June 24, 2025 • 45 mins
Community Association Law Tampa HOA Condo Law Tampa
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Ask The Experts Florida is broadcast live Mondays at 9AM ET and Thursdays at 5PM ET on W4CY Radio (www.w4cy.com) part of Talk 4 Radio (www.talk4radio.com) on the Talk 4 Media Network (www.talk4media.com). Ask The Experts Florida is viewed on Talk 4 TV (www.talk4tv.com).
Ask The Experts Florida Podcast is also available on Talk 4 Media (www.talk4media.com), Talk 4 Podcasting (www.talk4podcasting.com), iHeartRadio, Amazon Music, Pandora, Spotify, Audible, and over 100 other podcast outlets.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
The topics and opinions expressed in the following show are
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make no recommendations or endorsements for radio show programs, services,
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(00:21):
W FOURCY Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Welcome to the Ask the Experts Show on W FOURCY
Radio and Talk for TV, where we bring you educational
information from top local experts in the fields of legal, health,
financial and home improvement. Now sit back and listen to
experts in family law, association, law, hearing laws, business brokers, homecare,
(00:48):
along with many other topics. Now Here are your hosts,
Spivo and Sophia.
Speaker 3 (00:55):
Hey, good afternoon, Tampa, Saint Pete. Welcome to another at
CX word show. Well, we bring you the top experts
in the field of legal, health, financial and home improvement.
Can you believe we are already at the end of June?
That means this is the last Tuesday in June, which
(01:15):
means the k Bender Rimbaum Show, the Community association law firm,
and we have got one of their finest attorneys, Attorney
Kirsten Hns, and I have something to share with her.
I don't know if she knows this. First of all,
welcome back from your vacation, Kirsten.
Speaker 4 (01:37):
Hi Steve, thanks for having me.
Speaker 5 (01:40):
I got it well, we love having you, Kirsten. I
gotta tell you because we do the show all over
the United States, and I got to tell you, and
this is my fifteenth year, I am seeing more and
more law firms change their shingle and add to it
(02:01):
and put community association on there, which means there's a
lot of firms out there that don't have much experience.
Because Kate been to Rimbaum, that is what you will
always focused on community association law. But personally, there's so
many firms across the country who are adding this area
(02:24):
of law. Did you know that?
Speaker 4 (02:26):
Well, I'm not familiar obviously with other states, but certainly
when I moved to the West Coast, I did notice
that there are a lot of firms, at least in
the West Coast and certainly in South Florida that you know,
claim to be experts and history of the law, but
(02:47):
you know, this area of the law is very specialized.
And you know, in my experience, I mean, and I've
been doing this fifteen years with the firm, you know
it it takes us several years to to really learn
the law, to dig in and you know, learn all
the nuances.
Speaker 3 (03:07):
So right exactly, we'll tell people as we are getting
so many new people who are finding the show, tell
people about Cave Bender Rimbaum sure u.
Speaker 4 (03:19):
K Bender Rembaum is a community association law firm. So
that means that we represent homeowners, condominium and cooperative associations
in all aspects of of uh, you know, operating these
these communities. So uh you know, I'm I'm what is
(03:40):
referred to as general association Council, So I uh typically
assist boards with the day to day operations, whether it's uh,
you know, concerns of covenant violations, you know, owners not
complying with their obligations, or contract review, uh you know,
rewriting the governing documents, emotional support animals. Uh you know,
(04:03):
that's that sort of thing. But the firm also has
a whole litigation team, uh, that focuses on dispute resolution,
which involves mediation, our arbitration, and then litigation, whether it's
the association that's pursuing the litigation or if the association
should happen to be you know, sued by by an
(04:26):
owner or or a third party like a contractor, you know.
And then we have a team of paralegals and attorneys
that assist clients with the collection foreclosure part of uh,
you know, kind of minium governance. So uh, that's kind
of how the firm is is broken down. We have
(04:47):
twenty three attorneys on staff throughout the state of Florida.
Our main office is in South Florida pumpin No Pompano Beach,
and then we do have other location as well. We
have a satellite office in Palm Beach Gardens as well
as in the Orlando area, and that is managed by
(05:08):
my colleague Allen, who many of you are familiar with.
And then I manage the West Coast office for the firm,
which is located in Teams.
Speaker 3 (05:18):
Well, I got to tell you what is so amazing
about your firm, and you're very involved in this area,
is the amount of classes you put on I mean
every month and we're actually right now, we're actually scrowing
their classes and we'll be repeating those classes because we
have so many listeners on radio, so many workshops and classes.
Speaker 4 (05:44):
That is true. We host a number of webinars each
month and those are typically taught by our community Association
attorneys in various looks, you know, in person as well
as uh, you know via via zoom webinar style.
Speaker 3 (06:05):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (06:06):
We take a lot of time to prepare for these courses,
obviously create the classes. Uh. And so you know, we
we want to educate board members. You know, certainly all
of our classes are offered for credit. They are approved
by the division, and so yeah, we encourage board members
(06:28):
and certainly managers to go on our website check out
our schedule of classes and you know, attend these are
all free of free of charge.
Speaker 3 (06:37):
Well, I got let me tell people the ground rules.
If you've just tuned in the first time, we know
that the governor just passed some new laws. We're not
going to get to those today.
Speaker 5 (06:51):
We're going to give the firm enough time to swallow these.
Speaker 3 (06:57):
And get to know them so we can educate you.
So probably starting next month. So if you've got a
question about a new law. We won't be taking notes today.
We also allow you to text us or email us
during the month, and person, your show always gets a
(07:18):
lot of emails, so we're going to try to get
all those emails in. If you've got a general question,
you could also go to our chat line, our YouTube
chat line, and usually we've got enough questions probably to
go to shows easily. But we're going to get started today,
(07:40):
and like I said, we'll go through all the classes,
will be done. I've promised everybody who's written in that
will go through those twice a month. Rebel, we'll be
going through twenty minute I mean at twenty twenty minute
after the hour commercial. So you know, so let's get started.
(08:03):
Let's go with Tricksie in Tampa. You said our condos
governing docs were filed in two thousand and two without
Kaufman language. If we revised them in twenty twenty five
without Kaufman language, well two thousand and two or twenty
twenty five law apply to.
Speaker 4 (08:25):
Us, Okay. So in this fact pattern, I would say,
the law that was in effect when the governing documents
were initially created is what will apply without Kaufman. Well,
let me you know, backtrack a little bit and explain
for some of the callers what Kaufman language is for
(08:47):
those who might not be familiar with this concept. So,
Kaufman language refers to, you know, these magic words as
amended from time to time, which is typically found after
reference to either Chapter seven eighteen or seven twenty, or
even seven eighteen of the Florida Statutes. And you will
(09:08):
typically find this reference within the first couple of pages
of your declaration, whether it's a declaration of condominium or
a declaration of covenants if you're with an HLA. So
typically you'll see language in the declaration that says something
to the effect of this association is governed under Chapter
(09:32):
either sevent eighteen or seven twenty, and it could say
as amended from time to time. So what these words
mean is that if you have Kaufman language, then any
substantive changes that are made to the Florida Statutes will
retroactively apply to the association. So that said, if you
(10:00):
do not have Kaufman language, then the law that will
applies the law that was in effect at the time
of the recording of your original declaration. So in this scenario,
the caller mentioned that their documents were created in two
thousand and two. They do not have Kaufuman language. It
(10:21):
seems like the board is looking to potentially rewrite their
documents or update them also without Kaufman, and so you
know she's looking for confirmation as to which law would apply. Well, again,
if you're amending without adding Kaufman to it, then again
you would still be subject to the law in two
(10:42):
thousand and two unless you ad Kaufman. Now having said that,
if we're talking about procedural changes to Florida Statute, those
that affect procedure, for example, election procedures or fighting procedures,
procedure of how you suspend use right, those types of
(11:03):
changes to the statute will apply to your community retroactively,
regardless of whether or not you have counted.
