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HAVE SOCIAL CLUBS SPECIAL RIGHTS?
By
Jan Bergemann
Published
April 21, 2017
All owners have the right to found a social club – no questions
asked. In my opinion the real question would be: Does a social
club in an association have special rights?
I think: Only if the board allows it!
Remember: Amenities and common property belong to all owners,
not just the members of a “Social Club.”
If the “Social Club” wants to use the amenity – like clubhouse
or pool area – without officially inviting all members of the
community to participate in the event the club has to jump
through the same hoops an owner has to jump through if he/she
wants to rent the amenity for a private party – like the wedding
of the daughter or a grill party at the pool for his football
buddies. They have to pay the “rent” and “cleaning fees” anybody
else renting the amenity has to pay. I think that most
communities have regulations as to the requirements of renting
the association’s amenities. Exactly these rules have to be
followed.
Such a social club is independent from the association – and has
no special rights whatsoever. On the other hand the association
board has no right to interfere with the club – or even try to
confiscate their funds.
Just because the members of the social club maybe as well
members of the association, doesn’t give the association board
the right to control the social club or its funds.
“Power corrupts – and more power corrupts even more.”
Only in this case the board has no power, while the social club
has no power to decide when they want to use the amenities for
their private purpose.
We are talking about two different entities – which in reality
have to try to get along without stepping on each others’ toes!
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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
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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
!
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