HERE THEY ARE………..THE NEW ASSOCIATION LAWS FOR 2018
By
Eric Glazer, Esq.
Published April 2, 2018
Some years are quiet when it
comes to the passage of new laws affecting Florida community
associations. This was definitely not one of those years. Here
are the new laws in summary form as a result of the passage of
HB 841.
718.111 ---- OFFICIAL RECORDS:
The law now makes it clear that the association must maintain
the declaration, bylaws, articles, rules, plans, permits,
warranties and minutes of meetings from the inception of the
association. All other “official records” must be maintained
for seven (7) years.
718.112 --- NOTICES OF
MEETINGS: Notice of any meeting in which regular or special
assessments against unit owners are tobe considered must
specifically state that assessments will be considered and
provide the estimated cost and description of thepurposes for
such assessments. In addition to any of the authorized means of
providing notice of a meeting of the board, the association may,
by rule, adopt a procedure for conspicuously posting the meeting
notice and the agenda on a website serving the condominium
association for at least the minimum period of time for which a
notice of a meeting is also required to bephysically posted on
the condominium property. Any rule adopted shall, in addition to
other matters, include a requirement that the association send
an electronic notice in the same manner as a notice for a
meeting of the members, which must include ahyperlink to the
website where the notice is posted, to unit owners whose e-mail
addresses are included in the association's official records.
718.111 --- REQUIREMENT TO PLACE
OFFICIAL RECORDS ON A WEBSITE:
By January 1, 2019, an association with
150 or more units which does not manage timeshare units shall
post digital copies of the documents specified in subparagraph
2. on its website. The association's website must be: An
independent website or web portal wholly owned and by the
association; otherwise obtains the right to operate a web page,
subpage, web portal, or collection of subpages or web portals
dedicated to the association's activities and on which required
notices, records, and documents may be posted by the
association.
The association's website must be accessible
through the Internet and must contain a subpage, web portal, or
other protected electronic location that is inaccessible to the
general public and accessible only to unit owners and employees
of the association. Upon a unit owner's written request, the
association must provide the unit owner with a username and
password and access to the protected sections of the
association's website that contain any notices, records, or
documents that must be electronically provided. A current copy
of the official records must be posted in digital format on the
association's website: except for those records that must be
kept confidential. In addition: The notice of any unit owner
meeting and the agenda for the annual meeting must be posted no
later than 14 days before the meeting. The notice must be posted
in plain view on the front page of the website, or on a separate
subpage of the website labeled "Notices" which is conspicuously
visible and linked from the front page. The association must
also post on its website any document to be considered and voted
on by the owners during the meeting or any document listed on
the agenda at least 7 days before the meeting at which the
document or the information within the document will be
considered. Notice of any board meeting, the agenda, and any
other document required for the annual meeting must be posted no
later than the date required for notice pursuant to s.
718.112(2)(c). The association shall ensure that the
information and records that are required to be kept
confidential are not posted.
718.112 –TERM LIMITS FOR BOARD MEMBERS:
A board member may not serve more than 8 consecutive
years four consecutive 2-year terms, unless approved by an
affirmative vote of unit owners representing two-thirds of all
votes cast in the election the total voting interests of the
association or unless there are not enough eligible candidates
to fill the vacancies on the board at the time of the vacancy.
718.707- BULK BUYERS – BULK ASSIGNEES
: The “bulk buyer” statute no longer sunsets on July 1st,
2018. This means that it may be more difficult for unit owners
to object to large scale owners controlling a majority of the
seats on their board.
718.113 MATERIAL ALTERATIONS:
Clarifies existing law that unless otherwise stated in the
governing documents, 75 percent of the total voting interests of
the association must approve the alterations or additions before
the material alterations or substantial additions are commenced.
718.112 – RECALLS : Clarifies
that a board must hold a meeting within five days of the service
of the recall ballots, and such member or members shall be
recalled effective immediately upon conclusion of the board
meeting provided that the recall is facially valid. If the
board fails to duly notice and hold the required meeting or at
the conclusion of the meeting determines that the recall is not
facially valid, the unit owner representative may file a
petition pursuant to s. 718.1255 challenging the board's failure
to act or challenging the board's determination on facial
validity. If a board member challenges his or her recall, the
petition may challenge the facial validity of the written
agreement or ballots filed or the substantial compliance with
the procedural requirements for the recall. If the arbitrator
determines the recall was invalid, the petitioning board member
shall immediately be reinstated and the recall is null and void.
