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Free Property Fraud Alerts for Palm Beach and Broward Counties

Friday, April 9th, 2021 in Announcements, Condo, HOA, Legal, Safety, Technology by FAN

Property Fraud Alert | Clerk of the Circuit Court & Comptroller, Palm Beach  County

Property fraud is a very serious issue which, according to the FBI, is the fastest growing white-collar crime in the United States. This crime occurs when criminals file fraudulent deeds to transfer ownership and then try to mortgage, sell, or rent your property.

Fortunately, there are free services offered that help to protect your property from fraud. Both Broward and Palm Beach Counties offer these services which, if used, send you a notification whenever a document is recorded under your name or property. Receiving one of these alerts early on can provide you with valuable time to stop the criminal activity.

Below are the links to the Palm Beach County and Broward County sites:

  • Broward County Owner Alert Site – Click Here
  • Palm Beach County Property Fraud Alert– Click Here

Signing up for these alerts is quick, free, and only requires some basic information to confirm your identity. You are also able to cancel your free subscription at any time.

by Evan Bradley, CFO, Campbell Property Management

Tags alerts, Broward, fraud, free service, Palm Beach, Property Fraud No Comments »

Vaccination ID’s; To Require or Not to Require | Association Liability Protection | Upcoming Events

Wednesday, April 7th, 2021 in Announcements, Condo, Health, HOA, Legal, Management, Uncategorized by FAN

Rembaum’s Association Roundup

Vaccination ID’s: To Require or Not to Require, That Is The Question

Florida’s community association board members are wrestling with many amenity re-opening decisions these days. One such decision is whether or not to open the community clubhouse including the card rooms, bingo, and even off-Broadway like shows. As a part of that decision making process, board members may be considering requiring proof of vaccination as a pre-requisite to such use.

While ultimately a decision within the business judgment of the board, requiring proof of vaccination prior to allowing use of an association amenity is not recommended. Do you remember the ol’ adage, “no good deed goes unpunished?” Well, requiring proof of vaccination from the members prior to allowing use of the clubhouse, no matter how well intended, could likely lead to significant and costly problems for the association who fails to heed the warnings set out in this article.

When acquiring medical information of members, the board’s duty, pursuant to relevant law, is to keep such acquired medical information confidential. Requiring proof of vaccination to use amenities will no doubt lead to a significant breach of that duty.

Another reason not to require proof of vaccination is that doing so will lead to creating two classes of members. The vaccinated members who are allowed to use the amenities and the unvaccinated members who are not allowed to use the amenities. Yet, all members pay for access to use the amenities in proportion to their assessment obligation. Therefore, this practice could expose the association to adverse litigation from the upset unvaccinated members.

If the aforementioned two reasons are not sufficient to dissuade you, then consider this: A member may choose not be vaccinated for religious reasons. In this situation, by requiring proof of vaccination the association will be exposing itself to a claim of religious discrimination.

If the association opens an amenity, then the amenity should be available to all members for use without consideration of vaccination. If that is a concern, then perhaps waiting a short while longer to open the clubhouse or other amenity makes the most sense. Remember, too, that when you do re-open to adhere to CDC protocols as may be appropriate for your community such as mask wearing, social distancing, and sanitizing. As a part of the re-opening procedure, please consult with your association’s attorney regarding the do’s and don’ts.

Community Associations Protected by Limited Liability Law

[As presented by Community Associations Institute Florida Legislative Alliance]

On Monday, March 29 Governor DeSantis signed SB 72 into law granting liability protection to businesses and entities, such as religious institutions and community associations, from lawsuits related to COVID-19 exposure if they made a good faith effort to follow all federal, state, and local public health guidelines.

The protections provided in this bill are important to CAI Florida Legislative Alliance (CAI-FLA). CAI is honored to have been a part of the Florida RESET task force, a coalition of organizations dedicated to reopening Florida safely that assisted in drafting and passing this legislation. In August of 2020, this working group announced their three priority legislative proposals, each of which were included in SB 72 which has been signed into law.