Speaker 3 (11:11):
Okay, let's go to Trey in Saint Pete. Uh. Thank
you Kirsten for giving us your time to explain so
many different questions. I just want you to know we
really do appreciate you and your firm. My question is.
Speaker 5 (11:29):
Why will the dB RP not get involved with they
chow as.
Speaker 4 (11:36):
Yeah, So the DBPR is the the the well, it's
the regulatory agency that governs corporations in the state of Florida,
but in particular, Uh, the Division of Condominium is the
agency that governs condominiums for whatever reason. Uh, you know
(11:57):
the division, You know, it regulates kind of minims, not
so much hoas. There are certain there are certain disputes
or issues that the division will govern for hoas, such
as elections. But other than that, the division just doesn't
(12:18):
get involved. And so with hoa's that is. And so
typically if there are any disputes in the HOA world,
those would just have to be resolved through presuit mediation
and then litigation if that becomes necessary.
Speaker 3 (12:35):
Laurie and Brandon, what can a board do when one
hundred percent vote is required but owners don't participate the vote, Well, it's.
Speaker 4 (12:46):
First of all, it's unusual that something requires one hundred
percent vote. It's not typical, unless, of course, we're talking
about some you know, what is what what is typically
referred to as a material amendments. So those are amendments
to your governing documents, for example, that change the percentage
(13:08):
by which owners pay assessments or voting percentages. So when
we're talking about those amendments, typically, yes, they do require
one hundred percent approval of the owners. Other than that,
very few things require one hundred percent, So I guess
(13:28):
that would first suggest for the caller to really confirm
the approval requirement for this particular issue, and assuming that
it is one hundred percent, or even if it is
a higher threshold, you might want to consider before you
even submit the substantive issue to the owners for approval,
(13:51):
you might want to consider first reducing the voting percentage.
Again depends if we're talking about voting percentage that's set
forth in the governing documents, then you might have the
option to ament that voting percentage, to reduce it to
something more manageable, like a majority of the owners. You know,
that might require assistance of legal counsel. So if you
(14:14):
have one, you know, I suggest that you consult with
him or her, and if not, you should you should
have legal counsel to assist with with operations. Assuming you
can't get the vote reduced for whatever reason. The alternative
is really knock on doors. I mean, unfortunately, sometimes that's
(14:35):
what is required. Knocking on doors, sending email blasts, really
just try to get owner involvement.
Speaker 3 (14:43):
Julie in Saint Pete. First of all, she wants to
tell you how much she enjoyed doing going to your
certification courses. We appreciate that, and we are going to
I guess this is a board, We're going to start
attending a lot of your seminars. This is judling in
(15:05):
Saint Pete. What do you think about a condo property
management company not having financials for the past six months
because they lost an employee. The board thinks nothing of it.
I have a problem with that.
Speaker 4 (15:22):
Mm yeah, I mean it's it's potentially a problematic if
the management is supposed to have certain financials prepared for
the associations and they can't seem to fulfill this contractual obligation.
Certainly it sounds like potential breach of this management contract.
(15:43):
So I mean the boards really should be having a
discussion with with with management. And also, I mean the
association is required to have you know, certain financials, you know,
up to date, So definitely start with having conversation with
management and if this can be resolved, then you know,
(16:04):
potentially look for another management to assist with property managing first.
Speaker 3 (16:10):
And just off the top of my head, how could
any property how could any association not have a firm,
especially a firm like k vender Rimbaum. There is so
much legalalities that an association needs to know about.
Speaker 4 (16:29):
I agree with you, Steve. I mean this area of
the law has just become more complex over the years,
certainly convoluted as well. I mean, attorneys argue about how
to apply this law. So I can't imagine board members
try to make sense out of, you know, the statutes
(16:51):
and the laws. But also I think a lot of
board members forget that, you know, they are operating corporation.
It's a not for profit corporation, but it is a corporation.
So aside from the you know, the laws that govern
you know, condominiums and and hoa's and their operations, we're
(17:14):
also talking about running an entity, right that is subject
to six Chapter six seventeen of the Florida Statute and
carries its own set of you know, issues and responsibilities,
and so you know, boards really need to consult with
with their legal experts, right ranging from not only association
(17:37):
legal counsel, but you know, accountants, management if necessary, even
you know engineers, contractors. So yes, definitely recommend having association
legal counsel on retainer.
Speaker 3 (17:52):
We just got to text from barb in Tampa. She
wanted to know. Do you come to the property to
make a presentation for an association that's reviewing law firms?
Speaker 4 (18:09):
Yes, so yeah, it's essentially, you know, an interview. I mean,
I'm I'm happy to either attend in person if they
are you know, within a reasonable distance of the office.
But you know, certainly we represent associations throughout the state
of Florida, and uh, you know, as a result of COVID,
(18:32):
a lot of boards sometimes even just prefer zoom meeting.
So either way, yes, I'm happy to meet with the
board obviously as a courtesy and happy to you even
present a proposal.
Speaker 3 (18:47):
We just sent them your phone number for them to
contact you. They're in campus, so that's your area, Steve
and Plant City. When do records become a show records, Well.
Speaker 4 (19:02):
The way the statutes are are are currently written. Really,
any record that involves operations of association is considered an
official record. So there's no there's no no time frame.
There's as long as it the document relates to operating
(19:24):
the association, it's considered an official record.
Speaker 3 (19:27):
Oh, we're going to go to break, and before we
go to break, give everybody the phone number. Actually, do
you have a phone number that's good at all for
all your locations.
Speaker 4 (19:40):
Yeah, our main number is nine five four nine to
eight zero six eight zero. That's the main number. You
call and the receptionist will just transfer you to my
office here or to any other office in Florida.
Speaker 3 (19:57):
Okay, we're going to go to break. When we come back,
we'll go over your classes. Seminars that you're doing in
the month of July will be right back.
Speaker 6 (20:19):
Cave Bend to Rembaum is a full service community association
law firm dedicated to the representation of community associations throughout Florida.
On kbr legal dot com, you can learn more about
their offices in Pompino Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Orlando, Tampa,
as well as throughout Miami Dade by appointment. Several k
(20:39):
Benda Rembaum attorneys are board certified specialists in condominium and
plan development law and assist clients with all matters of
community association legal issues while keeping them up to date
on new developments that affect their associations. Cave Benda Rembaum
is also a well known provider of free legal education
for managers and boardman Contact Cabender Rembaum today by calling
(21:03):
eight hundred nine seven four zero six eight zero. That's
eight hundred nine seven four zero six eight zero to
reach any of their locations. You can also visit them
online at KBR legal dot com or write to them
at info at KBR legal dot com.
Speaker 7 (21:21):
And we are back with the Ask the Expert Show
on w Foorcy Radio and Talk for TV with your
hosts Stevo, Sophia and their expert guests.
Speaker 3 (21:34):
And we are back. This is the last Tuesday of
the month. Can you believe the month of June's almost
gone already? That means cave beender Rimbaum our community association
law firm, and they I was talking about the beginning
of the show, how they do a lot of seminars
(21:55):
in class, and we've got a list of some of
them for the month the June and July. Person, can
you give us those yees?
