|
RECORD REQUESTS LENGTHY LAWS, NO ENFORCEMENT!
By
Jan Bergemann
Published May 7, 2021
When State Representative Julio Robaina added
FS 718.501(1)(d)7. to the Condo Act, we thought we
had finally found an easy solution to force associations to hand
over documents they were trying to hide ignoring official
public record requests as detailed in FS 718.111(12).
The language of the provision requiring the Division to subpoena
records from the association is very simple and easy to
understand even for regular citizens who are not legal eagles.
7. If
a unit owner presents the division with proof that the unit
owner has requested access to official records in writing by
certified mail, and that after 10 days the unit owner again made
the same request for access to official records in writing by
certified mail, and that more than 10 days has elapsed since the
second request and the association has still failed or refused
to provide access to official records as required by this
chapter, the division shall issue a subpoena requiring
production of the requested records where the records are
kept pursuant to s. 718.112.
Gee, we were absolutely mistaken! Neither the sponsor of the
bill nor our organization who supported this bill had counted on
the unwillingness of the Division of Florida Condominiums,
Timeshares, and Mobile Homes to follow the provisions of the
law. Obviously they think they are above the law, like so many
other government workers, and use stupid excuses to
push away owners, who followed all the steps required by law of
making an official record request, only to be ignored by the
association.
Add the outright insulting responses by Chief Attorney James
Richardson and you know that this Division is about as useless
as a pimple.
I
sometimes wonder why laws are being enacted by the Florida
Legislature only to be ignored by the government agencies tasked
to enforce these laws.
|
|
 |
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
!
|