Specifically, the RESET Task Force’s draft legislation authorized limited cause of action for COVID-19 related claims with:

  • a heightened culpability standard: to establish liability, the defendant must have acted with gross negligence or intentional conduct;
  • a heightened evidentiary standard: clear and convincing evidence is required to establish liability, rather than a mere preponderance of the evidence; and
  • a shortened statute of limitations.

Jeffrey Rembaum’s, Esq. of Kaye, Bender, Rembaum attorneys at law, legal practice consists of representation of condominium, homeowner, commercial and mobile home park associations, as well as exclusive country club communities and the developers who build them. Mr. Rembaum is a Certified Specialist in Condominium and Planned Development Law. He is the creator of ‘Rembaum’s Association Roundup’, an e-magazine devoted to the education of community association board members, managers, developers and anyone involved with Florida’s community associations.  His column appears monthly in the Florida Community Association Journal. Every year since 2012, Mr. Rembaum has been selected to the Florida Super Lawyers list and was also named Legal Elite by Florida Trends Magazine. He can be reached at 561-241-4462.


Tags CAI, Covid-19, Events, Limited law liability, Re-opening, Rembaum Association Roundup, Vaccination No Comments »

Smarter Violations in Your Large HOA

Tuesday, March 23rd, 2021 in Announcements, HOA, Management, Staff, Technology, Uncategorized, Vendors by FAN

Does your HOA have 500 units, 1000 units or 2000 units?  How effective is your inspection process? Are tours completed in a routinely and timely manner? The reason this may not be happening is because the process is just too time consuming, and the manager is consistently putting it off in favor of less time-consuming tasks.  

The good news is that the days of patrolling large communities with a pen and paper to take note of violations are fading away. The huge growth of wireless connectivity and GPS has led to software that can streamline an Association’s processes. If your Association’s violation process still relies on pen and paper, then talking to your management company about a more sophisticated violation software may be worth the while.

There are various advantages to utilizing GPS enabled violations software in your community, outweighing the costs. The new violation software is cloud-based, it tracks your location in the community via GPS, can be used on-the-go with mobile devices, and updates in real time across all users.

Some benefits of being able to use the software on-the-go are:

  • Community maps with color coding for easy identification of homes
  • GPS mapping to pull up addresses near you in real time
  • Documenting violations in real time
  • Photo uploads with notes and time stamps
  • Notify homeowners electronically with one click

All the input from the community inspection is automatically updated in real time across all users and devices via the cloud, including the office staff and board members.

Office staff and board members will be able to continue the inspector’s work by easily managing the information on the violation portal. This includes having the ability to:

  • Review, edit, print, and process violation letters
  • View various styles of reports
  • Access a dashboard for additional resources

Utilizing a GPS enabled violations software for your large HOA community is a great idea if your Association is looking to operate the violation process with increased efficiency.  Speak with your management company today if you think your community could take advantage of this service.

by Evan Bradley, CFO, Campbell Property Management

Tags Association, HOA, inspection, software, Violations No Comments »

The 2021 Florida Legislative Preview, as Related to Community Associations | The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Monday, March 22nd, 2021 in Announcements, Condo, HOA, Legal, Management, Uncategorized by FAN

Rembaum’s Association Roundup

Welcome to Rembaum’s Association Roundup’s 2021 legislative preview. The 2021 legislative session began on March 2 and ends April 30. Not only are all of the Bills discussed below subject to multiple changes, whether any of the Bills discussed below will become the law of the land remains to be seen.  Unless otherwise clarified, the proposed legislation discussed below applies to condominium, cooperative, and homeowners’ associations.

