C&M is sharing with our COA, HOA, Co-Op, Mobile Home and Timeshare Association Clients a preliminary legal update for the 2025 Florida Legislature as drafted by counsel from The Fund. C&M and its affiliated Title Agency, Community Association Title (CAT) are members and title companies affiliated with and agents for The Fund and Old Republic National Title Insurance Company.
Florida’s Legislature Gets One Right – and A Few Wrong
30 Jun 2021 inThis year’s Florida legislative session was fairly productive for community associations. Among the statutory amendments scheduled to take effect July 1, 2021 are two which could significantly impact our clients’ covenant enforcement and collection procedures, and we are thus supplying this brief update.
Changes in the Law for “55 and Older” Communities
25 Jun 2021 inFlorida Law governing “55 and Older” Communities, which Communities are permitted to exist under exceptions to the Federal and Florida Fair Housing Acts (Chapter 760.20), has been revised. The revisions to the Statute no longer require a “55 and Older” Community to file bi-annual reports to the Florida Commission on Human Relations, nor the payment of a registration fee.
The “Quick and Dirty” Mid-Legislative Session Update
10 Apr 2019 inToday we are at the virtual halfway point of this year’s legislative session. Most years there are a number of bills that are proposed that attempt to either regulate or impact community associations. This year, that is an understatement. We are currently monitoring more than eighty (80!) bills that seek to have an impact on residential communities and/or community associations. This article, while short, will emphasize those bills that we have seen moving quickly through the legislature that appear to have the greatest impact on our community association clients.
Important Legal Update!
29 Mar 2018 inYou may recall that on March 20th, our firm provided an update on certain legislation that may be entered into law this session. That update can be found here. Shortly thereafter, Governor Rick Scott signed HB617 into law; it is now Chapter 2018-55, Laws of Florida. A few days later, Governor Scott also signed HB841 into law; it is now Chapter 2018-96, Laws of Florida.
Short and Sweet Legislative Session Update
19 Mar 2018 inOf all the bills filed regarding community associations from this 2018 Florida legislative session, only two major bills had survived by the end of the session on Friday, March 9: HB 841, which is this year’s “omnibus” bill, and HB 617, which relates to MRTA (the Florida Marketable Record Title Act). As of the date of writing this blog, the bills were on the way to the Governor for signature, or potentially for veto. As such, it is important to note that as of the date of writing this blog, these bills have NOT been fully approved and are NOT yet law. Stay tuned! If the bills do become law, expect a more detailed update in the weeks and months to come.
"Another Day, Another Battle..."
18 Jul 2017 inAs you may be aware, the Florida legislature approved six bills that directly affect Community Associations in the 2017 legislative session. The governor approved five of these bills, and vetoed one of them. This article will quickly address the three bills that provide the greatest effect on our client Associations, and will give a short summary of how they may affect your Association.
What Did The Legislature Do To Us This Year? The 2016 Legal Update – Part I
24 Jun 2016 inThis 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:
Short and sweet legislative update for most associations
24 Jul 2015 inAs you may be aware, this year’s Florida legislative session ended with an unprecedented early adjournment of the Florida House. As a result of an early adjournment, the most consequential bill for community associations, Senate Bill 736/ House Bill 611, was not approved. If this bill had been approved, and signed by the Governor, your community association could have lost all ability to collect delinquent assessments if an estoppel (e.g., request by a purchaser /title company for a statement as to delinquent assessments) was not returned on time, or any portion of the assessments actually owed should the estoppel not reflect the entire amount owed. Moreover, we believed that the increased burden for compliance set forth in this bill would have caused association assessments to increase. We believe that this bill may surface again next year, and as such, your Association should be mindful as to this potential legal issue.