Speaker 4 (22:04):
Steve, So obviously, you know we're in the middle of summer,
so generally most people like to take some vacation, so
we're a little light in June and July, and then
we typically pick up heavily, you know, August and then forward,
so for the rest of the month. Actually June twenty second,
(22:28):
which is this Thursday. I'm teaching Legal Update now. This
is the legal update of laws that went into effect
July VERSU of twenty twenty four. So for those property
managers that are still looking for credits on that, that's
that would be the date to attend. It is a
webinar June thirtieth. We have Jeff Frembaum and Alan who
(22:53):
who'll be doing a webinar on association legal and association
legal requirements with regard to insurance. We have a Castle
Association Leadership webinar that will be conducted by Michael Bender
and Jeff Frembaum. That's July ninth, twelve to one pm.
(23:14):
Then we have edge k to Elevate in Broward County
as well as this is July tenth, and then July
sixteenth we have an edge Kate to elevate in Palm
Beach Gardens, so that would be more of South Florida.
These are expos and then we have a Tampa the
Tampa Condo HOA Expo October twenty first, as well as
(23:38):
a Bradenton Condo HOA Expo on October twenty ninth, and
I do typically attend both of these expos as well
as teach at both of the expos. So if you
are looking for credit or just to learn, I definitely
encourage you to look up the expos and then sign
(24:00):
up with the classes.
Speaker 5 (24:02):
We just got a text in from Jamal, but they
want to know uh personally, I just found your show.
Speaker 3 (24:10):
I'm so glad I found it. What a great show.
Can you tell us about what's involved with your expos? Well,
these there's different ones.
Speaker 4 (24:22):
Yeah, I mean, uh, these these trade expos in general,
UH involve you know, vendors in all kinds of industries, uh,
from construction to uh, you know, landscape to uh legal
engineering accountants. So all these experts in their prospective fields
(24:45):
show up about this trade show, and board members and
property managers have an opportunity to walk around, uh meet
these vendors, uh, stop by the booths, talk to them,
ask questions. Many of the most of the vendors have goodies,
so I know board members love that. And then there
(25:06):
are typically classes taught at these expos, not only legal,
but I know for example, engineering firms also teach classes.
There's insurance experts teaching. So really just a good venue,
(25:26):
a good opportunity to meet experts in this field, ask
questions and hopefully.
Speaker 3 (25:34):
Learn yes, absolutely, I'm going to go to Sophia in Tampa.
She wants to know. Is it legal for two board
members who consistently have meetings in the president's home and
then vote off a board member without a quorum in
his house?
Speaker 4 (25:56):
Well, I don't. I mean, unless the bylaws require board
meeting to be in a specific location. I don't see
much of an issue with having the meeting at the
president's house. Obviously, provided the meeting is duly noticed and
the membership has an opportunity to attend and participate at
(26:16):
these meetings, so the location is less problematic for me.
What is more problematic is that these board members reportedly
voted off this other director, which can be done. The
board can't remove another director from the board. That is
(26:38):
something that can only be done by a vote of
the owners through a process called recall, So only owners
get to vote for directors as well as remove them
from the board. If what we're talking about is the
board removing an officer, If this other director was an
(27:02):
officer and the vote they took was to remove this
individual from their officer position, that can be done right
because officers work at the pleasure right of the of
the board to the board elects officers as well as
can remove officers. So I would just have the caller
confirm you know what actually you know transpired.
Speaker 3 (27:25):
You know, people really liked the idea with the website
for the community, but they have a lot of complaints
about not updating. Here's one from Charlie and Tampa. Our
management website could be made better by first creator. We
(27:46):
cannot find any documents or contracts or anything. What do
we do to get management or involved in the website?
Speaker 4 (27:56):
Oh man, Well, you know, I mean I would I
would review the management contract to see, you know, what obligation,
if anything, they have to create or maintain this website.
Sounds like it might be part of their you know,
duties under the contract. So I mean I would start
with talking to to management about that. Uh. If if,
(28:20):
if the website is still not to the standard or
what the board likes, then perhaps consider you know, another vendor,
uh to create and maintain an association website. But you know,
it is a problem that certain records are not posted
on the website, so that definitely has to be brought
to the attention of management.
Speaker 3 (28:43):
This is this question just email we got. I actually
saw it on one of the major newspapers in Florida.
This is kent a new owner with a dollar laundering
conviction ten years ago from an outside state join the
board of directors.
Speaker 4 (29:04):
Well, the only qualification requirement involving convictions in the statute
is that if the individual that is looking, if the
candidate is looking to run for the board, if they're
convicted of a felony right, they are not eligible to
(29:27):
run for the board unless their civil rights have been
restored for at least five years prior to seeking election.
So those are basically that's basically what you're looking for.
So as long as the civil rights have been restored
within the last five years, then there are eligible to
to run for the board.
Speaker 3 (29:48):
Billis in Tampa our Management Property. Our Management Property managers
stated to me that contracts do not have to be
on the website. The only you need to list in
the contracts. Is that really correct?
Speaker 4 (30:05):
Yeah? So the what the statute requires for for website
is that a list of executory contracts be posted on
the website. If you are one of those associations that
falls within the threshold of of of number of units
or parcels. That requires a website. So excuse me, You're
(30:29):
not required to post a copy of the actual contract
on the website, just the list of the contracts. But
that is only the website requirement. Uh. Keep in mind,
the Association still has an obligation to maintain copies of
all contracts, right, so while not post it, they still
have to be maintained, be maintained as part of the
(30:49):
official records. And if an owner does require does make
a written request to inspect the official records, uh to
to to see a copy of the contract, then the
Association is required to provide access to those contracts.
Speaker 3 (31:07):
Harold in Tampa wants to know. Can the president spend
ninety thousand dollars painting the roads without a board approval?
Is that possible?
Speaker 4 (31:18):
Probably not? Probably the president doesn't have a you know,
writer entitlement to just unilaterally spend association funds without a
vote of the directors. Right, No, No one director should
be acting unilaterally. So this is something that yeah, we'll
(31:40):
require board vote at a minimum. Now, it's a bit
concerning that the president wants to paint what is it,
the roads? Yes, so you know that to me, if
you're talking about condominium. That raises the question of, well,
(32:01):
is this potentially considered a material alteration to the existing
common elements. I don't know if these roads are or
are owned by the association, presumably, I don't know if
we're talking about like a parking lot.
Speaker 3 (32:13):
UH.
Speaker 4 (32:14):
If we if we're talking about this in the condominium setting, uh,
then this would likely be considered materialteration. So you'd have
to look at your governing documents to see what kind
of membership approval, if it all, is required. If we're
talking about an h O WA, then you know, material
(32:34):
alteration is not really a concept of HOAYS, but there
could be a dollar threshold requirement in the governing documents,
so you know, the board can spend up to a
certain amount of money on on on maintenance, repairs or alterations,
and then anything beyond that might require membership approval. So
I would just check the governing documents to see, uh,
(32:58):
if there's any membership approval require vironment for this type
of project, and and you might need to seek legal
guidance on that. I mean, that's that's that's definitely a possibility.
Speaker 3 (33:09):
Is there a difference between paving a parking lot versus
paving a road.
Speaker 4 (33:15):
Potentially, you know, I don't I don't know if the
parking lot would be considered a road. You know, I'm
not sure how big this development is so unclear if
this is a condo or h way, but it's not
unused way to condo. Okay, Yeah, so yeah, a little
(33:36):
bit odd that we're talking about roads and a condo.
Speaker 3 (33:38):
Sye.
Speaker 4 (33:39):
It could be a big development. Who knows, as long
as the association owns the roads.
Speaker 5 (33:44):
It's funny. My friend's sister lives at the same community
as owns family. Does they have a long road there?