House Bill 7 provides for relief from liability for Covid -19 related claims. This Bill provides protection from claims for damages, injuries, or death. While community associations are not specifically named in the legislation, corporations not- for- profit are included as are for profit business entities and charitable organizations. Corporations not- for- profit include the overwhelming majority of Florida’s community associations. At the time a plaintiff files a lawsuit at the courthouse, the plaintiff must also submit an affidavit signed by a physician actively licensed in the state of Florida which attests to the physician’s belief, within a reasonable degree of medical certainty, that the plaintiff’s Covid – 19 related damages, injury or death occurred as a result of the defendant’s acts or omissions. At this very early stage of the proceedings, admissible evidence is limited to the evidence demonstrating whether the defendant made a good faith effort to substantially comply with authoritative or controlling government issued health standards for guidance at the time the cause of action accrued. If the court determines that the defendant made such a good faith effort, then the defendant is immune from civil liability. If the court determines that the defendant did not make such a good faith effort, then the plaintiff’s case may proceed. However, absent at least gross negligence proven by clear and convincing evidence, the defendant is not liable for any act or omission relating to a Covid – 19 related claim (a very difficult burden for the plaintiff to accomplish).

Senate Bill 1638 provides for a new condominium fraud investigation pilot program to be created within the Florida Division of Condominium, Timeshares and Mobile Homes of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation. The pilot program’s purpose is to facilitate the Division’s investigation of condominium related to fraud and corruption and is being initially tested only in Broward, Miami-Dade, and Monroe Counties. As a part of the legislation, the Division will be required to hire three financial investigators, five investigators with law enforcement experience and three clerical employees. For the purposes of the pilot program all monies are to be made available from the Division’s existing funds. From this writer’s point of view, the Division already needs additional funding to carry out its current duties and responsibilities. This Bill, while no doubt well intended, creates additional financial burdens on the Division with no clear funding source available.

Senate Bill 56 provides for yet another opportunity for a delinquent owner to bring their delinquent account current and avoid having to pay attorney’s fees. If the association sends out a statement of account, the association is required to provide a statement of account that designates the name of the owner, the due date and amount of each assessment, the amount paid on the account, and the balance due. In essence, this Bill adds additional financial burdens on the rest of the association’s membership who timely pay their assessments. A careful reading of this legislation suggests that while attorneys’ fees cannot be collected for sending such a letter, management companies may be able to do so because they are specifically not precluded in the legislation from doing so.

This particular legislation is somewhat surprising because everyone who lives in an association is aware that assessments are due for the overwhelmingly most part, either monthly or quarterly. As a matter of course, management companies routinely send out late notices as well. This legislation accomplishes nothing more than creating additional legislative and financial hurdles prior to the Assocation being able to proceed in collections against delinquent owners.  The only members who benefit from this legislation are the delinquent owners while it punishes those who timely pay their assessments.

Senate Bill 1998 provides for additional rights of owners pertaining to value adjustment board decisions and disputes with the Association.  Should the association initiate such a challenge, by way of this legislation, the affected association members are not necessarily considered indispensable parties to the action. This is important protection so as to protect the association from unfair dismissals of such actions when all members are not names in the litigation.  

This Bill also makes patently clear that any officer director or manager who knowingly solicits, offers to accept or except anything or service of value or kickback commits a felony of the 3rd degree which is punishable by up to five years in jail. 

To the itemized list of what comprises the “official records” of the association, this Bill adds all bank statements, cancel checks and credit card statements, all invoices transaction receipts, deposit slips or other underlying documentation that substantiate any receipt or expenditure of funds by the association. In addition, this legislation provides that all official records must be maintained in a manner and format prescribed by Division rule so that they are easily accessible for inspection. 

Presently, even if electronic records are stored on the website of the association, in the event of a member request for official records, pointing the requesting person to the records on the association’s website does not satisfy the current requirements making records available to owners. Senate Bill 1998 changes this to provide that the association may fulfill its obligations of providing access to the official records by directing the individual to the  website of the association’s so long as the records are posted on the website.

Of great concern is this next item set out in Senate Bill 1998 that will consume an inordinate amount of the manager’s (or a board member’s) time as related to each and every record request. In short, in response to a statutorily compliant written request to inspect records, the association must simultaneously provide an itemized list to the requester of all records made available for inspection and copying and provide a sworn affidavit in which the person facilitating the association’s compliance with the request attest to the veracity of the itemized list. The itemized list must also identify any of the associations records not made available. This list must be maintained by the association for seven years. The delivery by the Association of such an itemized list and affidavit creates a rebuttable presumption that the association complied with these requirements. As if it were not hard enough to find qualified board members to hold office, if this Bill passes into law, any director or member of the board or manager who knowingly, willfully, and repeatedly violates the aforementioned requirements will commit a misdemeanor of the second- degree. Repeatedly means two or more violations within a 12 month period. Moreover, any person who willfully and knowingly refuses to release or otherwise produce Association records with the intent to avoid or escape detection, arrest, trial or punishment for the commission of a crime or to assist another person with such avoidance or escape commits a felony of the 3rd degree punishable by up to five years in jail.

