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DRONES IN YOUR COMMUNITY? DON’T FORGET TO DUCK
By
Eric Glazer, Esq.
Published November 9, 2015
As if there wasn’t enough to worry about in your condo
or HOA, now we need to be concerned about flying objects that
can take pictures of us while we are sitting in our back yard or
even inside of our homes or condo units.
About two years ago, a client of the firm called
up and swore that a flying object was outside his condo unit
several stories up and that it was probably taking pictures of
him. To be honest, I figured he just walked out of his favorite
watering hole and certainly had more than one too many. Now,
after seeing that these drones actually exist, I’m sorry I
didn’t believe him.
Real estate agents are using drones to take amazing
pictures of the properties they are trying to sell. Police
agencies and the military use them to get better views of the
areas they are trying to protect and serve.
I hope by now you see where I’m going with this. Some
association boards will no doubt begin using drones to take
pictures of your home, your back yards and even the interior of
your home if they think you’re up to no good. The question
is….can they do it?
Some may argue that you have a reasonable
expectation of privacy in your own backyard. The courts however
don’t necessarily agree. You do however own the air rights over
your home, so if a drone is sitting directly over your home,
that certainly may be considered a trespass. Can you shoot it
down? Probably not without going to prison for discharging your
weapon. If you can reach it with a baseball bat though, I think
you’re good. That’s what I would do.
You do however have an expectation of privacy inside of
your home and using a drone to fly up to the windows of a unit
and look in is definitely going too far and will get the
association sued.
There are other issues to think about as well. What
happens if the association uses a drone that winds up crashing
and injuring someone? The association better make sure they have
the necessary insurance coverage. You may certainly want to ask
your agent.
What about limiting the use of drones in the community?
Certainly, if the board can use drones, the owners can too. Do
we now need reasonable rules and regulations regarding the use
of drones in the community?
You really have to admire technology and how it changes
our routines and way of life. I would love to keep writing but I
have to go. I ordered a pizza for dinner and it just landed on
the front lawn.
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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 Associates, 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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