In this Issue

A new year means new goals! As we turn the corner into 2026, this issue of CUP spotlights practical tips to help your community association start the year off right. This includes a review of new legislation, an overview of your association’s right of access, and a clear explanation of fiduciary duty. Don’t miss our featured podcast episode that explores what actually moved the needle for condos and HOAs in 2025.

Also featured this month is a collection of our most popular Community Update articles. From electric vehicle charging stations to social media perils and pitfalls, here are the top five most read articles from 2025.

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As Florida becomes a more Electric Vehicles (EV) friendly state, condominium associations must adapt. Florence King highlights the need for associations to adopt clear rules and regulations for the installation of EV charging stations in this featured article, “Rules for a Condominium Association to Consider Regarding the Installation of Electric Vehicle Charging Stations.”

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All Condominium and Cooperative Associations are required to create and maintain an online account with the DBPR on or before October 1, 2025. Bryony G. Swift outlines the new requirements and provides guidance in “New in 2025: Condos, Co-ops, and CAMs Must Create and Maintain an Account With the DBPR.”

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If condominium associations, cooperatives, and homeowners’ associations are required to conduct competitive bidding for certain contracts, how many bids do they need? Michelle Kaiser provides all the answers in “Competitive Bidding… A Primer for Board Members and Managers.”

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With recent changes to Florida law, condominium boards proposing an annual budget that exceeds 115% of the previous years must also provide a substitute budget that excludes discretionary expenses. In “Condominium Budgeting Has Changed,” Allison L. Hertz explains that both budgets must be sent to unit owners in advance, and why boards should consult legal, management, and accounting professionals well in advance of budget season.

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Social media, which provides an instantaneous platform to a large number of “viewers,” can wreak havoc in community associations. Jennifer L. Biletnikoff provides strategies that may help prevent your community from going “viral” in, “Perils and Pitfalls of Social Media in Community Associations.”

Question of the Month

Q: Can you explain what “fiduciary duty” means for a condominium board member and managers?

Joseph Adams discusses this and more!

2025 Legal Recap

FLCAJ Magazine
By: Robyn M. Severs

The 2025 Legislative Session brought us multiple changes to the Florida Condominium Act. House Bill 913 contained 191 pages of changes to Chapter 468, governing community association managers; Chapter 553, governing condominium milestone inspections; Chapter 718, governing condominiums; and Chapter 719, governing cooperatives. Chapter 720, governing homeowners’ associations, was not amended during the 2025 legislative session. Due to the breadth of the House Bill, this article will only touch on some of the statutory changes.

Click here to read more.

Announcing Becker’s On-Demand Class Library

The Florida law mandates that board members of HOAs, Condominiums, and Co-ops take continuing education classes annually.*

Please see our on-demand class library for an extensive list of DBPR approved classes.

*Breakdown of class requirements for board members and managers of HOA’s, Condominiums, and Co-ops: New Florida Educational Requirements for Board Members and Managers – Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions regarding Becker classes: Becker Classes FAQs

Courses are always free for board members of firm clients.

Can They Do That?

Becker’s “Can They Do That” video series tackles some of the unique problems that homeowners and renters face today. We answer your questions, no matter how far-fetched they may seem. From service animals to nudists in your community, we get to the bottom of it and let you know – “Can They Do That?”

Catch up on past episodes from this series here.

Becker Steps Up to the Mic with Podcast,
‘Take It To The Board with Donna DiMaggio Berger’

Think you know what community association life is all about? Think again. Residents must obey the rules, directors must follow the law, and managers must keep it all running smoothly. Take It To the Board explores the reality of life in a condominium, cooperative or homeowners’ association, what’s really involved in serving on its board, and how to maintain that ever-so-delicate balance of being legally compliant and community spirited. Leading community association attorney Donna DiMaggio Berger acknowledges the balancing act without losing her sense of humor as she talks with a variety of association leaders, experts, and vendors about the challenges and benefits of the community association lifestyle. Don’t have a streaming app? You can now find all episodes on YouTube! Click here to listen now.

RECENT EPISODES:

Click here to visit “Take It to the Board”

What Actually Moved the Needle for Condos & HOAs in 2025?

In this special year-end episode, host Donna DiMaggio Berger and producer Claude Jennings cut through the noise and reveal the real shifts that changed how community associations operate—from high-stakes legal challenges to the everyday pressures managers and volunteer directors face on the ground. This isn’t just a recap. It’s a reality check.

Listen to the full episode here.
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The Association’s Right of Access

FCAP Managers Report
By: Nicolas M. Jimenez

Among the states, Florida has a long and proud history of defending we the people’s right to privacy and the right to exclude others from your property. However, your condominium association should know that Florida law also makes clear that these rights, among others, are subject to competing interests that uniquely arise in the context of a condominium and that your condominium association has a right of access to condominium units despite the owners’ objections.

Click here to read more.

DID YOU KNOW?

Some Associations Are Adopting a Kindness Pledge

Becker’s Donna DiMaggio Berger, a leading voice in community association law, lent her perspective to a recent Realtor.com article examining the popularity of “kindness pledges” in HOAs. Donna offers a clear-eyed look at the legal hurdles these policies present and reinforces the need for well-defined, actionable rules within community associations.

Click here to read more.