CONDO RECORDS AND THE NEW CHECKLIST LAW
By
Eric Glazer, Esq.
Published May 20, 2024
Suppose you ask for access to certain condominium records,
they are never given to you, but months later the
association says they were? What do you do now?
Well, for condominiums only The Florida Legislature attempts
to address this issue in House Bill 1021 which goes into
effect July 1st and says:
In
response to a written request to inspect records, the
association must simultaneously provide to the requestor a
checklist of all records made available for inspection and
copying. The checklist must also identify any of the
association's official records that were not made available
to the requestor. An association must maintain a checklist
provided under this sub-subparagraph for 7 years. An
association delivering a checklist pursuant to this
sub-subparagraph creates a rebuttable presumption that the
association has complied with this paragraph.
I guess it
could look something like this:
Item
Requested |
Outcome |
1.
Minutes of meetings for the past
year: |
Made Available |
2.
2024 Bank statements: |
Not Made Available |
3.
Bills from Joe’s Plumbing for
2024: |
Made Available |
4.
Agendas for the Year 2019: |
Not Made Available |
Looks simple enough. These checklists will also be official
records of the association, meaning that any owner is
entitled to get a copy of these checklists. That may come
in handy when you’re trying to prove that certain people get
access to the records and some don’t. For example, suppose
you’re given the above checklist and then you get your hands
on another checklist given to another owner that says “Made
Available” where “2024 Bank statements” are asked for?
For heaven’s sake, just put everything on a password
protected website and point everyone there.
|
|
About
HOA & Condo Blog
|
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 three decades and is the owner of
Glazer and Sachs, P.A. a five attorney law firm with
offices in Fort Lauderdale and Orlando.
|
Eric is Board Certified by The Florida Bar in
Condominium and Planned Development Law.
Since 2009, Eric
has been the host of Condo Craze and HOAs, a weekly one-hour
radio show airing at 11 a.m. each Sunday on 850 WFTL. Recently,
he moved the show to YouTube, transforming it into a more
dynamic and interactive experience. This move not only allows
viewers to engage in live chats with Eric and other participants
but also enables a broader audience to access free advice,
making valuable insights more widely available.
See:
www.condocrazeandhoas.com.
Eric is the first attorney in the State of
Florida that designed a course that certifies condominium and
HOA residents as eligible to serve on a Board of Directors and
has now certified more than 20,000 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.
|