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A bill to be entitled |
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An act relating to community
associations; directing the |
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Advisory Council on Condominiums
to hold public hearings |
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and prepare and present a report
to the Legislature |
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regarding certain issues relating
to the powers of |
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condominium associations during
catastrophic windstorm |
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events and the recovery and
rebuilding following such |
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events; amending
s. 720.305, F.S.; providing that a fine |
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levied by
a homeowners' association against a homeowner |
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shall not
become a lien against a parcel unless it is |
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imposed
for violations of use restrictions on the land; |
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amending s. 720.311, F.S.;
providing that the failure of a |
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party to make payment of fees and
costs or appear for a |
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mediation session or arbitration
proceeding acts as an |
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impasse in the proceeding and
entitles the other party to |
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proceed in court and to receive
and enforce an award of |
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costs and fees associated with the
mediation or |
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arbitration; deleting the training
hours required for |
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certification of mediators and
arbitrators; providing that |
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qualifications for certification
as a mediator or |
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arbitrator will be established by
the Florida Supreme |
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Court; deleting a provision
requiring the initial costs of |
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educating homeowners and other
parties about homeowners' |
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associations and the use of
alternative dispute resolution |
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techniques to be paid from moneys
and filing fees |
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generated by the arbitration of
recall and election |
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disputes and by the mediation of
those disputes; creating |
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s. 712.11, F.S.; providing for the
revival of certain |
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declarations that have been
extinguished; providing an |
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effective date. |
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|
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Be It Enacted by the Legislature
of the State of Florida: |
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|
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Section
1. The Advisory Council on
Condominiums is |
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directed to
hold public hearings, study available options and |
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proposals, and
prepare a report to the Legislature, including |
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recommended
legislation, dealing with the protection and |
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preservation of
condominium property at the time of anticipated |
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catastrophic
windstorm events and the recovery and rebuilding |
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following such
events. Recommendations should consider the |
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communication
options with condominium owners in times of |
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anticipated and
declared emergencies, financial planning for |
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protecting and
rebuilding condominium property following such |
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events, and the
powers and responsibilities of unit owners and |
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the board of
directors of the condominium association before, |
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during, and
after such occurrences. |
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Section
2. Subsection (2) of section 720.305, Florida |
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Statutes,
is amended to read: |
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720.305 Obligations
of members; remedies at law or in |
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equity; levy of fines and
suspension of use rights; failure to |
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fill sufficient number of
vacancies on board of directors to |
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constitute a quorum; appointment
of receiver upon petition of |
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any member.-- |
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(2) If
the governing documents so provide, an association |
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may suspend, for a reasonable
period of time, the rights of a |
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member or a member's tenants,
guests, or invitees, or both, to |
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use common areas and facilities
and may levy reasonable fines, |
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not to exceed $100 per violation,
against any member or any |
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tenant, guest, or invitee. A fine
may be levied on the basis of |
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each day of a continuing
violation, with a single notice and |
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opportunity for hearing, except
that no such fine shall exceed |
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$1,000 in the aggregate unless
otherwise provided in the |
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governing documents. A fine shall
not become a lien against a |
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parcel unless
it is imposed for violations of use restrictions |
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on the
land. In any action to recover a fine, the prevailing |
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party is entitled to collect its
reasonable attorney's fees and |
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costs from the nonprevailing party
as determined by the court. |
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(a) A
fine or suspension may not be imposed without notice |
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of at least 14 days to the person
sought to be fined or |
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suspended and an opportunity for a
hearing before a committee of |
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at least three members appointed
by the board who are not |
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officers, directors, or employees
of the association, or the |
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spouse, parent, child, brother, or
sister of an officer, |
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director, or employee. If the
committee, by majority vote, does |
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not approve a proposed fine or
suspension, it may not be |
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imposed. |
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(b) The
requirements of this subsection do not apply to |
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the imposition of suspensions or
fines upon any member because |
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of the failure of the member to
pay assessments or other charges |
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when due if such action is
