CHANGE IS NEEDED!
By
Rafael Aquino
Published October 9, 2019
Eric, Jan, and I have been saying it for years now... FS720 needs to
m irror FS718. The changes we are requesting don't impact any
special interest; however, action just isn't taken. I also can't
comprehend how some homeowners that live in these HOA's haven't
jumped on the bang wagon for the change. Could it be that they
don't know some of the hidden languages in FS720? With all the new
homes being built I wonder if these new owners really understand the
concerns that exits in the current laws. One example is…
720.3075 Prohibited clauses in association documents.—
(1) It is declared that the public policy of this state prohibits
the inclusion or enforcement of certain types of clauses in
homeowners’ association documents, including declaration of
covenants, articles of incorporation, bylaws, or any other document
of the association which binds members of the association, which
either have the effect of or provide that:
(a) A developer has the unilateral ability and right to make changes
to the homeowners’ association documents after the transition of
homeowners’ association control in a community from the developer to
the nondeveloper members, as set forth in s. 720.307,
has occurred.
(b) A homeowners’ association is prohibited or restricted from
filing a lawsuit against the developer, or the homeowners’
association is otherwise effectively prohibited or restricted from
bringing a lawsuit against the developer.
(c) After the transition of homeowners’ association control in a
community from the developer to the nondeveloper members, as set
forth in s. 720.307,
has occurred, a developer is entitled to cast votes in an amount
that exceeds one vote per residential lot.
If language doesn’t scare you I don’t know what will. I hope that
one day, change will come however, as I mentioned a few weeks back,
I won't hold my breath.
I'd love to hear from our readers that have recently purchased in an
HOA. Did you have any abuse from a developer? How did your
community deal with it?