Senate Bill 630 primarily refers to condominium associations though, in a few instances it also references both cooperative and homeowners’ associations, too. This bill revises residential condominium unit owner insurance requirements by providing that if the condominium association’s insurance policy does not provide for rights of subrogation against the unit owner responsible for a casualty event, then the unit owner’s insurance policy MUST not contain subrogation rights against the association. There are those who believe that at present unit owners can subrogate claims against the condominium’s insurance policy   which then results in higher insurance fees to all owners. On the other hand, it can be argued that this particular piece of legislation will drive up the cost of insurance for all residential condominium unit owners because in many instances, they will not be in a position to subrogate their insurance claims against those actually responsible for having caused the damage.

The fee charged by a condominium association as related to the transfer of a unit will increase from a maximum of $100 to $150 and future increases in the fee that can be charged are now tied to the Consumer Price Index.  This may offer some relief to Associations although it would be preferred that the bill allow the Association to charge the actual cost of the background check so as to ensure the Association was not out any money to conduct the background check

In addition to making provision for electric vehicles, natural gas fuel vehicles are now included too. This Bill provides rights of owners to not only have a electric charging stations, but also natural gas charging stations. 

Other than election and recall disputes, prior to institution of court litigation a party to a dispute must either petition the Division for non-binding arbitration or initiate a new process, pre-suit mediation. Arbitration is binding on the parties only if all the parties to the arbitration agree to be bound to it, in writing.  A new mediation process will be available for parties in dispute to present the parties with an opportunity to resolve the underlying dispute in good faith and with a minimum expenditure of time and resources. The mediation proceedings must generally be conducted in accordance with the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure and can be used in lieu of the otherwise required mandatory non-binding arbitration process. This new type of pre-suit condominium mediation process follows the process set out in the homeowners’ association act. Remember, however, election and recall disputes are not available for mediation as those disputes have to be arbitrated by the Division or are subject to being heard in a local court of competent jurisdiction.

As to cooperative associations, a cooperative association may not require a member to demonstrate any purpose or state any reason for an official record request. A cooperative board member or committee member participating in a meeting via telephone, real time video conferencing or similar real time electronica or video communication counts toward quorum and such member may vote as it physically present.

As to homeowners’ associations, in addition to any of the authorized means of providing notice of a board meeting, the association may, by rule, adopt a procedure for conspicuously posting the meeting notice and agenda on the association’s website or an application (meaning an “app”) that could be downloaded on a mobile device. The meeting notice is also required to be physically posted on the Association property. Any rule adopted must in addition to other matters, must include a requirement that the association send an electronic notice to the members whose email addresses are included in the association’s official records (meaning the member opted in to receive their official notices from the association via email). The homeowners’ association ballots, sign in sheets voting proxies, all other papers, and electronic records relating to voting by partial owners must be maintained for at least one year after the date of the election, vote, or meeting. In addition, the homeowners‘ association must include in it with its official records, information the association obtains in a gated community in connection with guests visits to parcel owners or any other residence in the community.

Of interest, is a change in the manner in which a homeowners’ association can create restricted reserve accounts.  The only method available will require the affirmative vote and approval of a majority of the total voting interests of the association. No longer included is the possibility that a developer could have initially created restricted reserves.