A board member who is successful in challenging a recall is
entitled to recover reasonable attorney fees and costs.
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: A
declaration of condominium or restrictive covenant may not
prohibit or be enforced so as to prohibit any unit owner from
installing an electric vehicle charging station within the
boundaries of the unit owner's limited common element parking
area. The board of administration of a condominium association
may not prohibit a unit owner from installing an electric
vehicle charging station for an electric vehicle, as defined in
s. 320.01, within the boundaries of his or her limited common
element parking area. The installation of such charging stations
are subject to the provisions of this subsection. (b) The
installation may not cause irreparable damage to the condominium
property (c) The electricity for the electric vehicle charging
station must be separately metered and payable by the unit owner
installing such charging station. (d) The unit owner who is
installing an electric vehicle charging station is responsible
for the costs of installation, operation, maintenance, and
repair, including, but not limited to, hazard and liability
insurance. The association may enforce payment of such costs
pursuant to s. 718.116. (f) The association may require the
unit owner to: 1. Comply with bona fide safety requirements,
consistent with applicable building codes or recognized safety
standards, for the protection of persons and property. 2. Comply
with reasonable architectural standards adopted by the
association that govern the dimensions, placement, or external
appearance of the electric vehicle charging station, provided
that such standards may not prohibit the installation of such
charging station or substantially increase the cost thereof. 3.
Engage the services of a licensed and registered electrical
contractor or engineer familiar with the installation and core
requirements of an electric vehicle charging station. 4. Provide
a certificate of insurance naming the association as an
additional insured on the owner's insurance policy for any claim
related to the installation, maintenance, or use of the electric
vehicle charging station within 14 days after receiving the
association's approval to install such charging station. 5.
Reimburse the association for the actual cost of any increased
insurance premium amount attributable to the electric vehicle
charging station within 14 days after receiving the
association's insurance premium invoice. (g) The association
provides an implied easement across the common elements of the
condominium property to the unit owner for purposes of the
installation of the electric vehicle charging station and the
furnishing of electrical power, including any necessary
equipment, to such charging station, subject to the requirements
of this subsection.
718.112 - SERVICE PROVIDERS; CONFLICTS
OF INTEREST : Last year, The Florida Legislature
prohibited an association from entering into a contract for
goods and services with any company wherein a member of the
Board or a member of the Board member’s family, had a financial
interest. That was repealed. Now, such a contract is allowed,
if the conflict is disclosed, two-thirds of the non interested
directors approve of the contract At the next regular or special
meeting of the members, the existence of the contract or other
transaction shall be disclosed to the members. Upon motion of
any member, the contract or transaction shall be brought up fora
vote and may be canceled by a majority vote of the members
present. If the contract is canceled, the association is only
liable for the reasonable value of the goods and services
provided up to the time of cancellation and is not liable for
any termination fee, liquidated damages, or other form of
penalty for such cancellation.
718.303 AND 720.305 – FINES: If
the proposed fine or suspension is approved by the committee,
the fine payment is due 5 days after the date of the committee
meeting at which the fine is approved. The association must
provide written notice of such fine or suspension by mail or
hand delivery to the unit owner and, if applicable, to any
tenant, licensee, or invitee of the unit owner.
720.303 – E-MAIL:
In HOAs - Members of the board of administration may use e-mail
as a means of communication, but may not cast a vote on an
association matter via e-mail.
720.306 DOCUMENT
AMENDMENTS IN AN HOA
– Adopts the
condominium method of how unit owners approve amendments. Words
to be added to the existing text must be underlined. Words to
be removed from the existing text are stricken-thru. However,
If the proposed change is so extensive that underlining and
striking through language would hinder, rather than assist, the
understanding of the proposed amendment, a notation must be
inserted immediately preceding the proposed amendment in
substantially the following form: "Substantial rewording. See
governing documents for current text." Clarifies that just like
in a condo, an amendment to a governing document is effective
when recorded in the public records of the county in which the
community is located.
720.306 HOA ELECTIONS
- If an election is not required because there are either an
equal number or fewer qualified candidates than vacancies exist,
and if nominations from the floor are not required pursuant to
this section or the bylaws, write-in nominations are not
permitted and such qualified candidates shall commence service
on the board of directors, regardless of whether a quorum is
attained at the annual meeting.
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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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