Article
Courtesy of Florida Bar News
By Jim Ash
Published April 12, 2024
After the Champlain Towers South collapse
killed 98 Surfside residents in 2021, the Legislature moved
quickly to beef up structural inspections.
Those reforms continued last month, when the Senate voted
40-0 to approve HB 1021, which now awaits Gov. Ron DeSantis’
signature.
Rep. Vicki Lopez, R-Coral Gables, was the prime sponsor.
Veteran Republican Jennifer Bradley, a Flemming Island
attorney who worked on the reforms for the past two years,
sponsored the Senate companion — SB 1178.
In November, a Real Property, Probate and Trust Law
representative, a veteran Miami-Dade prosecutor, and
Florida’s former condominium ombudsman told the Senate
Regulated Industries Committee that reforms are badly
needed. Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle
recently told the Bar News that she was more than pleased
with the final product.
“They really knocked it out of the park,” Rundle said.
Chapter 718, which governs condominium associations, should
give the state Division of Condominiums, Mobile Homes, and
Timeshares more authority to initiate investigations,
Tallahassee attorney and RPPTL section member Pete Dunbar
told the committee in November.
Miami-Dade Assistant State Attorney John Periklese said
Rundle was forced to beef up the Economic Crime Division
that he heads just to address a flood of complaints from
condo residents.
Periklese said Chapter 718 doesn’t do enough to help
residents obtain condo association records. One condo
resident spent $160,000 in legal fees to obtain inspection
reports and financial records, Periklese said.
Even worse, Periklese said, Chapter 718 doesn’t address the
most common way corrupt board members enrich themselves, by
demanding kickbacks from contractors.
Some board members demand free work on their units in
exchange for a contract, Periklese said. One board member
asked a contractor to overcharge the association $50,000 for
repairs and funnel the money back to him, Periklese said.
Spencer Hennings, who served as Florida’s condominium
ombudsman for three years before joining a private law firm,
said most residents have a relatively quick and inexpensive
way to resolve disputes with their condominium associations.
“We have non-binding arbitration, and the arbitrators
generally do a good job,” Hennings said. “The problem is,
they don’t have the power to enforce their orders. They’re
non-binding.”
Civil courts can’t resolve an election challenge quickly
enough to justify the expense of hiring attorneys, Hemmings
said.
HB 1021 addresses many of the recommendations.
Among other things, the bill would provide criminal
penalties for board members who accept kickbacks and for
fraudulent voting activities.
Boards that govern condominiums with 10 units or more would
be required to meet quarterly and to give residents at least
four opportunities a year to ask questions.
Association directors would be required to annually complete
continuing education on recent changes to condominium laws
and regulations.
Boards that govern condominiums with 25 units or more would
be required to post association records on a public website.
The bill would create criminal penalties for failing to
provide records, or for destroying records.
The bill would also expand the jurisdiction of the Division
of Condominiums, Mobile Homes, and Time Shares.
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