Article
Courtesy of The Sun Sentinel
By Daniel
Vasquez
Published May 13, 2009
Can a felon serve on a
condominium board?
Can your association stop you from installing a satellite-TV dish on the
roof?
Can you find out if a neighbor is delinquent on association fees?
Readers want to know. Here are some answers to recent reader questions,
with help from attorneys whose practices emphasize Florida community law
from the Palm Beach County Bar Association.
Can someone who is not the owner of a condo unit be elected to that
Florida condominium association's board of directors?
Yes, unless there is a prohibition in the association's articles of
incorporation or bylaws. There is no requirement in the Florida
Condominium Act that a director be an owner.
Some condominium association articles of incorporation or bylaws require
certain qualifications such as unit ownership. But, those restrictions are
not uniform nor widely adopted. Many associations have removed ownership
qualifications because it is increasingly difficult to encourage competent
volunteers to serve on boards of directors and they frequently include
spouses or significant others of owners.
Can a person who has been convicted of a felony in a Florida court
serve as a director of a Florida association?
No, and yes. The Florida Condominium Act prohibits a person convicted of a
felony from serving as a condominium association director unless the
felon's civil rights have been restored for at least five years before the
date of election.
While the Florida Legislature considered a similar provision for the
Florida Homeowners' Association Act, that bill was not enacted, so a felon
may serve as a director on an HOA.
May a mobile homeowner renting a lot in a Florida mobile home park
require payment of back lot rent after a co-homeowner has died?
Generally yes, if the co-homeowners are what is referred to as
"jointly and severally liable" for rent which means that both
must pay. Of course, the specific rental agreement should be reviewed by
counsel.
May a Florida condominium association prohibit me from installing a
satellite dish on the condominium's roof?
Yes, under normal circumstances a condominium's roof is a common element
which serves many if not all unit owners, not just the owner seeking the
satellite dish. An important condominium association duty usually is
protecting the roof.
Most owners do not want anyone on a roof which may cause damage to the
weather membrane or to do anything that would invalidate a roof warranty,
such as the placement of items on a roof.
As a result, many condo associations prohibit not only installation of a
satellite dish on a roof, but also bar residents' access to the roof. The
situation may be different if the roof top was part of an individual
condominium unit.
Frequently the Federal Communications Commission's rules concerning small
satellite dishes are misconstrued. The FCC rules do not require a
condominium association to abandon the association's duty to protect the
roof. In the condominium context, the rules generally apply to only areas
which an owner owns or has exclusive use.
Can a unit owner obtain the identity of other owners in a Florida
association who are delinquent in paying association assessments?
Yes, because condo and homeowners' association financial documents are
usually official records. As a result, owners normally have reasonable
access to inspect and copy them. Frequently, the information is contained
in an accounts receivable report which is accessible if the association
keeps such a report.
But associations are not required to provide instantaneous access. Most
associations do not post delinquency lists because experience has shown
that posting rarely encourages payment and can lead to confrontations.
Note:
These answers are not legal opinions, counsel, representation or advice.
For legal protection, a person or organization with these types of
questions should consult Florida legal counsel. Readers may send questions
to [email protected]
.
Daniel
Vasquez can be reached at:
[email protected]
or at 954-356-4558 (Broward) or 561-243-6686 (Palm
Beach County). His condo column runs every Wednesday in the Local
section and at www.sunsentinel.com/condos.
You also can read his consumer column every Monday in Your Money and at www.sunsentinel.com/vasquez
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