Blogs & Resources

In 2009, the Florida Legislature changed an existing law that was aimed to encourage “Florida-Friendly” landscaping in communities governed by homeowner associations. Under the State Water Resource Plan each water management district is required to design and implement an incentive program to encourage all local governments to adopt new ordinances requiring Florida-Friendly landscaping.

Section 718.121(4), Florida Statutes, requires a condo association to provide a delinquent condo owner with a Notice of Intent to File a Lien, along with a thirty-day notice, prior to filing a Claim of Lien. Section 718.121(4) was added to the Florida Statutes in July 2008, becoming effective at that time. Since that section was added, there has been no case law involving a violation of that specific section of the statute. However, there are statutory protections that a condo owner has, and there is case law regarding the consequences for a lienor for not following the proper procedures for filing a Claim of Lien. In sum, if the statutory lien process is not followed strictly, the lien will be invalidated. Practically, if a required thirty day notice is not provided prior to filing the condominium assessment claim of lien, the condominium owner can file a “Notice of Contest of Lien” pursuant to Section 718.116(5)(c), Florida Statutes, to have the lien invalidated. If the lien is invalidated, the Condominium Association must start the process anew.

Are you a business owner experiencing parking issues on your commercial property? How about a condominium association with parking issues on residential property? In Florida, private property owners, along with their agents, have authority under the Florida Statutes to tow unauthorized vehicles off their property. Fla. Stat. § 715.07 (2012). In doing so, you want to make sure you follow Florida law or else you may be liable for certain expenses and damages.

When it comes to community associations, nothing generates more conflicts and disputes than a hotly contested election for the association’s board of directors. Most often, the debate involves whether or not, under Florida law, a certain individual is even eligible to serve on the association’s board.

The Florida Statutes are clear—persons who purchase a residential foreclosure with outstanding assessments and dues attached to it are responsible for paying those past-due amounts to the governing association upon taking possession of the property. See Fla. Stat. § 718.116(1)(a) (applying to condominiums); see also Fla. Stat. § 720.3085(2) (applying to property governed by homeowners’ associations). This Florida law applies to banks as well.

Effective 1992, the Condominium Act requires arbitration of certain condominium disputes as an alternative to court litigation and also authorized mediation of such disputes. The objective of the program is to provide condominium unit owners and associations a just, speedy and inexpensive alternative to litigation in the court system.

Section 718.1255, Florida Statutes, defines which disputes are eligible for arbitration “as any disagreement between two or more parties and the authority of the board of directors or the association’s governing document”. An eligible dispute for arbitration requires any owner to take or not to take any action involving that owner’s unit, or involving the alteration or addition to a common area or element of the condominium property.

Florida’s Third District Court of Appeals has made it even harder for Florida’s associations to survive within this tough market environment. For decades, Florida law was interpreted as to always require the purchaser of a residential foreclosure to pay the past-due assessments owed to an association by the previous property owner. The Third District, however, has altered the interpretation of that law. In the case of Aventura Management, LLC v. Spiaggia, the Third DCA held that associations can now be considered jointly and severally liable for past-due assessments in certain situations. 105 So.3d 637 (Fla. 3d DCA 2013).

Nothing in life is free, and that applies to living in a nice neighborhood as well. Whether it is a neighborhood of condominiums or single family homes, the cost of maintenance and upkeep often falls to those living within that community. And when an association is delegated the duty of maintaining the neighborhood, that association will charge its residents a periodic assessment, which is due usually monthly or quarterly. Such associations function best when all property owners contribute by making timely assessment payments.

Likely not; however, the Court’s recent decision leaves the issue open to interpretation.  On March 7, 2013 the Florida Supreme Court published an opinion limiting the Economic Loss Rule to products liability actions.  Tiara Condominium Ass’n, Inc. v. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc., 38 Fla. L. Weekly S151a, WL 828003 […]

The depressed economy and housing market of the past several years has hit Florida’s timeshare industry especially hard. As unit owners become delinquent on their management fees and default on their payments, timeshare management associations find themselves in a credit crunch due to decreased revenues. Many associations are seeking ways to increase, or simply maintain, their revenue stream. If the association has the capacity and oversight capability, managing its own unit owner exchange program can be an excellent means of creating additional revenue.