Community Association election season is still going strong. One often asked question during this time is whether an unpaid fine makes an owner ineligible for the board. Simply put, an owner is not eligible to run for the board if he does not pay the fine in full by the statutory deadline. The Condominium Act confirms that a person who is delinquent in the payment of any “monetary obligation” due to the association is not eligible to run for the board. The term “monetary obligation” is a broad term and it includes not only assessments but also other types of indebtedness, including fines. This same statute also states that any unit owner in a residential condominium desiring to be a candidate for the board must be eligible to be a candidate at the time of the deadline for submitting the notice of intent to run (40 days before the election) in order to have his or her name listed as a proper candidate on the ballot. If this owner does not pay the fine in full by this deadline, they are not eligible to run for the board and their name should not be listed on the ballot. Similar language concerning delinquency and eligibility exists in both the Homeowners Association Act and the Cooperative Act.
Originally posted on floridacondohoalawblog.com Written by David G. Muller of Becker & Poliakoff, P.A.,