Florida Condo & HOA Legal Blog : Florida Condo Lawyer & Attorney : Becker & Poliakoff Law Firm : Condominium & HOA Law Blog

On Wednesday, May 26th, Governor Crist signed two (2) bills of interest to community association leaders and managers into law. 

HB 713 relates to the Department of Business and Professional Regulation.  It authorizes distance learning courses to satisfy continuing education requirements for various professionals, including CAMs.  There are several programs already offered online as part of CAMP (Community Association Managers Program, not to be confused with the manager association of Community Association Management Professionals).

This bill also creates both home inspection and mold related services licensing programs.

HB 1035 relates to elevator safety.  It allows for variances from certain codes as a result of undue hardship, so long as there is a finding that the variance will not adversely affect public safety.  It also includes the phase-in period for compliance with the Phase II Firefighter's Service requirements if the certificate of occupancy was issued on or before July 1, 2008.  The building owner/operator is given a five (5) year grace period to upgrade the elevators solely for this purpose.  If the elevator is replaced or requires major modification before that time, the Phase II Firefighter's Service improvements must be completed at the same time.

HB 1035 describes penalties for unlicensed elevator work.  Citations may be issued to the building owner or operator, in addition to the person performing the work.  Penalties may amount to $1,000 per day of a continuing violation.  

• Email This
• Print
• Comments (1)
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

A number of bills CALL tracked this session were sent to Governor Crist recently.  He has until June 1, 2010 to act (veto or sign) on the following bills:

• SB 1196, Relating to Community Associations
• HB 663, Relating to Building Safety
• HB 713, Relating to Department of Business and Professional Regulation
• HB 1035, Relating to Elevator Safety
• HB 1411, Relating to Timeshare Foreclosures

We've included bullet point summaries of SB 1196 on this blog, but refer you to the actual text of the bill for more complete information.  Community Update will outline the impact of important bills on community associations - Becker & Poliakoff''s association clients will receive the electronic version shortly.

The Governor's office is in the process of reviewing SB 1964.  We've included concerns about this bill before in Condos/HOAs Have a Lot to Lose if Design Professional Protection Bills Become Law.  In 1999, the Florida Supreme Court codified a long standing principle that design professionals should be held accountable for economic loss damages that they cause just like other professionals in Florida. Board certified construction law attorney Steve Lesser said the following:

[Design professionals] have an obligation to design to meet code and protect the health, life & safety concerns of consumers.  An error in design judgment can be devastating to a unit owner and homeowners that cause damages and in fact- economic damages.  An elevator that fails to operate at the appropriate speeds and breaks down results in loss of use which is an economic loss.  Imagine how this could impact elderly unit owners.  A parking garage that is not properly shored up based on engineering calculations can result in economic loss.  These consumers are largely lay persons that often sign agreements (presented by the professional) that contain limitation of liability clauses. 
 

Please contact the Governor's office to express your support or opposition to 2010 legislation.  Make your voices heard in Tallahassee. 

• Email This
• Print
• Comments (1)
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

Representative Bogdanoff Explains Amendments in CS/CS/HB 561 at Becker & Poliakoff's Leadership Seminar.  Representative Sachs announces she will "continue to fight for fairness in foreclosures". 

Over 450 volunteer board members, professional community association managers and industry representatives listened intently to Representative Bogdanoff on Saturday at the Kravis Center during the Becker & Poliakoff Leadership Seminar.  They were pleased to hear that CS/CS/HB 561 includes provisions that would:

• delay enforcement of code mandated elevator improvements (specifically ASME 17.1 and 17.3) in condominiums or cooperatives where the Certificate of Occupancy was issued on or prior to July 1, 2008, for five (5) years or until the elevator is replaced or requires major modification (whichever happens first);
• eliminate any requirement for condominiums or cooperatives that are less than four (4) stories and has exterior corridors to install a manual fire alarm as required by §9.6 of the Life Safety Code (as adopted by the Florida Fire Prevention Code);
• clarify that in a condominium association with more than 10 units, co-owners of a unit cannot serve on the board together unless they own more than one unit and are not co-occupants of a unit;
• require board members to certify (in writing) that they have read the laws and governing documents, will work to uphold the documents and policies and faithfully discharge their fiduciary responsibilities (or submit a certificate of satisfactory completion of approved educational curriculum), failing which they are automatically disqualified from service;
• allow high-rise condominium and cooperative associations to vote to completely avoid any obligation to retrofit the buildings with a fire sprinkler system or engineered life safety system and extend the deadline for others to 2019; and
• authorize bulk contracts for communication services, information services or internet services.

Stay tuned for more legislative updates direct from Tallahassee as these (and other) changes are likely to substantially impact community association operations.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments (2)
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

There are various safety retrofits required in the State of Florida, many of them involving elevators and fire safety.  Every building in the State of Florida containing six or more stories is required to retrofit their elevators to allow operation in fire emergency situations with one master key.  Florida's Department of Financial Services publishes a map showing the seven (7) emergency response regions as well as a list of the vendors authorized to perform the installation and issue uniform keys. 

The installation must be complete and the property compliant no later than October 1, 2009.

Additionally, elevator inspections must be performed annually by a Certified Elevator Inspector or the State of Florida may contract with the County or Municipality for elevator inspection services.  Nonetheless, Section 399.02, Florida Statutes requires the building owner or operator to bear responsibility for obtaining the inspections, the safe operation of the elevator, the proper maintenance of the elevator and correction of any deficiencies noted in the annual inspection.   An elevator maintenance contract will not insulate the building owner or operator (including an Association) from liability for damages or personal injuries.  Elevator maintenance contracts are governed by Section 399.01, Florida Statutes and further requirements are found in the Florida Administrative Code. 

• Email This
• Print
• Comments (8)
• Trackbacks (1)
• Share Link