Also, as related to homeowners associations, should Senate Bill 630 become law, then any amendment to a governing document, rule or regulation which prohibits a parcel owner from renting his or her parcel,  alters the authorized duration of a rental term, or specifies or limits the number of times the partial owner may rent his or her partial during a specified period, applies only to the parcel owner who consents, individually or through a representative, to the amendment, or  a new parcel owner acquires title to the parcel after the effective date of the amendment. Notwithstanding, an association may amend its governing documents to prohibit or regulate rental durations that are for terms of less than six months and to prohibit a parcel owner from renting his or her parcel more than three times in a calendar year which amendments would apply to all parcel owners. In addition, none of the aforementioned would apply if the association has 15 or fewer parcels.

Recall actions for condominium, cooperative, and homeowner associations can be brought either to the Division of Condominium, or a court of competent jurisdiction.

As to emergency powers, as related to condominium, cooperative, and homeowners’ associations, the emergency powers are clarified to apply to a broader range of events such as the present Covid – 19 pandemic. In addition to board meetings, committee meetings, elections and membership meetings can be conducted in whole or in part by telephone, real time video conferencing or similar real time electronica or video communications. Associations can implement a disaster plan or emergency plan before, during or following the event village the state of emergency is declared. In addition to the advice of emergency management officials, now, associations can rely on advice from public health officials to determine whether the association property can be safely inhabited, accessed or occupied. In addition to taking action to mitigate further damages, the board can take action to mitigate further injury or contagion. Additional clarification is provided that during the state of emergency, the association cannot prohibit owners, their guests and agents or invitees from accessing a unit or the common elements for the purpose of ingress to an egress from the unit and when necessary in connection with the sale, lease or other transfer of title to a unit or for the health and safety of such person unless a governmental order or determination or public health directive from the centers for disease control and prevention has been issued prohibiting such access to the unit.

House Bill 21 provides that a person or party may not bring a cause of action for a material violation that exists within a completed building structure or facility which may reasonably result or has resulted in physical harm to a person or significant damage to the performance of a building or a system unless the party has submitted a claim for the alleged material violation under an applicable warranty and the warranty provider denies the claim or offers a remedy that is unsatisfactory to the person for a party within the time limit provided for in the warranty. 

Senate Bill 1966 would effectuate a change to qualifications to be a board member. Presently, if a potential candidate is delinquent in a monetary obligation, they are not qualified to be a candidate. If this bill becomes a law, then being delinquent in any monetary obligation is no longer relevant. Rather, the potential candidate would have to be delinquent in the payment of an “assessment”. In addition, in an effort to describe when an owner is actually delinquent, if payment is not made by the due date as specifically identified in the declaration of condominium bylaws or articles, then the payment is delinquent however if it due date is not specified then, the due date is the first day of the assessment period. On a different note, the condominium association’s annual budget must be proposed to the unit owners and adopted by the Board of Directors no later than 30 days before the beginning of the fiscal year.

Senate Bill 1490 is perhaps the most risky piece of legislation this entire legislative session, in this author’s sole opinion, in that it allows condominium associations, through a vote of the owners, the ability to invest the otherwise sacrosanct restricted reserve accounts with an investment advisor. While the legislation attempts to minimize risk by requiring the association to adopt a written investment policy annually, it nevertheless allows the investment advisor to invest funds not deposited into depository accounts. While the investment advisor is held to the high standard of being a “fiduciary” nevertheless the reserve monies will be at a much higher risk of loss.

Stay tuned to learn if these Bills become law.  Remember, there is a lot of time left in the legislative session to further turn these Bills into legislative sausage.

Jeffrey Rembaum’s, Esq. of Kaye, Bender, Rembaum attorneys at law, legal practice consists of representation of condominium, homeowner, commercial and mobile home park associations, as well as exclusive country club communities and the developers who build them. Mr. Rembaum is a Certified Specialist in Condominium and Planned Development Law. He is the creator of ‘Rembaum’s Association Roundup’, an e-magazine devoted to the education of community association board members, managers, developers and anyone involved with Florida’s community associations.  His column appears monthly in the Florida Community Association Journal. Every year since 2012, Mr. Rembaum has been selected to the Florida Super Lawyers list and was also named Legal Elite by Florida Trends Magazine. He can be reached at 561-241-4462.

