Article
and Video Courtesy of Channel 9 WFTV
By Karla Ray
Published February 28, 2020
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OSCEOLA COUNTY — The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office
has now issued a legal bulletin to inform their deputies and people
living in the Turnberry Reserve community in Kissimmee about their
rights to access HOA common areas.
It comes after HOA property management staff were
caught on camera twice asking law enforcement to kick some residents out
of the playground and pool area based on a fake trespass warning.
The first video, taken the last week of January, shows an Osceola County
deputy shutting down a request from Management 35 Firm owner Sherry
Raposo to trespass a resident from the community’s pool and playground.
“It’s an HOA, and they pay dues,” the deputy said, explaining the issue
is a civil matter. “It’s a homeowner’s association, not a ‘you’
association.”
Just days after the interaction, the Osceola Sheriff’s Office general
counsel sent out a notice to staff, confirming that deputy’s stance. It
states that the only way an HOA can prevent access for members breaking
HOA rules is to suspend their rights for a “reasonable period of time,”
and only after a hearing.
“There is due process, civil due process, afforded these owners. The
association and the management company need to follow the rules,” real
estate attorney Barry Miller said. “Of all people, the association and
manager should be an example of how to follow the rules.” |
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The Osceola County Sheriff?s Office has now
issued a legal bulletin to inform their deputies and people
living in the Turnberry Reserve community in Kissimmee about
their rights to access HOA common areas.
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Miller said the legal bulletin, which has been distributed to homeowners
in the community over the last week, notes that anyone prevented from
using common areas may bring an action in the appropriate court; meaning
a civil lawsuit or request for injunction against the HOA or property
manager.
“To try to put law enforcement in the middle is not fair to them, and
it’s not fair to the people living there and it creates a hostile living
environment,” Miller said.
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