile home owner because of a change in land use.

SB 712:  Making is perfectly clear that condo boards can suspend use of recreational facilities, meeting rooms, gyms, pools, cable television, internet service and valet service when an owner is more than 90 days delinquent.

SB 832/HB 583:  Requiring the Division to notify a mobile home homeowners’ association before approving changes to the prospectus or offering circular.  Prospective tenants will receive a “mobile home expense disclosure document.”  The bill also defines the “market area or competitive area” for comparable mobile home parks.

SB 1112:  Requiring condo and coop boards to provide the local property appraiser with a list of units rented during the previous year, so the property appraiser can investigate possible violations of homestead laws.

SB 1132:  Prohibiting immediate family members in the same unit from serving on the board of a cooperative association together.

SB1288/HB 799:  Adopting a non-judicial foreclosure process for commercial property, including commercial condos.

SB 1516/HB 1195:  For both condos and HOAs, this bill would:

  • Require insurance companies to notify all owners (by certified and regular mail) if the board cancels or does not renew its required insurance coverage (50 units or less) and enable a majority of the voting interests to direct the board to obtain substitute coverage.
  • Provides that associations may install impact glass or other code-compliant windows in certain circumstances. 
  • Specify that rent paid to the association by tenants will apply to outstanding and future monetary obligations. 
  • Relieve the association from joint and several liability when it takes title to a property by foreclosure or deed in lieu thereof.
  • Give HOA owners the right to speak at board meetings on any agenda item (for at least 3 minutes) without a special petition.
  • Require “condo-style” elections for homeowners’ associations (60-day notice, written self-nominations, second notice, two-envelopes, secret ballots, etc.).
  • Prohibit co-owners in an HOA from serving as board members together unless they own more than one parcel or unless there are not enough eligible candidates to fill the vacancies on the board.
  • Specify that anyone more than 90 days delinquent is not eligible for board membership.
  • Prohibits convicted felons from serving on the HOA board unless their civil rights have been restored for at least 5 years as of the date on which such person seeks election to the board.

 Stay tuned for updates and progress on these and other bills during the session.  Look out for Capitol Conversation posts on this site as well.

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Posted on February 4, 2010 by Travis Moore

Legislative Update - Community Association Bills heard by House Civil Justice and Courts Policy Committee

A couple of CA bills of interest were heard by the House Civil Justice & Courts Policy Committee on Tuesday (February 4, 2010) morning. HB 329 by Rep. Robaina was debated and it was decided by the Committee to hold off on taking a vote due to some concerns with the provisions pertaining to the ability of associations to go after payment of assessments from renters when unit owner landlords aren’t paying.

HB 561, a omnibus CA bill which CALL is working on very closely with sponsors Bogdanoff and Hudson, was passed by the committee after adopting several amendments pertaining to the contentious sprinkler retrofit issue. It would move the date of compliance to 2019 from 2014 and say that if an association has voted to forego retrofitting that 10 percent of owners could petition to have a special meeting “re-vote” once every 3 years. CALL will continue to monitor this issue to make certain a workable solution is found which doesn’t jeopardize the bill.

There was also a discussion on the Florida Supreme Court’s administrative order re the mandatory mediation process for residential mortgage foreclosure cases. David Muller of CALL was asked by the Committee to testify and was able to provide helpful information on the foreclosure crisis many associations are facing and how this mediation process must not cause further delay and cost. This issue remains a top priority of CALL. We need you to let your Legislators know how your association is being impacted and ask for action.

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Posted on May 9, 2009 by Lisa Magill

2009 Florida Legislation Impacting Community Associations

SB 714 Most Significant Change for Community Associations.   Community Association Leadership Lobby (CALL) summarizes changes resulting from SB 714.

While there were a number of bills filed and debated this legislative session, not many of them passed.  SB 714, filed by Senator Jones, modifies the insurance provisions of the Condominium Act, extends the deadline for high-rise fire safety retrofits, clarifies board eligibility issues and repeals a law requiring an alternate power source for elevators under certain circumstances.   As of the date of this post the bill has not been signed into law.  Some of the changes include:

Insurance:

  • Condominium Unit insurance policies (“HO-6”) issued or renewed after July 1, 2009 will include at least $2,000.00 loss assessment coverage. 
  • F.S. 718.111(11) now refers  to “property” insurance instead of  “hazard” insurance. 
  • Removes some of the detail required in the notice of the board meeting to set the insurance deductible for the master policy.
  • Removes the requirement for each condominium unit owner to purchase contents (HO-6) coverage
  • Removes the requirement to name the Association as a loss payee and an additional insured on HO-6 policies issued to condominium unit owners.