There homes there and condos there, so that I could
(34:04):
see that happening.
Speaker 3 (34:06):
Let's go on. You know, I'm looking at the chatline.
Here's some good questions in here. Here's from Evelyn. We
are a small condo association, sixty condos. A new unit
owner wants to put a hurricane shutter up and attached
to our common elements exterior wall. We denied the new laws.
(34:31):
Do we have to allow changing the outside? Look?
Speaker 4 (34:36):
Well, what this is, what this is involving is basically
hurricane protection. And you know the statue was changed last
year to specifically require all associations, regardless of when they
were created, and regardless of whether or not you have
Kaufman language in your documents, you are required to adopt
(35:02):
hurricane protection specifications right regarding any type of hurricane protection,
whether it's hurricane shutters, hurricane impact windows, roofs, so forth,
and so on. So I think if this is a
situation where there's there are no hurricane shutters currently installed
(35:26):
in any of the units, I think the board can
adopt hurricane specifications to prohibit owners from installing hurricane shutters.
I think if you haven't, if you haven't adopted those specs,
you know, it's potentially problematic to now tell the owner
they can install it, you know. But moving forward, I
(35:48):
think they need to basically adopt hurricane specifications to prohibit
such installations.
Speaker 3 (35:56):
Larry and clear Water. If the management web side is
not the contract big financial to the pat six to
twelve months and they refute to produce the requested docs,
can we take the board and management to small claims?
Speaker 4 (36:14):
I mean, yes, right, you can. You can always sue.
Anybody can sue anybody as well as we know. But
you know, if if you if the owner has made
requests for inspection of records and the association hasn't provided access. Uh.
The owner might also have a basis to file a
(36:37):
complaint with with the division right uh to for failure
to access records, and the statute allows minimal damages right
for for the association's failure to provide these records, So
filing that division complaint will likely be cheaper than suing
the association.
Speaker 3 (36:57):
That makes sense. Here's another question. Uh, we do have
hurricane Oh, this is from Evelyn again, they have hurricane
sliding glass stores. We do have hurricane spect I guess ufications. Yes,
I don't know if that helps it all. We're starting
(37:19):
to get you know what, Kriser, We're starting to get
a lot of questions in because it's hurricane season. We're
starting to get a lot of questions about hurricane, which
will probably do that the next show. Here's from Joanne.
She is a hoa board member required to follow through
(37:39):
with emotion or can they change their mind and just
not take the action without taking another vote to rescind
the action?
Speaker 4 (37:50):
Wow, I don't I don't know that. I understand, I understand,
I don't know if I understood that.
Speaker 3 (37:57):
Let's just go on to the next question, this is
from Cindy and Saint Pete. Oh, it's a good question.
We have a new board member who isn't certified yet.
How long do they have to get certified?
Speaker 4 (38:12):
Well? If did they clarify, did they indicate if they're
with E condominium or I know? So all newly elected
directors have to attend a division approved board certification class
within ninety days of being elected or appointed. Okay, So
(38:33):
it is a ninety day time frame for newly elected
or appointed directors. And I think that this was a
situation here, right, newly elected?
Speaker 3 (38:43):
Yes?
Speaker 4 (38:44):
Okay, yeah, so ninety days okay.
Speaker 3 (38:47):
Oh, here's another good question we've I've never seen before.
This is from Goldie and Tampa And anyone who purchases
a unit in a fifty five plus community, do they
have to be fifty five plus?
Speaker 4 (39:02):
No, they do not. So the age requirement. First of all,
this would only apply if your association is qualifies as
a housing for older persons community. Right, so one of
these communities, would you have to be at least fifty
five or older? And there are certain legal requirements that
(39:24):
the association has to fulfill in order to qualify as
a housing for older persons, and if you meet those requirements,
then the age restriction does not apply so much to
the purchase of the unit, but rather to the occupancy
(39:44):
of the unit. So you could have an individual who
is under fifty five years of age purchasing and taking
title to a unit in a housing for older community.
But once that individual purchases are take exile to the unit.
If they want to occupy the unit, there has to
(40:04):
be at least one other individual who's fifty five and
old are also residing in that unit. So it's the occupancy,
not so much the actual purchase of the unit that's
an issue.
Speaker 3 (40:18):
So a community can't just stick of a sign we're
fifty five plus. There's a lot of rules to go
into that.
Speaker 4 (40:25):
Yeah, I mean there are certain requirements. I mean you
have to have, for example, your declaration. Your declaration has
to expressly state the intent of being a housing for
older person and typically these amendments require membership approval. You
also have to have a census conducted every couple of
(40:46):
years of all the owners or residents in the community.
So yeah, it's not just you know, putting a sign
outside the community.
Speaker 3 (40:55):
Are people in the fifty five plus? Are they allowed
to have their grandchildren come in.
Speaker 2 (41:02):
Well.
Speaker 4 (41:03):
One of the reasons that communities, you know, want to
qualified as a housing for older persons communities because they
can legally discriminate against families with children under the age
of eighteen. So that is an exemption under the law
on which you can discriminate base in age. So if
(41:25):
you are a qualified housing for older community, you can
legally prohibit individuals under the age of eighteen from permanently
residing in the unit. Now, many communities do allow, you know,
visiting grandchildren to occupy unit for a certain temporary, limited
(41:46):
period of time, typically you know, thirty days. I haven't
seen it to exceed sixty days. So that's okay. That's
not going to put the community or the association at
risk of losing the exemption. It's and these you know,
grandchildren overstay right, that that could put the uh the
(42:07):
community of jeopardy at losing their their exemption.
Speaker 3 (42:11):
If I can get a couple more questions in here,
Sonny and Tampa, I heard it should be very I
heard I should be very careful challenging and ESA application.
Is that true?
Speaker 4 (42:25):
Yes, you you want to be if you're the board, Yes,
you want to be careful in you know, when you
review a request for an accommodation to maintain for the
owner to maintain an emotional support animal. Unfortunately, you know,
(42:46):
many residents, you know, they know the system right, Uh,
they can provide letters from physicians or you know, medical
providers confirming their need for the animal and confirming their disability.
And so while associations have the right to you know,
(43:12):
to do their due diligence that you want to be careful, right,
and so I think the best course of action is
just consult with your legal counsel if you receive an
essay application and you have questions.
Speaker 3 (43:24):
Erst And I got to tell you, I think we've
been doing the show with you for about a year now.
You do such an incredible job the way you answer
questions and you really take the time to not talk
over people's heads and you really explain everything. And I
just wanted to and tell by the letters that come in,
(43:46):
people are really do appreciate you tell people how they
can reach cabeender Rimbom.
Speaker 4 (43:54):
Yes, thank you, Steve. You know, we try when we
give legal guidance to two clients, we try not to
speak in legal eese. Right. We're not here. We were
not trying to you know, we don't cite you know,
case law and give you know, a ten page treatise
(44:14):
on a particular issue. We really try to keep it
simple so boards can't understand. So I mean we we
really try to make it easier for board members. Yes,
the main number here at the office is nine five
four nine to eight zero six eight zero. And if
you call the number, I mean, you can reach any
(44:37):
any attorney at the firm in the state of Florida.
Speaker 3 (44:39):
Well, you'll be back again with us next month, and
I just want to again just tell you how much
we appreciate you, Kirsten.
Speaker 4 (44:47):
Thanks Steve.
Speaker 3 (44:48):
We'll see you again next month. Thank you, Kirsten.
Speaker 4 (44:52):
Take care.
Speaker 3 (44:53):
Wow. That's going to do it for us today. We'll
be back again with you next week with more at
C experts. Thank you, Rebel.
