In light of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and the quickly approaching hurricane season, which starts June 1, many Florida condominium and homeowner associations are facing critical and unique issues regarding the operation and governance of their communities. Both the Condominium Act (Chapter 718, Florida Statutes) and the Homeowners’ Association Act (Chapter 720, Florida Statutes) contain certain emergency powers. All board members, officers, property managers and residents alike should make sure that they understand their rights and obligations in emergency situations. Below are some of the more common questions that have, and will continue to, arise during this time. What are the emergency powers of a community association? Chapters 718 and 720 contain fairly broad “emergency powers” which may be exercised by an association’s board of directors without the approval of its owners. By way of example, those statutory powers include: Conducting meetings with notice given as practicable, such as through

A homeowner association and a condominium association have a duty to maintain their common property. That duty is generally provided for in Florida Statutes and the express duties are usually set forth in the Declaration of Covenants and Restrictions. For homeowners’ associations, the duty is set forth in Fla. Stat. 720.305(1) (“Each member and the member’s tenants, guests, and invitees, and each association, are governed by, and must comply with, this chapter, the governing documents of the community, and the rules of the association…”) For condominium associations the duty is set forth in Fla. Stat. 718.303(1) (“Each unit owner, each tenant and other invitee, and each association is governed by, and must comply with the provisions of, this chapter, the declaration, the documents creating the association and the association bylaws which shall be deemed expressly incorporated into any lease of a unit.”); see also, Fla. Stat. 718.113(1) (“Maintenance of the

Pursuant to Florida Statute 718.111(5), an Association has the irrevocable right to access each unit during reasonable hours for the purposes of maintenance, repair or replacement of any common elements or of any portion of a unit to be maintained by the Association. The term “reasonable” is not defined by the Florida Statutes but it has come to mean during daylight hours. Regardless of whether entering occurs during reasonable hours, the recommendation is to give prior Notice at all times. Additionally, the Association cannot reasonably be allowed or expected to enter a unit during the night hours, unless an emergency arises, and usually, notice must be given. It is also important to review the Condominium Documents and bylaws in regards to this matter as well. Further, a Condominium Association, at the sole discretion of the Board of Directors, may enter an abandoned unit to inspect the property and adjoining common

Collection of a community’s assessments is critical to maintaining a steady flow of income to support the association’s maintenance responsibilities and maintain the association’s overall fiscal health. Yet with the more urgent day-to-day demands on property managers and volunteer board members, collections can often be neglected or completely overlooked. On day one, new board members should evaluate the association’s accounts receivable aging report, its internal collections policy, and the governing documents. If delinquencies are rampant, it is possible that the collections policy may be inconsistently applied. If an association has recently decided to crack down on delinquencies, it must be sure to adopt a clear collections policy and share that collections policy with owners prior to implementation. The board will need to make sure that the collections strategy also includes a plan to combat recidivism, including acceleration or shortening the time for turnover of an account to collections. The board

While the country begins to prepare for the national election, election season is also rearing its head for many community associations across the State of Florida. Now that most community associations have held their annual meetings reviewing all things 2019 and set a budget for 2020, it is important to keep in mind all the details that have to be straightened out weeks, and even months, before the nail-biting, hours-long board elections take place. Florida requires that residential condominium associations send out their first notice of the annual meeting and elections not less than 60 days prior to the election. Once the notice is sent, the clock starts for a myriad of deadlines and paperwork that require advance planning. For-getting to check one of the items off the list could lead to having to start the whole process all over again, which can lead to increased costs and confusion for