As 2016 comes to an end, Condominium Associations find themselves sending out mandatory notices to Owners regarding budget proposals, declaration amendments, changes to monthly assessments, etc. But what if, as with many of Florida’s condominium owners, a unit Owner lives out of state? Does every notice from the Association have to be sent to the unit Owner’s out of state address?

Chapter 718 of the Florida Statutes explicitly states that official notice of meetings and all other purposes must be mailed to each unit owner at the address last furnished to the association by the unit owner. The statute does allow hand delivery of notices; however, this is a risky tactic on behalf of the Condominium Association as it may be difficult in the future to prove that the notice was actually delivered. The statute also allows Condominium Associations to send notices via e-mail; but only if the Condominium Owner provides written consent for such action (Associations make sure you retain this written consent in your records!).

The term “single family” has been interpreted to mean multiple if not numerous things.  In fact, the term may encompass a group of unrelated individuals living as a single household unit. Similarly, a religious group may qualify as a single family.  As such, the term is not even necessarily limited to an individual and his or her significant other. Consequently, single family restrictions within associations’ governing documents may have little or no teeth with which to restrict who and/or how many individuals can reside within a unit. In fact, this development has severely, if not completely, undermined the ability of associations to use the “single family” use restriction(s) found within their documents to prohibit a multitude of activities.

The 4^th DCA has clarified in Jallali v Knightsbridge, 4D15-2036 (2015) when it is necessary for an Association to intervene in a Mortgage Foreclosure action.  The 4^th DCA has opined in the Jallali v. Knightsbridge case that only when an Association has taken Title in a Lien Foreclosure action and after a supplemental Lis Pendens has been filed by the Bank to re-foreclose, must the Association intervene in the Mortgage Foreclosure action as that Court has jurisdiction.  This opinion distinguished their prior decision in U.S. Bank National Ass’n v. Quadomain Condominium Ass’n, 103 3d 977 (Fla. 4^th DCA 2012).

The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) has announced that ALL residential condominiums in the state of Florida must install fire sprinkler systems, unless they vote to opt-out of this requirement by the end of 2016. 

According to an article published in the Palm Beach Post on Friday, July 8, 2016, quoting Travis Keels, Deputy Director of Communications for the DBPR, “generally speaking, the fire sprinkler requirement applies to all residential condominiums.”

This year, the Florida legislative session extended from January 12, 2016, through March 11, 2016.  Our Florida legislators had filed no fewer than 24 bills in the House of Representatives and the Senate proposing various changes to the laws affecting community associations.  Changes were proposed to the laws regulating all types of associations.  For example, some of these bills proposed:

You might be asking yourself, ‘what difference does it make whether the gross value of the estate consists of a simple 3 bedroom house valued at $100,000 or is valued at $10 Million?’ The answer to this question has both a legal implication as well as a practical implication.

From a legal perspective, if the decedent is a U.S. citizen or resident and the decedent's death occurred in 2016, a Federal estate tax return (IRS Form 706) must be filed if the gross estate of the decedent, increased by the decedent's adjusted taxable gifts and specific gift tax exemption, is valued at more than the filing threshold for the year of the decedent's death. The filing threshold for 2016 is $5,450,000 and the filing threshold for 2015 is $5,430,000. An estate tax return also must be filed if the estate elects to transfer any deceased spousal unused exclusion (DSUE) amount to a surviving spouse, regardless of the size of the gross estate or amount of adjusted taxable gifts. The election to transfer a DSUE amount to a surviving spouse is known as the portability election. 

I read recently about a resident in an upscale HOA community who spent her summer vacation in Maine.  While there, the resident became accustomed to putting her clothes out to dry on a clothesline, per local custom.  The resident assumed, however, that upon returning to her Florida HOA community, she would be prohibited from utilizing a clothesline due to restrictions in her HOA’s declaration.

In my prior “Blog” entitled “Former Board Members Must Turn Over Association Files”, we discussed Directors’ responsibilities and requirements to turn over their respective HOA’s, Condo’s and Co-op’s “Official Records” when their term as a member of the Association’s Board of Directors has terminated.  Part II of this Blog discusses the advisability of X-Directors taking reasonable measures to protect them, before timely relinquishing the Official Records in their possession.

As a number of communities that we represent have aged, an increasing number have come to us with questions as to who has responsibility for maintenance and replacement of trees.  As many of you know, especially for communities built in the 1990s, many local governments required new developments to plant a number of trees, especially oak trees, adjoining paved portions of streets.  Over time, these trees have grown, sometimes causing damage to roadways and structures.  Some associations may believe that the location of such trees is within the yards of the homes adjacent to the street trees, and as such, the homeowner would have responsibility for the trees.  While this may be the case for some homes, we have discovered that, especially for communities with private streets owned by the association, the trees may actually be located within the area designed on the plat as a common area roadway right-of-way tract.

As communities age and populations age and expand in Florida, developers and associations both face new challenges that are vastly different from the ones overcome since the turn of the century.  The advent of this century brought such issues as insurance and repair of hurricane damage, Marketable Record Title Act and foreclosures to the forefront.  Community Association laws and practices changed to incorporate the new realities. 

The changing culture, demographics and technology herald new trends.  What’s next for community associations?