Florida ROC : Florida Mobile Home & RV Lawyer & Attorney : Scott Gordon : Lutz Bobo Telfair Eastman Gabel & Lee Law Firm : FL Condo & Homeowners Associations

Based on the responses I've received from my recent blog entries and presentations on  fines and suspensions of use rights, it's clear that these topics are "hot issues" in resident owned communities throughout Florida.

Although the Florida Statutes governing condominium, cooperative and mandatory homeowners associations all recognize an association's power to fine or suspend use rights of unit owners or parcel owners (or their tenants or guests), I'd suggest ROCs consider the costs and benefits of instituting these procedures.   Board members in community associations should weigh numerous factors when considering whether to use fines and suspensions, including the following:

Do the association's members want to give any of their neighbors the power to fine them or suspend their rights to use the common facilities?  I've been in several communities where the membership has clearly and convincingly expressed the concern that a member may be fined solely because of a grudge or other "agenda" of one of his or her neighbors that happens to serve on that fining or suspension committee.    Regardless of the type of safeguards that an association tries to build into its rules or policies governing the operation of that committee, many residents simply don't want to give any of their neighbors the power to assess fines against them that may reach $1000.

And what about the homeowners in a resident owned manufactured housing cooperative or condominium that are not shareholders in the cooperative or condominium association?   Those homeowners are not "unit owners" under Chapter 718 or 719 of the Florida Statutes and are thus not governed by the fining and suspension provisions of those Chapters.   Their responsibilities are governed by Chapter 723 of the Florida Statutes and the rental prospectus.  It's doubtful that many rental prospectuses allow the park owner (in this case, the cooperative or condominium association) to fine a non-shareholder homeowner or suspend his or her use rights--and even more doubtful that any such provision in a rental prospectus would be deemed legal and enforceable under current Florida law.    How does an association's board of directors justify a situation where the non-shareholders (who are not subject to fines or suspension of use rights) are treated more favorably than the shareholders?    I can certainly see that situation creating a great deal of controversy and making it more difficult for the association to market and sell membership shares in the cooperative, or units in the condominium, to prospective purchasers.

Those are just two points to consider when deciding if a community should institute or maintain a fining and/or suspension procedure.

Remember--just because a community is allowed to have a fining and suspension committee doesn't mean that the community must have one.

Finally, for those long time followers that recall my entries on the "music police," here's a link to a story that appeared this week in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune on a federal lawsuit filed by our friends at Broadcast Music Inc. against a tavern in the Manatee county community of Ellenton. 

And on that cheery note, my best wishes to everyone for a very happy and healthy holiday season!

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My last blog entry discussed the rights of an association to assess fines and suspend rights to use facilities in a resident owned cooperative as provided in Florida Statute Section 719.303(3).   Both condominium associations (under F.S. Section 718.303(3)) and mandatory homeowners' associations (under F.S. Section 720.305(2)) have similar enforcement tools where a unit owner or parcel owner (or that owner's licensee, invitee or other occupant of the home) fails to follow the association's documents or the reasonable rules governing the community.

What about members of condominium, cooperative, or mandatory homeowners' associations that fail to fulfill their financial obligations to the community?

Board members in condominium associations can look to F.S. Section 718.303(4)-(6), co-op board members can rely on F.S. Section 719.303(4)-(6), and board members in mandatory homeowners'  associations have available to them F.S. Section 720.305(3)-(5).   Each of these statutes provides that, if a unit owner or parcel owner is more than 90 days delinquent in paying a monetary obligation due to the association, the board may suspend the right of that owner to use common elements, common facilities, or any other association property until the monetary obligation is paid in full.   There are several additional points that are very important in regards to the suspension of these use rights:

• The suspension applies to both the owner and the unit or parcel's tenant, licensee, invitee, or other occupant of the home
• In general, the right to use limited common elements used only by that unit or parcel, common elements needed to access that unit or parcel, utility services provided to that unit or parcel,  parking spaces, or elevators cannot be suspended under these provisions of the statutes

In addition, if an owner is more than 90 days delinquent in the payment of any monetary obligation  due to the association, the voting rights attributable to that owner or the unit may be suspended, until such time as there is full payment of all obligations currently due or overdue the association.

The suspension of these use and voting rights for failure to timely pay amounts owed to the association may be imposed without the hearing provided for where fines or suspension of use rights are being imposed for failure to abide by the association's governing documents or the community's reasonable rules.  All that's required is a properly noticed board meeting (and of course an agenda that clearly notes that the board is going to consider the suspension of the use and/or voting rights) and, once the suspension is approved, notification to the owner (and, if applicable, the occupant, licensee, invitee, or tenant) of the suspension by mail or hand delivery.

These suspensions can occur if an owner fails to pay "any monetary obligation"--not just maintenance fees or other regular assessments, and the notice of the suspension does not appear to have to sent by certified or registered mail.

Clearly, Florida's legislators have given managers and board members in ROCs some ammunition in the ongoing struggle for our communities to maintain financial health.

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My most recent entry summarized the some of the changes made by House Bill 1195 (which became effective on July 1 of this year) to several provisions of the laws governing cooperative associations in Florida.

House Bill 1195 created three new subsections to Florida Statute Section 719.303 that have the effect of extending to cooperative associations the same enforcement tools that have been given to condominium associations and mandatory homeowners associations in our state.

New Florida Statute Section 719.303(4) allows the association to suspend the right of a unit owner or that owner's occupant, licensee, or invitee to use common elements, common facilities, or any other association property until a monetary obligation is paid in full, subject to the following conditions:

• The unit owner must be more than 90 days delinquent in paying that monetary obligation
• The right to use limited common elements intended to be used only by that unit, common elements needed to access that unit, utility services provided to the unit, parking spaces, or elevators cannot be suspended under F.S. Section 719.303(4)

Cooperative associations are given the right to suspend the voting rights of a unit or member under  Florida Statute Section 719.303(5).   This new subsection provides that:

• The suspension is based on nonpayment of any monetary obligation due to the association which is more than 90 days delinquent
• A voting interest or consent right which has been suspended may not be counted towards the total number of voting interests for any purpose, including, but not limited to, the number of voting interests needed to establish a quorum, the number of voting interests required to conduct an election, or the number of voting interests needed to approve an action under Chapter 719 or the association's governing documents
• The suspension ends upon payment in full of all obligations currently due or overdue to the association

The suspensions imposed under these to new subsections are not subject to the notice and hearing requirements of F.S. Section 719.303(3).  Instead, the following requirements are provided in new Florida Statute Section 719.303(6):

• The suspensions must be approved by the association's board of directors at a properly noticed board meeting
• Upon approval, the association must notify the unit owner, and, if applicable, the unit's occupant, licensee, or invitee of the suspension by mail or hand delivery.

It will be interesting to see whether these new provisions encourage unit owners to pay amounts owed to cooperative associations.  I'll look forward to hearing from my blog followers that are members of cooperatives about this in the coming months.

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