By Eric Glazer, Esq.

Published December 9, 2013

Last legislative session, Jan and I tried valiantly to have The Florida Legislature pass legislation that would have allowed the Department of Business and Professional Regulation to assist Floridians who live in homeowner associations.  As you are aware, each owner of a Florida condominium unit pays $4.00 per year to the DBPR, and in return the DBPR provides, document examiners, investigators, educational materials, arbitrators, declaratory statements, an informational website with forms, and persons who can answer questions over the phone.  Not bad for about a penny per day.  Owners living in homeowner associations don't get any of these benefits and are often forced to have their questions answered and problems solved by hiring legal counsel and incurring the expense of same.

While most legislators I appeared in front of and/or met with were not against the idea of expanding the DBPR's jurisdiction to now encompass homeowner associations, most were concerned that nobody knew just how many HOAs there were or where they were located.  So, legislation was passed which required that HOAs register with the DBPR.  The deadline was November 23rd.

As of the deadline, over 12,700 homeowner associations across the state registered, encompassing over 2.2 million homes.  This is a great start to at least getting a handle on just how many of us live in HOAs.  I wouldn't be surprised however, if the real numbers are about twice as many.

So, what does this all mean?  I'll tell you what I see when I look at the list.  I see potentially the single most important block of voters in the state.  That list is powerful because any candidate who influences a majority of the homes on that list to vote for them is a safe bet to get elected.   So HOA owners,  if you want HOA reform and the same rights that condo owners have, support our bill at www.hoareformbill.net.  You are now a true force to be reckoned with.  The State of Florida now definitely knows you exist and those legislators not backing HOA reform may be sorry that they got exactly what they asked for when requiring all of you to register.