Tags Association, Bill, Condo, HOA, Legal, Legislative, Rembaum Association Roundup No Comments »

5 Reasons to Consider Switching to an Online Accounts Payable Platform

Friday, March 12th, 2021 in Announcements, Condo, Health, HOA, Staff, Technology, Uncategorized, Vendors by FAN

Is you association considering the move from manual, paper-based accounts payable processes to an online accounts payable platform? Are you tired of having to rely on the post office, out-of-order office supplies, and growing stacks of paper records?

If so, below are some reasons why it may be a great idea to switch to an online accounts payable platform. If not, you may want to give these reason a look over. They might change your mind!



Click here to view this Slideshare and others like it.

As electronic processes are becoming more prevalent and easier to use, it is only a matter of time before your association makes the switch to online accounts payable.

Tags Accounts payable, AP, Condo, electronic, Florida, HOA, Online, Slideshare, Vendor No Comments »

Selective Enforcement: A Grossly Misunderstood Concept

Tuesday, March 9th, 2021 in Announcements, Condo, HOA, Legal, Self Management, Uncategorized by FAN

Rembaum’s Association Roundup

Without exception, the affirmative defense of “selective enforcement” is one of the most misunderstood concepts in the entire body of community association law. How often have you heard something like this: “The board has not enforced the fence height limitation, so it cannot enforce any other architectural rules”? Simply put, nothing could be further from the truth.

When a community association seeks to enforce its covenants and/or its board adopted rules and regulations, an owner can, under the right circumstances, assert an affirmative defense such as the affirmative defense of selective enforcement. An affirmative defense is a “yes I did it, but so what” type of defense. In civil lawsuits, affirmative defenses include the statute of limitations, the statute of frauds, waiver, and more. However, it’s just not as simple as that. For example, a fence height limitation is a very different restriction than a required set back. Under most if not all circumstances, the failure to enforce a  fence height requirement is very different from the failure to enforce a setback requirement. Ordinarily, the affirmative defense of selective enforcement will only apply if the violation or circumstances are comparable, such that one could reasonably rely upon the non-enforcement of a particular covenant, restriction, or rule with respect to their own conduct or action.

In the seminal case of Chattel Shipping and Investment Inc. v. Brickell Place Condominium Association Inc., 481 So.2d 29 (FLA. 3rd DCA 1986), 45 owners had improperly enclosed their balconies. Thereafter, the association informed all of the owners that it would thereafter take “no action with respect to existing enclosed balconies, but prohibit future balcony constructions and enforce the enclosure prohibition.” As you might have already predicted, nevertheless, thereafter an owner of a unit, Chattel Shipping, enclosed their unit; and the association secured a mandatory injunction in the trial court requiring the removal of the balcony enclosure erected without permission. The owner appealed. In the end, the appellate court disagreed with the owner who argued that the association decision to enforce the “no enclosure” requirement only on a prospective basis was both selective enforcement and arbitrary. The court held that the adoption and implementation of a uniform policy under which, for obvious reasons of practicality and economy, a given building restriction will be enforced only prospectively cannot be deemed “selective and arbitrary.”

In Laguna Tropical, A Condominium Association Inc. v. Barnave, 208 So. 3d 1262, (Fla. 3d DCA 2017), the court again used the purpose of the restriction in its determination of whether the association engaged in selective enforcement. In Laguna Tropical, a rule prohibited floor covering other than carpeting unless expressly permitted by the association. Additionally, the rule provided that owners must place padding between the flooring and the concrete slab so that the flooring would be adequately soundproof. In this case, an owner installed laminate flooring on her second floor unit and the neighbor below complained that the noise disturbed his occupancy. As a result of the complaint, the association demanded that the owner remove the laminate flooring. However, the owner argued selective enforcement because the association only enforced the carpeting restriction against the eleven exclusively upstairs units in the condominium. The court noted that the remaining units in the condominium were either downstairs units only, or were configured to include both first-floor and second-floor residential space within the same unit.

Again, the court looked to the purpose of the prohibition on floor coverings other than carpet and found that the prohibition was plainly intended to avoid noise complaints. Therefore, no selective enforcement was proven because no complaints were shown to have arisen regarding any units except the eleven exclusively upstairs units.

