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.