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WHICH FLAG CAN YOU FLY?
By
Eric Glazer, Esq.
Published July 8, 2024
I
hope everyone had a great 4th of July long weekend.
More than any other day of the year, it certainly is the day to
fly the flag proudly.
We all know that the statutes for both condos and HOAs state
that owners may
display a United States flag in a respectful way, and on certain
other days, flags that represent the United States Army, Navy,
Air Force, Marine Corps, Space Force, or Coast Guard, regardless
of any provisions in the governing documents dealing with flags
or decorations. The HOA statute even allows for the flying of
first responder flags.
I received a great call on the Condo Craze and HOA show last
week from Michael in Boynton Beach. Mike is a member of a condo
board. Since October 7th, 2023 a lot of residents in
his community are flying the Israeli flag in light of the
massacre and atrocities by Hamas. The Board is getting ready to
tell people to take down their Israeli flags. Michael says, not
so fast.
Michael wants his board adopt “The War Exclusion Rule” that
states:
If a country that you care about is at war with another entity
and that country is recognized as such by The United States
government you can show your support for that country by flying
their flag for the duration of the war.
Michael’s Board is inclined to go along with this new rule.
At first, I started to tell Michael that the Board can force
owners to take down their Israeli flags. Then, when he told me
about this proposed new rule, I changed my mind.
The flag statutes as found in statutes 718, 719 and 720 only
assure owners the right to fly the American flag, even if there
is a prohibition against same in the governing documents. These
statutes don’t say that you cannot fly the flags of other
nations, even if the Board makes a rule allowing for the flying
of other flags.
While I’m not sure what is meant by the language “and that
country is recognized as such by The United States government” I
am assuming it means that as long as it is a country not at war
with The United States, a country that is at war with an ally of
The United States or a country that The United States has
declared a “state sponsor of terrorism.” Again, reasonable.
So, as I explained to Mike, if the rule is carefully drafted, it
should absolutely be legal. Then the question becomes, will the
rule create tremendous disharmony in the community and drive
some people to anger and even fighting and destruction of
property at the mere sight of some of these flags? Remember,
you have to be careful of what you wish for, because you may get
it.
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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 three decades and is the owner of
Glazer and Sachs, P.A. a five attorney law firm with
offices in Fort Lauderdale and Orlando.
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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.
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