What about cats and dogs? In another case, Prisco v. Forest Villas Condominium Apartments Inc., 847 So. 2d 1012 (Fla. 4th DCA 2003), the Fourth District Court of Appeals heard an appeal alleging selective enforcement regarding the association’s pet restrictions. The association had a pet restriction which stated that other than fish and birds, “no pets whatsoever” shall be allowed. In this case, the association had allowed an owner to keep a cat in her unit, but refused to allow another owner to keep a dog. The association argued that there was a distinction between the dog and the cat. However, on appeal, the court found that the restriction was clear and unambiguous that all pets other than fish and birds were prohibited. Therefore, the court reasoned that the facts which make dogs different from cats did not matter because the clear purpose of the restriction was to prohibit all types of pets except fish and birds. In other words, the court held that the plain and obvious purpose of a restriction should govern any interpretation of whether the association engaged in selective enforcement.

If an association has a “no pets” rule and allows cats, must it allow dogs, too? There is a long line of arbitration cases that have distinguished dogs from cats and other pets for purposes of selective enforcement. For example, in Beachplace Association Inc. v. Hurwitz, Case no. 02-5940, a Department of Business and Professional Regulation Division of Florida Condominium Arbitration case, the arbitrator found, in response to an owner’s selective enforcement defense raised in response to the association’s demand for removal of a dog, that even though cats were allowed, that comparison of dogs to cats was not a comparative, like kind situation. Further the arbitrator found that cats and dogs had significant distinctions such as barking versus meowing, and therefore the owner’s attempted use of the selective enforcement argument failed.

But, in Hallmark of Hollywood Condominium Association Inc. v. Andrews, Case 2003-09-2380, another Department of Business and Professional Regulation Division of Florida Condominium Arbitration case, the learned arbitrator James Earl decided that because the association has a full blown “no pets of any kind”  requirement and since cats were allowed, then dogs must be allowed, too. In other words, the defendant owner’s waiver defense worked. But, the arbitrator wisely noted in a footnote as follows: “The undersigned notes that there is a long line of arbitration cases that have distinguished dogs from cats and other pets for purposes of selective enforcement. However, the fourth district court of appeal has ruled that where the condominium documents contain particular language prohibiting all pets, any dissimilarity between dogs and cats is irrelevant and both must be considered. See Prisco.” The distinction between the two arbitration cases could be explained because of timing in that the 4th DCA’s decision in Prisco was not yet published when Hurwitz was decided.

From these important cases, it can be gleaned that

(i) even if an association has ignored a particular rule or covenant, that by giving written notice to the entire community that it will be enforced prospectively, the rule or covenant can be reinvigorated and becomes fully enforceable once again (though of course, prior non-conforming situations may have to be grandfathered depending on the situation),

(ii) if an association or an owner is seeking an estoppel affirmative defense, they must be sure all of the necessary elements are pled,

(iii) at times a court will look to the purpose of the rule itself where it makes sense to do so, and

(iv) dogs and cats are different, but they are both considered “pets.”

Remember to always discuss the complexities of re-enforcement of covenants and rules and regulations that were not enforced for some time with your association’s legal counsel in an effort to mitigate negative outcomes. The process (commonly referred to as “republication”) can restore the viability of a covenant or rule that may have been waived due to the lack of uniform and timely enforcement.

(Reprinted with permission from the March 2021 edition of the Florida Community Association Journal) 

Jeffrey Rembaum’s, Esq. of Kaye, Bender, Rembaum attorneys at law, legal practice consists of representation of condominium, homeowner, commercial and mobile home park associations, as well as exclusive country club communities and the developers who build them. Mr. Rembaum is a Certified Specialist in Condominium and Planned Development Law. He is the creator of ‘Rembaum’s Association Roundup’, an e-magazine devoted to the education of community association board members, managers, developers and anyone involved with Florida’s community associations.  His column appears monthly in the Florida Community Association Journal. Every year since 2012, Mr. Rembaum has been selected to the Florida Super Lawyers list and was also named Legal Elite by Florida Trends Magazine. He can be reached at 561-241-4462.