Speaker 2 (45:02):
Thanks for tuning in today to the Ask the Expert
show on W FOURCY Radio and.
Speaker 3 (45:08):
Talk for TV.
Speaker 2 (45:09):
Tune in next week and every week to hear more
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Speaker 7 (45:26):
See you next week,
The topics and opinions expressed in the following show are
solely those of the hosts and their guests and not
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(00:21):
W FOURCY Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Welcome to the Ask the Experts Show on W FOURCY
Radio and Talk for TV, where we bring you educational
information from top local experts in the fields of legal, health,
financial and home improvement. Now sit back and listen to
experts in family law, association, law, hearing laws, business brokers, homecare,
(00:48):
along with many other topics. Now Here are your hosts,
Spivo and Sophia.
Speaker 3 (00:55):
Hey, good afternoon, Tampa, Saint Pete. Welcome to another at
CX word show. Well, we bring you the top experts
in the field of legal, health, financial and home improvement.
Can you believe we are already at the end of June?
That means this is the last Tuesday in June, which
(01:15):
means the k Bender Rimbaum Show, the Community association law firm,
and we have got one of their finest attorneys, Attorney
Kirsten Hns, and I have something to share with her.
I don't know if she knows this. First of all,
welcome back from your vacation, Kirsten.
Speaker 4 (01:37):
Hi Steve, thanks for having me.
Speaker 5 (01:40):
I got it well, we love having you, Kirsten. I
gotta tell you because we do the show all over
the United States, and I got to tell you, and
this is my fifteenth year, I am seeing more and
more law firms change their shingle and add to it
(02:01):
and put community association on there, which means there's a
lot of firms out there that don't have much experience.
Because Kate been to Rimbaum, that is what you will
always focused on community association law. But personally, there's so
many firms across the country who are adding this area
(02:24):
of law. Did you know that?
Speaker 4 (02:26):
Well, I'm not familiar obviously with other states, but certainly
when I moved to the West Coast, I did notice
that there are a lot of firms, at least in
the West Coast and certainly in South Florida that you know,
claim to be experts and history of the law, but
(02:47):
you know, this area of the law is very specialized.
And you know, in my experience, I mean, and I've
been doing this fifteen years with the firm, you know
it it takes us several years to to really learn
the law, to dig in and you know, learn all
the nuances.
Speaker 3 (03:07):
So right exactly, we'll tell people as we are getting
so many new people who are finding the show, tell
people about Cave Bender Rimbaum sure u.
Speaker 4 (03:19):
K Bender Rembaum is a community association law firm. So
that means that we represent homeowners, condominium and cooperative associations
in all aspects of of uh, you know, operating these
these communities. So uh you know, I'm I'm what is
(03:40):
referred to as general association Council, So I uh typically
assist boards with the day to day operations, whether it's uh,
you know, concerns of covenant violations, you know, owners not
complying with their obligations, or contract review, uh you know,
rewriting the governing documents, emotional support animals. Uh you know,
(04:03):
that's that sort of thing. But the firm also has
a whole litigation team, uh, that focuses on dispute resolution,
which involves mediation, our arbitration, and then litigation, whether it's
the association that's pursuing the litigation or if the association
should happen to be you know, sued by by an
(04:26):
owner or or a third party like a contractor, you know.
And then we have a team of paralegals and attorneys
that assist clients with the collection foreclosure part of uh,
you know, kind of minium governance. So uh, that's kind
of how the firm is is broken down. We have
(04:47):
twenty three attorneys on staff throughout the state of Florida.
Our main office is in South Florida pumpin No Pompano Beach,
and then we do have other location as well. We
have a satellite office in Palm Beach Gardens as well
as in the Orlando area, and that is managed by
(05:08):
my colleague Allen, who many of you are familiar with.
And then I manage the West Coast office for the firm,
which is located in Teams.
Speaker 3 (05:18):
Well, I got to tell you what is so amazing
about your firm, and you're very involved in this area,
is the amount of classes you put on I mean
every month and we're actually right now, we're actually scrowing
their classes and we'll be repeating those classes because we
have so many listeners on radio, so many workshops and classes.
Speaker 4 (05:44):
That is true. We host a number of webinars each
month and those are typically taught by our community Association
attorneys in various looks, you know, in person as well
as uh, you know via via zoom webinar style.
Speaker 3 (06:05):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (06:06):
We take a lot of time to prepare for these courses,
obviously create the classes. Uh. And so you know, we
we want to educate board members. You know, certainly all
of our classes are offered for credit. They are approved
by the division, and so yeah, we encourage board members
(06:28):
and certainly managers to go on our website check out
our schedule of classes and you know, attend these are
all free of free of charge.
Speaker 3 (06:37):
Well, I got let me tell people the ground rules.
If you've just tuned in the first time, we know
that the governor just passed some new laws. We're not
going to get to those today.
Speaker 5 (06:51):
We're going to give the firm enough time to swallow these.
Speaker 3 (06:57):
And get to know them so we can educate you.
So probably starting next month. So if you've got a
question about a new law. We won't be taking notes today.
We also allow you to text us or email us
during the month, and person, your show always gets a
(07:18):
lot of emails, so we're going to try to get
all those emails in. If you've got a general question,
you could also go to our chat line, our YouTube
chat line, and usually we've got enough questions probably to
go to shows easily. But we're going to get started today,
(07:40):
and like I said, we'll go through all the classes,
will be done. I've promised everybody who's written in that
will go through those twice a month. Rebel, we'll be
going through twenty minute I mean at twenty twenty minute
after the hour commercial. So you know, so let's get started.
(08:03):
Let's go with Tricksie in Tampa. You said our condos
governing docs were filed in two thousand and two without
Kaufman language. If we revised them in twenty twenty five
without Kaufman language, well two thousand and two or twenty
twenty five law apply to.
Speaker 4 (08:25):
Us, Okay. So in this fact pattern, I would say,
the law that was in effect when the governing documents
were initially created is what will apply without Kaufman. Well,
let me you know, backtrack a little bit and explain
for some of the callers what Kaufman language is for
(08:47):
those who might not be familiar with this concept. So,
Kaufman language refers to, you know, these magic words as
amended from time to time, which is typically found after
reference to either Chapter seven eighteen or seven twenty, or
even seven eighteen of the Florida Statutes. And you will
(09:08):
typically find this reference within the first couple of pages
of your declaration, whether it's a declaration of condominium or
a declaration of covenants if you're with an HLA. So
typically you'll see language in the declaration that says something
to the effect of this association is governed under Chapter
(09:32):
either sevent eighteen or seven twenty, and it could say
as amended from time to time. So what these words
mean is that if you have Kaufman language, then any
substantive changes that are made to the Florida Statutes will
retroactively apply to the association. So that said, if you
(10:00):
do not have Kaufman language, then the law that will
applies the law that was in effect at the time
of the recording of your original declaration. So in this scenario,
the caller mentioned that their documents were created in two
thousand and two. They do not have Kaufuman language. It
(10:21):
seems like the board is looking to potentially rewrite their
documents or update them also without Kaufman, and so you
know she's looking for confirmation as to which law would apply. Well, again,
if you're amending without adding Kaufman to it, then again
you would still be subject to the law in two
(10:42):
thousand and two unless you ad Kaufman. Now having said that,
if we're talking about procedural changes to Florida Statute, those
that affect procedure, for example, election procedures or fighting procedures,
procedure of how you suspend use right, those types of
(11:03):
changes to the statute will apply to your community retroactively,
regardless of whether or not you have counted.
