REGULATORY AGENCY FOR HOAs (FS 720)?

By Jan Bergemann

Published February 7, 2025

 

Well, it looks like a good start for something that is long overdue: A REGULATORY AGENCY for homeowners’ associations? Two bills creating some sort of regulation for homeowners’ associations have been filed so far:  SB 120/HB 137 (creating the Office of the Homeowners’ Association Ombudsman) and SB 368 (creating a Condominium and Homeowners’ Association Economic Crime, Fraud, and Corruption Investigation Pilot Program. This bill would task the Office of the Ombudsman to review complaints about corruption, embezzlement and other “scams” and take the necessary action.

 

The bills ask for funding of these newly created offices by the CONDO TRUST FUND.  There is plenty of money in this fund, because only about half of the money collected is actually been really used for the purpose intended. The remainder of the funds collected normally “disappears” into the general tax fund.

 

Since about twenty years we are trying to explain to the legislators that there would be a very easy solution: Add HOAs (FS 720) to the jurisdiction of the Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes.

 

There are more than 2.5 million homes in Florida’s mandatory homeowners’ associations regulated by FS 720. Make them pay $2 annually, creating a revenue of more than $5million. If these funds are being added to the Condo Trust Fund, there would be more than enough money to fiancé a well-equipped and staffed regulatory agency – and the annual fees for condominiums could be even lowered to $2 annually as well.

 

Wouldn’t that be just the COMMON SENSE solution, now at a time when our government is starting to use common sense again – instead of WOKE and DEI?

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Jan Bergemann

Jan Bergemann is president of Cyber Citizens For Justice, Florida 's largest state-wide property owners' advocacy group. CCFJ works on legislation to help owners living in community associations.

 

He moved to Florida in 1995 - hoping to retire. He moved into a HOA, where the developer cheated the homeowners and used the association dues for his own purposes. End of retirement!

 

CCFJ was born in the year 2000, when some owners met in Tallahassee - finding out that power is only in numbers. Bergemann was a member of Governor Jeb Bush's HOA Task force in 2003/2004.

 

The organization has two websites to inform interested Florida homeowners and condo owners:

 

News Website:

http://www.ccfj.net/.

Educational Website: http://www.ccfjfoundation.net/.

   
We think that only owners can really represent owners, since all service providers surely have a different interest! We are trying to create owner-friendly laws, but the best laws are useless without enforcement. And enforcement is totally lacking in Florida !