Tags Association, Condo, Florida, HOA, Law, Legal, Rembaum Association Roundup, Selective Enforcement No Comments »

The 8th Annual Florida Community Association Journal’s Readers’ Choice Award Winners have been Announced

Monday, March 8th, 2021 in Announcements, Condo, HOA, Management, Property Maintenance, Staff, Technology, Vendors by FAN

The 8th annual Florida Community Association Journal’s Readers’ Choice Award winners have been announced!

The FLCAJ Readers’ Choice Awards give communities and board members an opportunity to select their favorite service providers. These prestigious awards recognize service providers that offer superior service and demonstrate a commitment to the success of their communities.

For the 8th year in a row, Campbell Property Management has won the Diamond Award, the highest level of recognition. 

The FLCAJ Readers’ Choice Awards is an annual recognition program that started in 2014. More than 300 service providers were nominated for this year’s awards. Over 11,500 votes were cast by FLCAJ readers, a twenty-five percent increase over last year. Levels awarded for nominated winners are: Gold as third place, Platinum as second place and the Diamond award as first place.

To see the other winners, click here.

by Ashley Dietz Gray, Marketing Director, Campbell Property Management

Tags 2021 FLCAJ Readers' Choice Awards, 8th Annual FLCAJ Awards, Campbell Property Management, FLCAJ Readers' Choice Awards, Highest Rated Property Management Company No Comments »

Electronic Voting for Community Associations: Watch the Webinar Now

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2021 in Announcements, Condo, HOA, Legal, Management, Self Management, Staff, Technology, Uncategorized, Vendors by FAN

Electronic voting, once properly implemented can be used for any item to be voted on by the owners:

  • Elections
  • Amendments/Document Changes
  • Waiving of Fully Funded Reserves
  • Material Alterations

Electronic votes count towards a quorum.

Is your community interested in implementing electronic voting?

Watch our recent Electronic Voting Webinar to learn more about the process and to get answers to some commonly asked questions about electronic voting.

Click here to watch the Electronic Voting Webinar now.

by Ashley Dietz Gray, Marketing Director, Campbell Property Management

Tags Association, Condo, electronic voting, Florida, HOA No Comments »

Electric Vehicle Charging Stations: Watch the Webinar Now

Monday, March 1st, 2021 in Announcements, Condo, Construction, Contracts, HOA, Self Management, Staff, Technology, Uncategorized, Vendors by FAN

Electric vehicles are becoming extremely popular. It is projected that by 2028, there will be over 3 million electric vehicles in the U.S. Many condo board members wonder what this means for them.

In Florida, condo associations are required by law to accommodate an owner’s request to enable EV charging; however, the cost for this accommodation can be charged to the owner.

Typical questions include:

  • What are the Board’s responsibilities?
  • What are the Owner’s rights?
  • How much does it cost?
  • What are the different charging options?
  • How do we track and charge for electricity usage?

We recently conducted a webinar on EV Charging Stations and answered these questions, plus more!

Click here to view the EV Charging Stations webinar now.

by Ashley Dietz Gray, Marketing Director, Campbell Property Management

Tags Association, Charging Station, Condo, Electric Vehicle, EV, Florida, HOA No Comments »

Conducting Annual Meetings During COVID-19: Watch the Webinar Now

Thursday, February 25th, 2021 in Announcements, Condo, Health, HOA, Legal, Safety, Staff, Technology, Uncategorized, Vendors by FAN

One of the most difficult challenges community associations have dealt with since the COVID-19 outbreak has been how do we conduct our Annual Meeting safely?

Boards have wondered if they can hold their Annual Meeting virtually. Can they tell homeowners they cannot attend the Annual Meeting in person?

To alleviate some of the confusion and provide answers to Board Members, we recently conducted an Annual Meetings During COVID-19 Webinar. Click here to watch the webinar now.

by Ashley Dietz Gray, Marketing Director, Campbell Property Management

Tags Annual meeting, Association, Board, Condo, Covid-19, HOA, Webinar, Zoom No Comments »

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