Director Removal Does Not Require Good Cause

Associations, Board of Directors, Law, Q&A

Q: Until recently, I was the president of my condominium association. However, certain unit owners were unhappy with the decisions I had made and pushed through a recall. While I do not dispute that they obtained recall agreements signed by a majority of the unit...

New HOA Fining Law Took Effect October 1

Associations, Law, Q&A

Q: You had previously written about some new changes that are coming up about how to handle fines in homeowners’ association. Can you give a brief summary of what we need to do? (M.J., via e-mail) A: Several new homeowners’ association laws became effective October 1,...

New HOA Law Addresses Storage

Associations, Law, Q&A

Q: At a recent event I attended, someone mentioned a new rule that prohibits sheds on a single-family property in a HOA. I could not find any reference for that in your 2023 legislative reviews. It seems someone may have misunderstood or misinterpreted one of changes...

Are Those Under Age 18 a Protected Class?

Associations, Law

In 1988, Congress added “familial status” – defined to include those family groups with children under 18 – to the list of protected groups under the Fair Housing Act (“FHA”). Since that time, condominiums and homeowner’s associations have been discovering that...

Navigating the Complex World of HOA Architectural Control

Associations, Law

What does a Homeowners Association, under Chapter 720, Florida Statutes, need to bear in mind when evaluating architectural modification requests from its members? In the case, Young v. Tortoise Island Homeowners Association, Inc., the court reasoned that, in the...

Backyard Storage Woes: Does the New Backyard Storage Statute Apply to Your Homeowners Association?

Associations, Law, Q&A

While there has been a lot of buzz about changes made in the 2023 Florida Legislative Session to laws affecting our Association clients, one potentially important change has been largely overlooked. The seemingly innocuous flag bill – House Bill (HB) 437 — creates the...

Voting Requirements After Merger Questioned

Associations, Board of Directors, Law, Q&A

Q: In your previous column from 2022, it clearly addresses which documents control in the example of when a sub-association’s documents are stricter than the master. Which documents prevail in the following situation? My community had a master association and also...

Emergency Voting by E-mail Questioned

Associations, Board of Directors, Law, Q&A

Q: I am on the board of my condominium association, and we are in the process of repairing our building following damage from Hurricane Ian last year. The board of directors must make numerous decisions regarding the reconstruction process. To facilitate the...

Board Term Limits Questioned

Associations, Board of Directors, Law, Q&A

Q: I recall that a few years ago there was a lot of discussion regarding term limits for board members. I have not heard anything about term limits recently and know that a number of board members in my community have served for a long time. What is the term limit for...

Housing For Older Persons

Associations, Community, Law

In 1968 the Federal Fair Housing Act (also known as Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act) was enacted to prohibit discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Subsequently, in 1988 the Act was amended to add discrimination based on disability...