February 2017 – The Condo and HOA Law Bulletin

Effective July 1, 2016, § 83.683, Florida Statutes, requires landlords, condominium associations, cooperative associations and homeowners associations to process rental applications submitted by service members within seven days of submission. Within that seven day period, the landlord or association must notify the service member in writing of an application approval or denial and, if denied, the reason for the denial. If a rental application submitted by a service member is not timely denied, the landlord or the association must allow the lease to the service member if he or she has complied with all other terms of the application and lease. The statute applies to all “Service members,” which means any person serving as a member of the United States Armed Forces on active duty or state active duty and all members of the Florida National Guard and United States Reserve Forces. Continue reading “Limitations on Community Association Approval or Denial of Service Member Rental Applications”

The Second Amendment to the United States’ Constitution guarantees individuals the right to keep and bear arms. The Florida constitution contains a similar guarantee. With few exceptions, Florida law allows licensed individuals to carry concealed firearms in most public locations. Based on these constitutional and statutory rights under U.S. and Florida law, many owners residing in community associations believe that they also have the right to conceal-carry firearms when on their community’s common elements. In the absence of a provision in the community association’s governing documents, owners may exercise their lawful right to carry concealed firearms on common elements. However, who prevails when an owner’s constitutional and statutory rights conflict with a community association’s attempts to regulate the carrying and use of firearms on its common elements? Continue reading “Community Associations and the Second Amendment”