Speaker 3 (11:11):
Okay, let's go to Trey in Saint Pete. Uh. Thank
you Kirsten for giving us your time to explain so
many different questions. I just want you to know we
really do appreciate you and your firm. My question is.
Speaker 5 (11:29):
Why will the dB RP not get involved with they
chow as.
Speaker 4 (11:36):
Yeah, So the DBPR is the the the well, it's
the regulatory agency that governs corporations in the state of Florida,
but in particular, Uh, the Division of Condominium is the
agency that governs condominiums for whatever reason. Uh, you know
(11:57):
the division, You know, it regulates kind of minims, not
so much hoas. There are certain there are certain disputes
or issues that the division will govern for hoas, such
as elections. But other than that, the division just doesn't
(12:18):
get involved. And so with hoa's that is. And so
typically if there are any disputes in the HOA world,
those would just have to be resolved through presuit mediation
and then litigation if that becomes necessary.
Speaker 3 (12:35):
Laurie and Brandon, what can a board do when one
hundred percent vote is required but owners don't participate the vote, Well, it's.
Speaker 4 (12:46):
First of all, it's unusual that something requires one hundred
percent vote. It's not typical, unless, of course, we're talking
about some you know, what is what what is typically
referred to as a material amendments. So those are amendments
to your governing documents, for example, that change the percentage
(13:08):
by which owners pay assessments or voting percentages. So when
we're talking about those amendments, typically, yes, they do require
one hundred percent approval of the owners. Other than that,
very few things require one hundred percent, So I guess
(13:28):
that would first suggest for the caller to really confirm
the approval requirement for this particular issue, and assuming that
it is one hundred percent, or even if it is
a higher threshold, you might want to consider before you
even submit the substantive issue to the owners for approval,
(13:51):
you might want to consider first reducing the voting percentage.
Again depends if we're talking about voting percentage that's set
forth in the governing documents, then you might have the
option to ament that voting percentage, to reduce it to
something more manageable, like a majority of the owners. You know,
that might require assistance of legal counsel. So if you
(14:14):
have one, you know, I suggest that you consult with
him or her, and if not, you should you should
have legal counsel to assist with with operations. Assuming you
can't get the vote reduced for whatever reason. The alternative
is really knock on doors. I mean, unfortunately, sometimes that's
(14:35):
what is required. Knocking on doors, sending email blasts, really
just try to get owner involvement.
Speaker 3 (14:43):
Julie in Saint Pete. First of all, she wants to
tell you how much she enjoyed doing going to your
certification courses. We appreciate that, and we are going to
I guess this is a board, We're going to start
attending a lot of your seminars. This is judling in
(15:05):
Saint Pete. What do you think about a condo property
management company not having financials for the past six months
because they lost an employee. The board thinks nothing of it.
I have a problem with that.
Speaker 4 (15:22):
Mm yeah, I mean it's it's potentially a problematic if
the management is supposed to have certain financials prepared for
the associations and they can't seem to fulfill this contractual obligation.
Certainly it sounds like potential breach of this management contract.
(15:43):
So I mean the boards really should be having a
discussion with with with management. And also, I mean the
association is required to have you know, certain financials, you know,
up to date, So definitely start with having conversation with
management and if this can be resolved, then you know,
(16:04):
potentially look for another management to assist with property managing first.
Speaker 3 (16:10):
And just off the top of my head, how could
any property how could any association not have a firm,
especially a firm like k vender Rimbaum. There is so
much legalalities that an association needs to know about.
Speaker 4 (16:29):
I agree with you, Steve. I mean this area of
the law has just become more complex over the years,
certainly convoluted as well. I mean, attorneys argue about how
to apply this law. So I can't imagine board members
try to make sense out of, you know, the statutes
(16:51):
and the laws. But also I think a lot of
board members forget that, you know, they are operating corporation.
It's a not for profit corporation, but it is a corporation.
So aside from the you know, the laws that govern
you know, condominiums and and hoa's and their operations, we're
(17:14):
also talking about running an entity, right that is subject
to six Chapter six seventeen of the Florida Statute and
carries its own set of you know, issues and responsibilities,
and so you know, boards really need to consult with
with their legal experts, right ranging from not only association
(17:37):
legal counsel, but you know, accountants, management if necessary, even
you know engineers, contractors. So yes, definitely recommend having association
legal counsel on retainer.
Speaker 3 (17:52):
We just got to text from barb in Tampa. She
wanted to know. Do you come to the property to
make a presentation for an association that's reviewing law firms?
Speaker 4 (18:09):
Yes, so yeah, it's essentially, you know, an interview. I mean,
I'm I'm happy to either attend in person if they
are you know, within a reasonable distance of the office.
But you know, certainly we represent associations throughout the state
of Florida, and uh, you know, as a result of COVID,
(18:32):
a lot of boards sometimes even just prefer zoom meeting.
So either way, yes, I'm happy to meet with the
board obviously as a courtesy and happy to you even
present a proposal.
Speaker 3 (18:47):
We just sent them your phone number for them to
contact you. They're in campus, so that's your area, Steve
and Plant City. When do records become a show records, Well.
Speaker 4 (19:02):
The way the statutes are are are currently written. Really,
any record that involves operations of association is considered an
official record. So there's no there's no no time frame.
There's as long as it the document relates to operating
(19:24):
the association, it's considered an official record.
Speaker 3 (19:27):
Oh, we're going to go to break, and before we
go to break, give everybody the phone number. Actually, do
you have a phone number that's good at all for
all your locations.
Speaker 4 (19:40):
Yeah, our main number is nine five four nine to
eight zero six eight zero. That's the main number. You
call and the receptionist will just transfer you to my
office here or to any other office in Florida.
Speaker 3 (19:57):
Okay, we're going to go to break. When we come back,
we'll go over your classes. Seminars that you're doing in
the month of July will be right back.
Speaker 6 (20:19):
Cave Bend to Rembaum is a full service community association
law firm dedicated to the representation of community associations throughout Florida.
On kbr legal dot com, you can learn more about
their offices in Pompino Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Orlando, Tampa,
as well as throughout Miami Dade by appointment. Several k
(20:39):
Benda Rembaum attorneys are board certified specialists in condominium and
plan development law and assist clients with all matters of
community association legal issues while keeping them up to date
on new developments that affect their associations. Cave Benda Rembaum
is also a well known provider of free legal education
for managers and boardman Contact Cabender Rembaum today by calling
(21:03):
eight hundred nine seven four zero six eight zero. That's
eight hundred nine seven four zero six eight zero to
reach any of their locations. You can also visit them
online at KBR legal dot com or write to them
at info at KBR legal dot com.
Speaker 7 (21:21):
And we are back with the Ask the Expert Show
on w Foorcy Radio and Talk for TV with your
hosts Stevo, Sophia and their expert guests.
Speaker 3 (21:34):
And we are back. This is the last Tuesday of
the month. Can you believe the month of June's almost
gone already? That means cave beender Rimbaum our community association
law firm, and they I was talking about the beginning
of the show, how they do a lot of seminars
(21:55):
in class, and we've got a list of some of
them for the month the June and July. Person, can
you give us those yees?
Speaker 4 (22:04):
Steve, So obviously, you know we're in the middle of summer,
so generally most people like to take some vacation, so
we're a little light in June and July, and then
we typically pick up heavily, you know, August and then forward,
so for the rest of the month. Actually June twenty second,
(22:28):
which is this Thursday. I'm teaching Legal Update now. This
is the legal update of laws that went into effect
July VERSU of twenty twenty four. So for those property
managers that are still looking for credits on that, that's
that would be the date to attend. It is a
webinar June thirtieth. We have Jeff Frembaum and Alan who
(22:53):
who'll be doing a webinar on association legal and association
legal requirements with regard to insurance. We have a Castle
Association Leadership webinar that will be conducted by Michael Bender
and Jeff Frembaum. That's July ninth, twelve to one pm.
