Clinton S. Morrell – The Condo and HOA Law Bulletin

New Florida Law Bars Community Associations from Prohibiting Law Enforcement Vehicles

On February 21, 2020, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law Senate Bill 476, which amends Chapters 718, 719, and 720 to bar condominium associations, co-ops, and homeowners associations, respectively, from prohibiting parking of law enforcement vehicles within the community. The statutory language incorporated into Chapters 718 and 719, and substantially similar language in Chapter 720, provides:

An association may not prohibit a law enforcement officer, as defined in s. 943.10(1), who is a unit owner, or who is a tenant, guest, or invitee of a unit owner, from parking his or her assigned law enforcement vehicle in an area where the unit owner, or the tenant, guest, or invitee of the unit owner, otherwise has a right to park. Continue reading “New Florida Law Bars Community Associations from Prohibiting Law Enforcement Vehicles”

What Every HOA and Condo in Transition/Turnover Should Know About Florida’s Statutes of Limitations and Repose

We are frequently retained by homeowners associations and condominium associations who have just undergone transition/turnover from developer control to control by the unit owners other than the developer. Two of the first questions we ask them are 1) what amenities and other common elements does the association own or is it required to maintain; and 2) has the association, in consultation with an engineer or other expert, inspected the common elements to ensure they are free from defects? We ask these questions right up front during our initial consultation because of Florida’s Statute of Limitations and Statute of Repose, which limit the time within which the Association may pursue recovery of expenses for needed repairs to the common elements from the developer or other individuals or entities arising from the improper design or construction. (Note: Applicable Statutes of Limitations and Repose differ according to the nature of the claim – this article focuses only on construction and design defect claims). Continue reading “What Every HOA and Condo in Transition/Turnover Should Know About Florida’s Statutes of Limitations and Repose”

Recounts: Difficulties Correcting HOA and Condo Election Ballot Count Errors After the Annual Meeting

Morrell.Clinton_thumb_@1x Floridians who were of age during the 2000 U.S. Presidential election know firsthand how controversial close elections, disputed results, and recounts can be. Disputed homeowners’ association and condominium association elections can be just as disruptive to the community. Since community associations are statutorily required to retain election materials for a period of time, one natural response to a disputed ballot count is to recount the election materials to determine proper results. However, arbitration decisions from the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulations’ Division of Condominiums, Timeshare and Mobile Homes (“Division”) cast substantial doubt on whether a community association, itself, may conduct a recount or correct election errors after conclusion of the annual meeting except when ordered to do so by the Division. Continue reading “Recounts: Difficulties Correcting HOA and Condo Election Ballot Count Errors After the Annual Meeting”

Limitations on Community Association Approval or Denial of Service Member Rental Applications

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”

Community Associations and the Second Amendment

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”