authorized by the governing |
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documents. |
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(c) Suspension
of common-area-use rights shall not impair |
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the right of an owner or tenant of
a parcel to have vehicular |
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and pedestrian ingress to and
egress from the parcel, including, |
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but not
limited to, the right to park. |
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Section
3. Paragraphs (b) and (c) of subsection (2) and |
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subsection (3) of section 720.311,
Florida Statutes, are amended |
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to read: |
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720.311 Dispute
resolution.-- |
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(2) |
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(b) If
mediation as described in paragraph (a) is not |
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successful in resolving all issues
between the parties, the |
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parties may file the unresolved
dispute in a court of competent |
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jurisdiction or elect to enter
into binding or nonbinding |
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arbitration pursuant to the
procedures set forth in s. 718.1255 |
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and rules adopted by the division,
with the arbitration |
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proceeding to be conducted by a
department arbitrator or by a |
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private arbitrator certified by
the department. If all parties |
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do not agree to arbitration
proceedings following an |
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unsuccessful mediation, any party
may file the dispute in court. |
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A final order resulting from
nonbinding arbitration is final and |
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enforceable in the courts if a
complaint for trial de novo is |
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not filed in a court of competent
jurisdiction within 30 days |
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after entry of the order. The
failure of any party to make |
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payment of fees
and costs within the time established by |
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department rule
or to appear for a scheduled mediation session |
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or arbitration
proceeding shall operate as an impasse in the |
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proceeding
between the parties, entitling the other party to |
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proceed in
court and to receive and enforce an award of costs |
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and fees
associated with the mediation or arbitration. |
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(c) The
department shall develop a certification and |
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training program for private
mediators and private arbitrators |
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which shall emphasize experience
and expertise in the area of |
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the operation of community
associations. A mediator or |
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arbitrator shall be certified by
the department only if he or |
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she has
met the qualifications for a mediator established for |
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circuit
court mediators has attended
at least 20 hours of |
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training in
mediation or arbitration, as appropriate, and only |
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if the
applicant has mediated or arbitrated at least 10 disputes |
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involving
community associations within 5 years prior to the |
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date of the
application, or has mediated or arbitrated 10 |
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disputes in any
area within 5 years prior to the date of |
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application and
has completed 20 hours of training in community |
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association
disputes. In order to be certified by the |
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department, any
mediator must also be certified by
the Florida |
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Supreme Court. The department may
conduct the training and |
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certification program within the
department or may contract with |
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an outside vendor to perform the
training or certification. The |
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expenses of operating the training
and certification and |
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training program shall be paid by
the moneys and filing fees |
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generated by the arbitration of
recall and election disputes and |
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by the mediation of those disputes
referred to in this |
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subsection and by the training
fees. |
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(3) The
department shall develop an education program to |
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assist homeowners, associations,
board members, and managers in |
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understanding and increasing
awareness of the operation of |
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homeowners' associations pursuant
to this chapter and in |
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understanding the use of
alternative dispute resolution |
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techniques in resolving disputes
between parcel owners and |
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associations or between owners.
Such education program may |
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include the development of
pamphlets and other written |
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instructional guides, the holding
of classes and meetings by |
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department employees or outside
vendors, as the department |
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determines, and the creation and
maintenance of a website |
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containing instructional
materials. The expenses of operating |
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the education
program shall be initially paid by the moneys and |
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filing fees
generated by the arbitration of recall and election |
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disputes and by
the mediation of those disputes referred to in |
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this
subsection. |
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Section
4. Section 712.11, Florida Statutes, is created to |
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read: |
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712.11 Covenants
and restrictions.--A homeowners' |
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association
that is not otherwise subject to chapter 720 may use |
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the procedures
provided in ss. 720.403-720.407 to revive a |
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declaration of
covenants and restrictions that has been |
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extinguished by
this chapter entitled Marketable Record Titles |
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to Real
Property. |
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Section
5. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. |