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WHEN
YOUR BELONGINGS
AND
YOUR DOCS GO OUT THE WINDOW
By
Eric Glazer, Esq.
Published June 16, 2014
It’s
officially hurricane season here in
Florida
. Pretty soon, the
media will be trying to scare the bejesus out of us the minute
a single cloud rolls off of
Africa
’s west coast. We
all know how lucky we’ve been for close to a decade now, but
one day our luck will again run out.
Imagine for a moment that your condo is extensively
damaged and following the laws and rules are much more difficult
that ordinary.
Florida
law contemplates these scenarios and grants Boards some
extraordinary powers when disaster strikes.
Here is the statute:
The
board of administration, in response to damage caused by an
event for which a state of emergency is declared pursuant to s.
252.36 in the locale in which the condominium is located, may,
but is not required to, exercise the following powers:
(a)
Conduct board meetings
and membership meetings with notice given as is practicable.
Such notice may be given in any practicable manner, including
publication, radio,
United States
mail, the Internet, public service announcements, and
conspicuous posting on the condominium property or any other
means the board deems reasonable under the circumstances. Notice
of board decisions may be communicated as provided in this
paragraph.
(b)
Cancel and reschedule
any association meeting.
(c)
Name as assistant
officers persons who are not directors, which assistant officers
shall have the same authority as the executive officers to whom
they are assistants during the state of emergency to accommodate
the incapacity or unavailability of any officer of the
association.
(d)
Relocate the
association’s principal office or designate alternative
principal offices.
(e)
Enter into agreements
with local counties and municipalities to assist counties and
municipalities with debris removal.
(f)
Implement a disaster
plan before or immediately following the event for which a state
of emergency is declared which may include, but is not limited
to, shutting down or off elevators; electricity; water, sewer,
or security systems; or air conditioners.
(g)
Based upon advice of
emergency management officials or upon the advice of licensed
professionals retained by the board, determine any portion of
the condominium property unavailable for entry or occupancy by
unit owners, family members, tenants, guests, agents, or
invitees to protect the health, safety, or welfare of such
persons.
(h)
Require the evacuation
of the condominium property in the event of a mandatory
evacuation order in the locale in which the condominium is
located. Should any unit owner or other occupant of a
condominium fail or refuse to evacuate the condominium property
where the board has required evacuation, the association shall
be immune from liability or injury to persons or property
arising from such failure or refusal.
(i)
Based upon advice of
emergency management officials or upon the advice of licensed
professionals retained by the board, determine whether the
condominium property can be safely inhabited or occupied.
However, such determination is not conclusive as to any
determination of habitability pursuant to the declaration.
(j)
Mitigate further
damage, including taking action to contract for the removal of
debris and to prevent or mitigate the spread of fungus,
including, but not limited to, mold or mildew, by removing and
disposing of wet drywall, insulation, carpet, cabinetry, or
other fixtures on or within the condominium property, even if
the unit owner is obligated by the declaration or law to insure
or replace those fixtures and to remove personal property from a
unit.
(k)
Contract, on behalf of
any unit owner or owners, for items or services for which the
owners are otherwise individually responsible, but which are
necessary to prevent further damage to the condominium property.
In such event, the unit owner or owners on whose behalf the
board has contracted are responsible for reimbursing the
association for the actual costs of the items or services, and
the association may use its lien authority provided by s.
718.116 to enforce collection of the charges. Without
limitation, such items or services may include the drying of
units, the boarding of broken windows or doors, and the
replacement of damaged air conditioners or air handlers to
provide climate control in the units or other portions of the
property.
(l)
Regardless of any
provision to the contrary and even if such authority does not
specifically appear in the declaration of condominium, articles,
or bylaws of the association, levy special assessments without a
vote of the owners.
(m)
Without unit owners’
approval, borrow money and pledge association assets as
collateral to fund emergency repairs and carry out the duties of
the association when operating funds are insufficient. This
paragraph does not limit the general authority of the
association to borrow money, subject to such restrictions as are
contained in the declaration of condominium, articles, or bylaws
of the association.
(2)
The special powers
authorized under subsection (1) shall be limited to that time
reasonably necessary to protect the health, safety, and welfare
of the association and the unit owners and the unit owners’
family members, tenants, guests, agents, or invitees and shall
be reasonably necessary to mitigate further damage and make
emergency repairs.
So
what do you think? Should
the rules be relaxed after a disaster?
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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 is currently entering his 20th year as a
Florida
lawyer practicing |
community association law and is the owner of
Glazer and Associates, P.A. an eight attorney law firm in
Orlando
and Hollywood. For the past two years Eric has been the host of Condo Craze and
HOAs, a weekly one hour radio show 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 7,500 Floridians. He is certified as a
Circuit Court Mediator by The Florida Supreme Court and has
mediated dozens of disputes between associations and unit
owners. Finally, he recently argued the Cohn v. Grand
Condominium case before The Florida Supreme Court, which is
perhaps the single most important association law case decided
by the court in a decade.
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