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DOES THE 8 YEAR RULE APPLY IN YOUR CONDOMINIUM?
By
Eric Glazer, Esq.
Published October 5, 2020
Florida
Statute 718.112(2)(d)2. states:
A board
member may not serve more than 8 consecutive years unless
approved by an affirmative vote of unit owners representing
two-thirds of all votes cast in the election or unless there are
not enough eligible candidates to fill the vacancies on the
board at the time of the vacancy.
The first
issue is…..does this statute even apply in your condominium?
The answer depends upon whether or not you have “Kaufman
Language” or “as amended from time to time” language in your
declaration. More specifically, if your condominium documents
were created before 2018 and your documents do not contain
language that automatically incorporate amendments to The
Florida Condominium Act, the inquiry ends there. This new eight
year rule does not apply in your condominium.
See: PETER KNOWLES, MITCHELL LEGLER and TIMOTHY HORGAN,
Petitioners, v. EMERALD GRANDE WEST CONDOMIMIUM ASSOCIATION,
INC., PHILIP DUR, AND JAMES BOSSERMAN, PETER KNOWLES, MITCHELL
LEGLER and TIMOTHY HORGAN, Petitioners, v. EMERALD GRANDE WEST
CONDOMIMIUM ASSOCIATION, INC., PHILIP DUR, AND JAMES BOSSERMAN,
Respondents., Case No. 18-06-4179, June 25, 2019
Let’s say
there is Kaufman Language in your declaration and in this year’s
upcoming election, there are directors running for re-election
who have already served 8 consecutive years. Do we count all
the 8 years previously served, or do we start counting the 8
years from when the statute became effective in 2018?
This was
answered by the Division of Condominiums in a Declaratory
Statement regarding the Apollo Condominium Association. Case
No. 2018-023783 where it was held all prior years count.
So, when
administering your condo election it has become a little
harder. If there is no director running for re-election, there
is nothing to worry about. If there is such a director running
however, you first have to check if there is Kaufman Language in
your declaration. If there is not – nothing to worry about. If
there is, you must make sure that in order for that director to
get on the board, he or she only gets on if:
1.
They are approved by
an affirmative vote of unit owners representing two-thirds of
all votes cast in the election or;
2.
unless there are not
enough eligible candidates to fill the vacancies on the board at
the time of the vacancy.
The bottom line is……this is complicated stuff. If you’re unsure
as to how to apply this new law in your condo, ask your lawyer.
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About
HOA & Condo Blog
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Eric Glazer graduated from
the University of Miami School of Law in 1992 after
receiving a B.A. from NYU. He has practiced community
association law for more than 2
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decades and is the owner of Glazer
and Sachs, P.A. a seven attorney law firm with offices in
Fort Lauderdale and Orlando and satellite offices in Naples,
Fort Myers and Tampa.
Since 2009, Eric has been the host
of Condo Craze and HOAs, a weekly one hour radio show that airs
at noon each Sunday on 850 WFTL.
See:
www.condocrazeandhoas.com.
He is the first attorney in the
State of Florida that designed a course that certifies
condominium residents as eligible to serve on a condominium
Board of Directors and has now certified more than 10,000
Floridians all across the state. He is certified as a Circuit
Court Mediator by The Florida Supreme Court and has mediated
dozens of disputes between associations and unit owners. Eric
also devotes significant time to advancing legislation in the
best interest of Florida community association members.
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