HOA bill would add state oversight

Accountability measure would add $4 annual fee per home.

Article Courtesy of The Palm Beach Post

By Kim Miller

Published March 6, 2014

  

Florida homeowners associations could face more state oversight and accountability for rule violations under a proposal that includes charging residents of HOA communities an annual $4 fee.

  

  The bill, filed last week, builds on a 2013 law that required a first census be taken of Florida’s HOAs as a step in creating regulations for the groups and giving the state authority to investigate complaints and enforce rules.

  

   More than 2.6 million homes statewide are in communities run by homeowners associations, according to the survey taken by Florida’s Department of Business and Professional Regulation.

   Palm Beach County reported the largest number of associations statewide with 1,572 to oversee 299,286 homes or undeveloped lots.

 

   Condominium associations have long been governed by laws that give the state power to review complaints from residents, issue fines and conduct recalls if boards act unlawfully.

 

   HOAs have not been subject to the same oversight, although the state can arbitrate election disputes and homeowners can request mediation in some situations. 

   Sen. Alan Hays, R-Umatilla, said he is sponsoring the bill (SB 1348) because his office receives numerous calls from homeowners with complaints about their association but with few places to turn for help. Hays also sponsored last year’s legislation that required the census. Umatilla is northwest of Orlando.

  

   Hays’ bill would require associations to comply with federal and state laws and local ordinances as well as “conform to a system of checks and balances in order to prevent abuses by (governing boards).”

 

   “I would gladly pay $10 or even $20 per year to have some protection,” said Wellington homeowner Jacques Dupuis, who has tussled with his homeowners association. “They try to intimidate people who speak out. Things are run like a dictatorship.”

  

   If approved, the $4 per-home fee would generate more than $10.5 million.

 

   The proposal also would rename the Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares and Mobile Homes, which is in the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, to include homeowners associations. It gives the division the authority to investigate complaints and enforce compliance with respect to HOAs that are still under developer control.

 

   After the association is turned over to the community, the division would only be able to investigate complaints related to financial issues, elections and access to association records.

   There is no House companion bill, but Hays believes a proposal is imminent.

   

   “I feel my colleagues do support the measures to protect the homeowners of Florida,” Hays said.

 

   Some homeowners groups said the bill goes too far.

 

   The Alliance of Delray Residential Associations wrote a letter to lawmakers Saturday opposing the fee and increased oversight, saying homeowners associations are different from community associations and can’t be regulated by the same rules.

 

   Community associations, which typically exist in condominium developments, oversee more shared elements, such as roofs, insurance and pools. HOAs, the alliance argues, are more diverse and have fewer shared elements.

 

   The plan would not only charge the $4 fee to pay for the oversight, but also cost HOAs more money in attorneys’ fees to respond to homeowner complaints, said Lori Vinikoor, executive vice president for the board of directors of the Delray Beach alliance.

  

   “The associations, they can’t just write a letter to the ombudsmen, they have to protect themselves through an attorney, and who is paying that bill? Your neighbors,” Vinikoor said. “The concern is the oversight.”

 

   And an additional bureaucracy in Tallahassee isn’t necessary, said Michael Gelfand, a West Palm Beach attorney who represents associations.

 

   He said most homeowner complaints can be solved over a cup of coffee. If that doesn’t work, mediation is already a requirement.

 

   “This appears to be an effort to address recreational complainers as well as providing a justification for the $4 per unit tax,” Gelfand said. “Mandatory mediation is a remedy, and if that doesn’t work, instead of duking it out in the parking lot, you go to court.”

  

   Jan Bergemann, a DeLand resident who has worked for HOA reform as president of the grassroots organization Cyber Citizens for Justice, said HOAs opposing the bill are worried about losing power.

  

   “In reality, they are not afraid of the annual fees, they are afraid that they can no longer violate or ignore the Florida statutes without being held liable,” Bergemann said. “Condos and HOAs may have different buildings but the issues of managing these associations are in reality the same.”

 

WHAT BILL WOULD DO

 

   Now: Florida law gives the Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares and Mobile Homes the authority to arbitrate election and recall disputes in HOAs, but it can’t investigate complaints. For the first time last year, HOAs had to register with the state.

  

   Proposal: The bill renames the division to add "homeowners associations" and gives it power to investigate complaints and enforce compliance with respect to HOAs that are still under developer control. After turnover to the community, the division may only investigate complaints related to financial issues, elections and access to association records. The division would also have the power to order the removal of officers and board members.


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