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Category – Q&A (Question and Answer)
Q: I was recently appointed as the treasurer of my association. I noticed that there are a couple of unit owners who have not paid their condominium fees for over a year. I asked the other board members what they have done about the delinquent owners, and they basically shrugged their shoulders and …
Q: I have served on my condominium association’s landscape committee for the past several years. The committee is responsible for reviewing the association’s landscaping, coordinating with our landscape contractor, and making suggestions to the board. At a recent board meeting, the new board, which was elected a few months ago, discussed the status …
Q: My condominium association recently engaged an attorney and a question has come up as to whom the attorney represents, the association, the board members, the management company, the owners, or all of the above. Who is the attorney’s client? (G.F. via e-mail)
A: The attorney represents the association as …
Editor’s Note: David G. Muller is a Board Certified Attorney in Condominium and Planned Development Law with Becker & Poliakoff, P.A., which represents community associations throughout Florida, with offices in Naples, Fort Myers and 10 other Florida cities. The Firm focuses a substantial amount of its practice …
Q: In one of your recent columns, you wrote about a new law that imposes term limits of eight years on condominium directors. Is this retroactive? (S.L. via e-mail)
A: In my opinion, no. Of course, lawyers’ opinions are just that, and what the courts have to say …
Q: My next door neighbor wants to install a satellite dish on his house. I am worried that it will create an eyesore next to my home. I read our association’s documents, but they do not seem to address satellite dishes or even require approval by the architectural review board. Will my neighbor …
Q: There is some confusion when the president of my association is required to vote. Does the president vote whenever the rest of the directors vote on an issue, or is the president only supposed to vote in order to break a tie? (V.B.)
A: The board president is almost …
Q: I would like to install solar panels on the roof of my home, but I did not see any standards addressing this within my homeowners’ association’s documents or architectural review guidelines. Would I be allowed to install these in order to make my home greener? (K.L. via e-mail)
A: …
Q: Our condominium recreational facilities have been very popular this summer. We have received many complaints from owners that they have not been able to enjoy the pool due to the number of guests and renters using the pool. Is it possible for the board to adopt a rule that prohibits renters from …
Q: The declaration of covenants for our homeowners’ association says that it can be amended by a “two-thirds vote.” There are 120 lots in our community. Most people believe that we need 80 votes (two-thirds of all lots) to amend this document. There is a “parliamentarian” on our board. He argues that under …
Q: My condominium association still operates under our original documents from the early 1980s, which have been amended a couple of times. From what we can tell, the documents have never been updated from what the developer gave us. A number of owners want to modernize our documents. However, the declaration of condominium, …
Q: I recently purchased a home in a development that is under a homeowners’ association. When I purchased, I received “the documents” for our community. I am confused how these documents relate to each other and what the different documents are supposed to mean. Can you clarify the differences between the documents for …