Just when you think the world couldn’t get any nuttier…
I’m posting the link to this story without further comment–but I’ll look forward to your thoughts about the situation in which this association now finds itself.
Rules and rule enforcement
A Busy Off Season in the Fair Housing World
In the past few months, while many of the residents in our communities have escaped Florida’s heat and humidity, our friends at the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development have been busy expanding the reach of Fair Housing protections.
Here are a few of HUD’s more notable recent actions on the Fair Housing…
Florida’s Legislators Update ROC Fining Committees
By Scott Gordon on
Florida’s lawmakers "tweaked" the provisions relating to ROC "fining committees" during the recent legislative session in Tallahassee. In summary, condominium associations, cooperative associations, and mandatory homeowners’ associations now follow a similar process:
- The revisions now clarify that it is the "board of administration" (which most ROC’s refer to as the Board of Directors) that
…
Cooperative and HOA Boards Will Soon Have Emergency Powers
Florida’s Governor has signed into law Senate Bill 807 which contains very important changes to the laws governing resident owned communities. I’ll discuss many of those in future entries to this blog but since we’re now into hurricane season, I thought I’d first highlight the creation of Florida Statute Sections 719.128 and 720.316…
A First Hand Look at Fair Housing
By Scott Gordon on
I woke up one morning this summer with a pain in the area of my right shoulder blade. I assumed that I’d just pulled or strained a muscle in my neck or back–that’s a fairly common but very temporary hazard of lifting weights and trying to maintain an active lifestyle for us "baby boomers".
Six…
Furry Companions and Service Animals next on “Community Matters”
You’ll want to catch our next installment of "Community Matters" as Kevin Wells and I will be discussing therapy and companion pets and service animals with the manager of a large resident owned community in Sarasota County and a representative from Southeastern Guide Dogs.
"Community Matters" airs on WSRQ (1220 AM and 106.9 FM) on…
A Consumer Alert for ROCs: SB 286 and HB 575
By Scott Gordon on
Earlier today, I received an email from the Community Association Institute’s Florida Legislative Alliance ("FLA") alerting me to bills to be introduced in the upcoming legislative session in Tallahassee.
According to the email, Senate Bill 286 and House Bill 575 "will have a serious negative impact on community associations and other consumers of design professional…
A Tale of Two Co-ops
I always enjoy sharing positive stories about resident owned communities and the August 22 column by Eric Ernst in the Sarasota Herald Tribune is a great example of cooperative living at its best.
Country Club Estates in Venice is in the midst of a very exciting project that will enhance and increase its…
Educational Opportunities for ROC Managers and Board Members in July
I was just asked to speak on Reasonable Accommodations Under the Fair Housing Act at two Community Association Workshops scheduled for this month in Southwest Florida.
Both events are free to all community association managers and board members and CAMs can receive CEU credits for both my presentation and other presentations.
The first workshop…
Update on Debby for Florida ROCs
As a follow up to last night’s blog entry about Tropical Storm Debby, Governor Scott has declared a state of emergency for Florida .
Again, managers, board members and residents of ROCs should follow any and all directives issued by state or local authorities, including mandatory evacuation orders.
The National Hurricane Center’s most …