New Florida law gives HOAs more latitude with repair needs

Article Courtesy of BAY NEWS 9

By Jeff Allen

Published July 13, 2014  

  

When several hurricanes battered Central Florida in 2004, Home Owners Associations had to wait for homeowners’ consent to pay money for major damage to clubhouses and other neighborhood property. That waiting could sometimes make damage more costly.

A new Florida law allows HOA board members to make major repairs without homeowners’ consent. The damage must be from a storm where the Governor has declared a state of emergency.

 

The new law allows HOA boards to make contracts with builders, borrow money, and even charge homeowners a fee for the extra costs.

But attorney Michele Diglio-Benkiran with NeJame Law, who specializes in real-estate law, said the new HOA law doesn’t define exactly how far HOAs can really go with storm repairs.

“The contractor comes in and repairs cracks and puts paint on the side of a clubhouse, and now it looks a little bit different. So do we paint the whole building, or do we just repair that one crack on the side of the building?” said Benkiran.

And Benkiran says the ambiguity of the law could allow homeowners to legally challenge fees they may have to pay for storm repair work done.

A Fort Meade mobile home park was one of several neighborhoods in the area that saw damage as a result of Hurricane Charley. 


  
“So what’s reasonably necessary is an area that’s going to be litigated,” said Benkiran. 

Cyber Citizens for Justice, a statewide property owner advocate group, has already critized the new law in an online blog, saying in part:

“This new bill looks good on the surface, but between the lines it’s outright dangerous. Is that what the Florida legislature really had in mind – or is that just another bill that has too many unintended loopholes between the lines?”


NEWS PAGE HOME

LEGISLATIVE SESSION 2014