(23:14):
Then we have edge k to Elevate in Broward County
as well as this is July tenth, and then July
sixteenth we have an edge Kate to elevate in Palm
Beach Gardens, so that would be more of South Florida.
These are expos and then we have a Tampa the
Tampa Condo HOA Expo October twenty first, as well as
(23:38):
a Bradenton Condo HOA Expo on October twenty ninth, and
I do typically attend both of these expos as well
as teach at both of the expos. So if you
are looking for credit or just to learn, I definitely
encourage you to look up the expos and then sign
(24:00):
up with the classes.
Speaker 5 (24:02):
We just got a text in from Jamal, but they
want to know uh personally, I just found your show.
Speaker 3 (24:10):
I'm so glad I found it. What a great show.
Can you tell us about what's involved with your expos? Well,
these there's different ones.
Speaker 4 (24:22):
Yeah, I mean, uh, these these trade expos in general,
UH involve you know, vendors in all kinds of industries, uh,
from construction to uh, you know, landscape to uh legal
engineering accountants. So all these experts in their prospective fields
(24:45):
show up about this trade show, and board members and
property managers have an opportunity to walk around, uh meet
these vendors, uh, stop by the booths, talk to them,
ask questions. Many of the most of the vendors have goodies,
so I know board members love that. And then there
(25:06):
are typically classes taught at these expos, not only legal,
but I know for example, engineering firms also teach classes.
There's insurance experts teaching. So really just a good venue,
(25:26):
a good opportunity to meet experts in this field, ask
questions and hopefully.
Speaker 3 (25:34):
Learn yes, absolutely, I'm going to go to Sophia in Tampa.
She wants to know. Is it legal for two board
members who consistently have meetings in the president's home and
then vote off a board member without a quorum in
his house?
Speaker 4 (25:56):
Well, I don't. I mean, unless the bylaws require board
meeting to be in a specific location. I don't see
much of an issue with having the meeting at the
president's house. Obviously, provided the meeting is duly noticed and
the membership has an opportunity to attend and participate at
(26:16):
these meetings, so the location is less problematic for me.
What is more problematic is that these board members reportedly
voted off this other director, which can be done. The
board can't remove another director from the board. That is
(26:38):
something that can only be done by a vote of
the owners through a process called recall, So only owners
get to vote for directors as well as remove them
from the board. If what we're talking about is the
board removing an officer, If this other director was an
(27:02):
officer and the vote they took was to remove this
individual from their officer position, that can be done right
because officers work at the pleasure right of the of
the board to the board elects officers as well as
can remove officers. So I would just have the caller
confirm you know what actually you know transpired.
Speaker 3 (27:25):
You know, people really liked the idea with the website
for the community, but they have a lot of complaints
about not updating. Here's one from Charlie and Tampa. Our
management website could be made better by first creator. We
(27:46):
cannot find any documents or contracts or anything. What do
we do to get management or involved in the website?
Speaker 4 (27:56):
Oh man, Well, you know, I mean I would I
would review the management contract to see, you know, what obligation,
if anything, they have to create or maintain this website.
Sounds like it might be part of their you know,
duties under the contract. So I mean I would start
with talking to to management about that. Uh. If if,
(28:20):
if the website is still not to the standard or
what the board likes, then perhaps consider you know, another vendor,
uh to create and maintain an association website. But you know,
it is a problem that certain records are not posted
on the website, so that definitely has to be brought
to the attention of management.
Speaker 3 (28:43):
This is this question just email we got. I actually
saw it on one of the major newspapers in Florida.
This is kent a new owner with a dollar laundering
conviction ten years ago from an outside state join the
board of directors.
Speaker 4 (29:04):
Well, the only qualification requirement involving convictions in the statute
is that if the individual that is looking, if the
candidate is looking to run for the board, if they're
convicted of a felony right, they are not eligible to
(29:27):
run for the board unless their civil rights have been
restored for at least five years prior to seeking election.
So those are basically that's basically what you're looking for.
So as long as the civil rights have been restored
within the last five years, then there are eligible to
to run for the board.
Speaker 3 (29:48):
Billis in Tampa our Management Property. Our Management Property managers
stated to me that contracts do not have to be
on the website. The only you need to list in
the contracts. Is that really correct?
Speaker 4 (30:05):
Yeah? So the what the statute requires for for website
is that a list of executory contracts be posted on
the website. If you are one of those associations that
falls within the threshold of of of number of units
or parcels. That requires a website. So excuse me, You're
(30:29):
not required to post a copy of the actual contract
on the website, just the list of the contracts. But
that is only the website requirement. Uh. Keep in mind,
the Association still has an obligation to maintain copies of
all contracts, right, so while not post it, they still
have to be maintained, be maintained as part of the
(30:49):
official records. And if an owner does require does make
a written request to inspect the official records, uh to
to to see a copy of the contract, then the
Association is required to provide access to those contracts.
Speaker 3 (31:07):
Harold in Tampa wants to know. Can the president spend
ninety thousand dollars painting the roads without a board approval?
Is that possible?
Speaker 4 (31:18):
Probably not? Probably the president doesn't have a you know,
writer entitlement to just unilaterally spend association funds without a
vote of the directors. Right, No, No one director should
be acting unilaterally. So this is something that yeah, we'll
(31:40):
require board vote at a minimum. Now, it's a bit
concerning that the president wants to paint what is it,
the roads? Yes, so you know that to me, if
you're talking about condominium. That raises the question of, well,
(32:01):
is this potentially considered a material alteration to the existing
common elements. I don't know if these roads are or
are owned by the association, presumably, I don't know if
we're talking about like a parking lot.
Speaker 3 (32:13):
UH.
Speaker 4 (32:14):
If we if we're talking about this in the condominium setting, uh,
then this would likely be considered materialteration. So you'd have
to look at your governing documents to see what kind
of membership approval, if it all, is required. If we're
talking about an h O WA, then you know, material
(32:34):
alteration is not really a concept of HOAYS, but there
could be a dollar threshold requirement in the governing documents,
so you know, the board can spend up to a
certain amount of money on on on maintenance, repairs or alterations,
and then anything beyond that might require membership approval. So
I would just check the governing documents to see, uh,
(32:58):
if there's any membership approval require vironment for this type
of project, and and you might need to seek legal
guidance on that. I mean, that's that's that's definitely a possibility.
Speaker 3 (33:09):
Is there a difference between paving a parking lot versus
paving a road.
Speaker 4 (33:15):
Potentially, you know, I don't I don't know if the
parking lot would be considered a road. You know, I'm
not sure how big this development is so unclear if
this is a condo or h way, but it's not
unused way to condo. Okay, Yeah, so yeah, a little
(33:36):
bit odd that we're talking about roads and a condo.
Speaker 3 (33:38):
Sye.
Speaker 4 (33:39):
It could be a big development. Who knows, as long
as the association owns the roads.
Speaker 5 (33:44):
It's funny. My friend's sister lives at the same community
as owns family. Does they have a long road there?
There homes there and condos there, so that I could
(34:04):
see that happening.
Speaker 3 (34:06):
Let's go on. You know, I'm looking at the chatline.
Here's some good questions in here. Here's from Evelyn. We
are a small condo association, sixty condos. A new unit
owner wants to put a hurricane shutter up and attached
to our common elements exterior wall. We denied the new laws.
(34:31):
Do we have to allow changing the outside? Look?