Board Elections:

  • F.S. 718.112(2)(d)1 will allow co-owners to serve on the same board of directors if they own more than one unit and are not co-occupants of a unit.
  • Directors will be disqualified from serving on the board by F.S. 718.112(2)(d)1 to include special assessments and fines within financial delinquencies that can disqualify a director.
  • Pre-election candidate certification forms are no longer required. However, within 90 days of election, each newly elected Director shall certify that they have read the Condominium Documents, that they will work to uphold such documents and policies to the best of their ability, and that they will faithfully discharge their fiduciary duty.  In lieu of this certification, the newly elected Director may submit a certificate of satisfactory completion of educational curriculum administered by a Division-approved education provider.   Failure to comply will result in disqualification, but does not affect the validity of any appropriate action taken by the board.

Fire Sprinklers:

F.S. 718.112(2)(l) will be modified to push the deadline for sprinkler retrofitting from 2014 to 2025.

Fire Alarm Systems:

F.S. 633.0215 would provide that a condominium that is one or two stories in height and has an exterior means of egress corridor is exempt from installing a manual fire alarm system as required in s. 9.6 of the most recent edition of the Life Safety Code adopted in the Florida Fire Prevention Code.

Timeshare Condominiums:

  • Timeshare condominiums would not be subject to the requirement that the terms of all members of the board expire at the annual meeting unless otherwise permitted by the bylaws.
  • Co-owners could serve on the board of a timeshare assocaition at the same time.

Generators for Elevators:

Section 553.509(2), Florida Statutes would be repealed meaning multifamily dwellings of at least 75 feet in height will not need at least one public elevator capable of operating on an alternate power source for emergency purposes and to have a written emergency operations plan.

Community Association's Institute's Florida Legislative Alliance also announced its review of the 2009 Florida Legislative Session.  It's Chairman, William D. White, announced that the 2009 Regular Session was extended by a week to enable the Legislature to complete its work on the 2009/10 Appropriations Act.  CAI continued to work on the submerged land lease issue which greatly impacted DEP’s (Department of Environmental Protection) budget.   SB 1012, originally slated to increase fees payable by community associations for submerged land leases, died in Conference Committee.

CAI-Florida Legislative Alliance (CAI-FLA) and it Lobbyist, Travis Moore, spent many, many hours working on community association legislation right through the final weeks of the session. This included significant work on SB 880/HB 831, SB 714/HB 419, SB 2302/HB 1397, HB 27, SB 998, etc. Mr. Moore met numerous times with Senator Nancy Detert working on “right of first refusal” language for mobile home associations which passed the Senate but failed to pass the House before the session ended. Additionally, there were numerous meetings with various interest groups, committee staff, and scores of legislators including Senators Fasano, Deutch, Ring, and other Senators, as well as Representatives Frishe, Robaina, Sachs, Jenne, Holder, Ambler, Grady and Domino.

The CAI-FLA-sponsored bill, SB 880, was passed out of the Senate Regulated Industries, Senate Community Affairs’ Committee and the Senate Judiciary Committee. It made it to the Floor of the Senate.  However, ultimately the legislation died.

Bills of Industry Interest Passed by the Legislature

HB 1495, ending the Citizens' rate freeze;
SB 2430 addressing the payment of dock stamps on foreclosed properties;
SB 2064 changing the construction lien laws; and
HB 821 changing the CDD statutes


CAI-FLA also announced that it will be working with the leaders of the Community Association Leadership Lobby (CALL) and other organizations to draft legislation addressing financial burdens on associations from the existing lender caps.  In addition to the collection statute, CAI-FLA will continue to work on language for a "Distressed Condominium-Bulk Buyer” program to better define the role of foreclosing institutions when taking control of failed communities with defaulted developer loans. 

 
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