There are only a total of 117 participants in this program throughout Brevard County, so do not wait!
If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact me directly.
As you may be aware, the Florida legislature was quite active this year and passed several bills
affecting condominium associations. These laws took effect on July 1, 2021. The following
provides a brief summary of some of the more significant changes made of which you should take
note (this is not an exhaustive list). Of course, if you have any questions or concerns, please contact
me.
§ 718.111(12)(a)11 and (b), Florida Statutes
Bids for work or for materials, equipment, or services must be kept at least 1 year after receipt of the
bid.
§ 718.111(12)(c)1 Florida Statutes
An association cannot mandate that unit owners provide reasons to inspect official records.
Renters must be given access to the declaration, bylaws and rules, but they have no rights to other
official records.
§ 718.112(2)(d)2, Florida Statutes
Board member 8 year terms limits shall run from the first day of any term beginning on or after July
1, 2018. Clarifies that the 8 years does not include any time served prior to July 1, 2018.
§ 718.112(2)(d)2, Florida Statutes
Members of an association’s board of directors can be disqualified only for a delinquency in the
payment of assessments instead of “any monetary obligation” (which was the previous language,
and included fines).
§ 718.112(2)(f)1, Florida Statutes
The board must adopt the association’s annual budget at least 14 days prior to the start of the
association’s fiscal year. If a board does not adopt a new budget as required, the prior budget shall
stay in effect until a new budget it adopted. Failure to timely adopt a budget twice shall be deemed
a “minor violation” and could subject the association to monetary penalties as set forth in the Florida
Administrative Code.
§ 718.112(2)(I), Florida Statutes
If authority to charge a transfer fee is set forth in the governing documents, the upper limit for the
transfer fee is raised to $150.00 per adult applicant. The amount of the fee will increase in
accordance with the Consumer Price Index every 5 years.
§ 718.116(6), Florida Statutes
Notices of an association’s intent to lien, and its intent to foreclose, must now provide 45 days to
comply instead of 30.
Before sending a delinquent account to the association attorney, a new, form 30-day courtesy notice
must be provided to the owner.
§ 718.1255, Florida Statutes
A party may now choose whether to pursue an arbitrable dispute via non-binding arbitration, or
alternatively via presuit mediation followed by a lawsuit. Previously, arbitration was the only and
mandatory choice for arbitrable disputes.
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ATTENTION: Associations/Condominium Property Managers
Just making sure that you are aware that the Florida Statutes were amended effective July 1, 2021, and the amendment affects the process for sending past due accounts to an attorney for collection. Here are the important points:
1. Before attorney’s fees can be incurred and charged to an owner, a new “courtesy” Notice of Late Assessments must be sent to the delinquent owner(s). The Notice of Late Assessments must be sent by first-class United States mail to the owner at his or her last address as reflected in the association’s records and, if that address is not the unit address, must also be sent by first-class United States mail to the unit address.
2. We will get a presumption, for legal purposes, that an association properly mailed a Notice if a board member, officer, or agent of the association, or a licensed manager, provides a sworn affidavit attesting to such mailing. Since we anticipate that owners may try to claim that the courtesy Notice was not sent, we really do want that legal presumption; so I do suggest that the person sending the Notice provide a notarized affidavit of mailing for each Notice.
3. A Word version of the Notice of Late Assessments form is attached for your use. Please send this early in the process, before the account gets very far in arrears; the Association will have to wait 30 days after this Notice is sent, before referring a delinquent account to an attorney for further collection activity.
4. From July 1st forward, the time to pay, in the Intent To Lien and in the Intent To Foreclose, will be 45 days (previously, 30 days each). So in a nutshell, the process is now:
a) give the Notice of Late Assessments, and wait 30 days;
b) if not paid, refer to attorney for an Intent to Lien, which gives 45 days;
c) if not paid, we record a lien, and send an Intent To Foreclose, which gives 45 days; and
d) if not paid, when the 45 days runs, we can then finally start a lien foreclosure.
As you can see, these new amendments will stretch the already long notice/lien/foreclosure process out by at least an additional 60 days, so it is best to send the attached Notice of Late Assessments in the early stages of a delinquency.
Please let me know if you have any questions regarding the new procedure.