Speaker 4 (34:36):
Well, what this is, what this is involving is basically
hurricane protection. And you know the statue was changed last
year to specifically require all associations, regardless of when they
were created, and regardless of whether or not you have
Kaufman language in your documents, you are required to adopt
(35:02):
hurricane protection specifications right regarding any type of hurricane protection,
whether it's hurricane shutters, hurricane impact windows, roofs, so forth,
and so on. So I think if this is a
situation where there's there are no hurricane shutters currently installed
(35:26):
in any of the units, I think the board can
adopt hurricane specifications to prohibit owners from installing hurricane shutters.
I think if you haven't, if you haven't adopted those specs,
you know, it's potentially problematic to now tell the owner
they can install it, you know. But moving forward, I
(35:48):
think they need to basically adopt hurricane specifications to prohibit
such installations.
Speaker 3 (35:56):
Larry and clear Water. If the management web side is
not the contract big financial to the pat six to
twelve months and they refute to produce the requested docs,
can we take the board and management to small claims?
Speaker 4 (36:14):
I mean, yes, right, you can. You can always sue.
Anybody can sue anybody as well as we know. But
you know, if if you if the owner has made
requests for inspection of records and the association hasn't provided access. Uh.
The owner might also have a basis to file a
(36:37):
complaint with with the division right uh to for failure
to access records, and the statute allows minimal damages right
for for the association's failure to provide these records, So
filing that division complaint will likely be cheaper than suing
the association.
Speaker 3 (36:57):
That makes sense. Here's another question. Uh, we do have
hurricane Oh, this is from Evelyn again, they have hurricane
sliding glass stores. We do have hurricane spect I guess ufications. Yes,
I don't know if that helps it all. We're starting
(37:19):
to get you know what, Kriser, We're starting to get
a lot of questions in because it's hurricane season. We're
starting to get a lot of questions about hurricane, which
will probably do that the next show. Here's from Joanne.
She is a hoa board member required to follow through
(37:39):
with emotion or can they change their mind and just
not take the action without taking another vote to rescind
the action?
Speaker 4 (37:50):
Wow, I don't I don't know that. I understand, I understand,
I don't know if I understood that.
Speaker 3 (37:57):
Let's just go on to the next question, this is
from Cindy and Saint Pete. Oh, it's a good question.
We have a new board member who isn't certified yet.
How long do they have to get certified?
Speaker 4 (38:12):
Well? If did they clarify, did they indicate if they're
with E condominium or I know? So all newly elected
directors have to attend a division approved board certification class
within ninety days of being elected or appointed. Okay, So
(38:33):
it is a ninety day time frame for newly elected
or appointed directors. And I think that this was a
situation here, right, newly elected?
Speaker 3 (38:43):
Yes?
Speaker 4 (38:44):
Okay, yeah, so ninety days okay.
Speaker 3 (38:47):
Oh, here's another good question we've I've never seen before.
This is from Goldie and Tampa And anyone who purchases
a unit in a fifty five plus community, do they
have to be fifty five plus?
Speaker 4 (39:02):
No, they do not. So the age requirement. First of all,
this would only apply if your association is qualifies as
a housing for older persons community. Right, so one of
these communities, would you have to be at least fifty
five or older? And there are certain legal requirements that
(39:24):
the association has to fulfill in order to qualify as
a housing for older persons, and if you meet those requirements,
then the age restriction does not apply so much to
the purchase of the unit, but rather to the occupancy
(39:44):
of the unit. So you could have an individual who
is under fifty five years of age purchasing and taking
title to a unit in a housing for older community.
But once that individual purchases are take exile to the unit.
If they want to occupy the unit, there has to
(40:04):
be at least one other individual who's fifty five and
old are also residing in that unit. So it's the occupancy,
not so much the actual purchase of the unit that's
an issue.
Speaker 3 (40:18):
So a community can't just stick of a sign we're
fifty five plus. There's a lot of rules to go
into that.
Speaker 4 (40:25):
Yeah, I mean there are certain requirements. I mean you
have to have, for example, your declaration. Your declaration has
to expressly state the intent of being a housing for
older person and typically these amendments require membership approval. You
also have to have a census conducted every couple of
(40:46):
years of all the owners or residents in the community.
So yeah, it's not just you know, putting a sign
outside the community.
Speaker 3 (40:55):
Are people in the fifty five plus? Are they allowed
to have their grandchildren come in.
Speaker 2 (41:02):
Well.
Speaker 4 (41:03):
One of the reasons that communities, you know, want to
qualified as a housing for older persons communities because they
can legally discriminate against families with children under the age
of eighteen. So that is an exemption under the law
on which you can discriminate base in age. So if
(41:25):
you are a qualified housing for older community, you can
legally prohibit individuals under the age of eighteen from permanently
residing in the unit. Now, many communities do allow, you know,
visiting grandchildren to occupy unit for a certain temporary, limited
(41:46):
period of time, typically you know, thirty days. I haven't
seen it to exceed sixty days. So that's okay. That's
not going to put the community or the association at
risk of losing the exemption. It's and these you know,
grandchildren overstay right, that that could put the uh the
(42:07):
community of jeopardy at losing their their exemption.
Speaker 3 (42:11):
If I can get a couple more questions in here,
Sonny and Tampa, I heard it should be very I
heard I should be very careful challenging and ESA application.
Is that true?
Speaker 4 (42:25):
Yes, you you want to be if you're the board, Yes,
you want to be careful in you know, when you
review a request for an accommodation to maintain for the
owner to maintain an emotional support animal. Unfortunately, you know,
(42:46):
many residents, you know, they know the system right, Uh,
they can provide letters from physicians or you know, medical
providers confirming their need for the animal and confirming their disability.
And so while associations have the right to you know,
(43:12):
to do their due diligence that you want to be careful, right,
and so I think the best course of action is
just consult with your legal counsel if you receive an
essay application and you have questions.
Speaker 3 (43:24):
Erst And I got to tell you, I think we've
been doing the show with you for about a year now.
You do such an incredible job the way you answer
questions and you really take the time to not talk
over people's heads and you really explain everything. And I
just wanted to and tell by the letters that come in,
(43:46):
people are really do appreciate you tell people how they
can reach cabeender Rimbom.
Speaker 4 (43:54):
Yes, thank you, Steve. You know, we try when we
give legal guidance to two clients, we try not to
speak in legal eese. Right. We're not here. We were
not trying to you know, we don't cite you know,
case law and give you know, a ten page treatise
(44:14):
on a particular issue. We really try to keep it
simple so boards can't understand. So I mean we we
really try to make it easier for board members. Yes,
the main number here at the office is nine five
four nine to eight zero six eight zero. And if
you call the number, I mean, you can reach any
(44:37):
any attorney at the firm in the state of Florida.
Speaker 3 (44:39):
Well, you'll be back again with us next month, and
I just want to again just tell you how much
we appreciate you, Kirsten.
Speaker 4 (44:47):
Thanks Steve.
Speaker 3 (44:48):
We'll see you again next month. Thank you, Kirsten.
Speaker 4 (44:52):
Take care.
Speaker 3 (44:53):
Wow. That's going to do it for us today. We'll
be back again with you next week with more at
C experts. Thank you, Rebel.
Speaker 2 (45:02):
Thanks for tuning in today to the Ask the Expert
show on W FOURCY Radio and.
Speaker 3 (45:08):
Talk for TV.
Speaker 2 (45:09):
Tune in next week and every week to hear more
from our experts on personal injury, insurance, air condition repairs,
estate planning, medicare, and many other topics in the areas
of legal, health, financial and home improvement.
Speaker 7 (45:26):
See you next week,
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