Legislative Changes to the Florida Condominium Act: What Are They Thinking?

I've often said that the 3 most highly regulated businesses in Florida are nuclear power (I hope), parimutuels and #Condos, #HOAs and Community Association managers. This industry must bear the constant and ongoing nitpicking of the legislature and nonsensical changes to the law. I'm going to address a few of them in this article.

A significant change is the notice of meetings of a condo association board of directors where "regular or special assessments are to be considered." The requirement that the notices contain the "nature" of the purposes of the #assessment was removed. The change now states that the notice must specifically state that assessments will be considered (no change here), and provide the "estimated cost and description of the purposes for such assessments." So, I'm considering what substantively changed here.

It seems that the notice must give line items and expected costs for each projected expense. The line items to be assessed for ought to be sufficient to describe the "purpose" of the assessment. The law has introduced more regulation, more detail and more possible confusion added to the process has been introduced, and more potential for challenges are provided for.

A seemingly innocuous provision regarding posting notice of meetings has been radically changed. In the past, notices had to be posted on condominium property, not association property. Now, in multi condominium communities, where notices used to be able be posted, say at a clubhouse that is association property because the land on which it exists is not part of the common elements of any condominium and is not condominium property. So it seems tha the notice must now be posted on the common elements of each separately declared condominium subject to administration by the association. A small wording change resulted in a huge logistical issue introduced by the legislature, in its infinite wisdom.

The requirement for Condominiums to have #websites lists a number of documents on the site, but a number of them are nonsensical. Now "lists" of all executory contracts to which the association is a party must be posted. After bidding for related materials, equipment or services has closed, a "list" of bids obtained in the last year (not the bids themselves) must be posted. "Summaries" of bids for materials, equipment or services that cost over $500 must be maintained for a year, or in the alternative, the bids themselves may be posted. Certain documents that may pose a conflict of interest must be posted. Any monthly income or expense report "to be considered at a meeting" must be posted. I have no idea what that means; as far as I know, those documents are reports and are never the subject of "consideration at a meeting.

It's quite incredible that of all the documents that have to be available behind a password-protected wall are a new type of documents, few of which have a practical effect on understanding the operations of the association. Why not require the posting of income statements? Status or reserve accounts? Nothing required to be available, considering the pain inflicted on setting up the sites. The irony of it all is that the failure to post this information is, in and of itself, insufficient to invalidate any action or decision made by the board or a committee.

Last but certainly not least is new language involving installing #electric v#ehicle charging stations. The language is quite convoluted and allows installation within a limited common element parking area. How the power is to get to the parking space is not addressed; it's not clear that a 240 volt line can be installed, and if the request is widespread and more power than can be delivered through the as-built system is required, then who pays the hundreds of thousands of dollars that will be required to provide the additional demand with new transformers and other lines, etc.

If the legislature was not so backward on the issue of renewable energy and the ability to sell power into the grid, maybe solar or wind systems could be installed to provide more power independent of the existing supply. Don't look for change any time soon, unfortunately. The traditional command and control monopolies of power production cannot stand the idea of actual competition, no matter what the size. Until then this change in the law awaits, yes, further clarification.