Senate 1844: Relating to Homeowner's Associations [EPCC]

S1844    GENERAL BILL/CS/1ST ENG by Regulated Industries; Ring (Identical CS/1ST
ENG/H 1465)
Homeowner's Associations [EPCC]; provides that parcel owner is liable
for all assessments on parcel; provides for payment of interest & late
fees on unpaid assessments; prioritizes application of any payment
received; prohibits placement of restriction statement on payment;
provides for filing of claim of lien for unpaid assessments; provides
for foreclosure of lien; provides for notice to owner; provides for
qualifying offer from owner. Creates 720.3085. EFFECTIVE DATE:
07/01/2007.
02/21/07 SENATE Filed
03/07/07 SENATE Introduced, referred to Regulated Industries; Judiciary
                  -SJ 00120
04/04/07 SENATE On Committee agenda-- Regulated Industries, 04/09/07, 1:15
                  pm, 110-S
04/09/07 SENATE CS by Regulated Industries; YEAS 8 NAYS 0 -SJ 00330; CS
                  read 1st time on 04/11/07 -SJ 00336
04/11/07 SENATE Pending reference review under Rule 4.7(2)
04/13/07 SENATE Original reference(s) removed: Judiciary; Placed on Calendar,
                  on 2nd reading -SJ 00411
04/26/07 SENATE Placed on Special Order Calendar; Read 2nd time -SJ 00590;
                  Amendment(s) adopted (934576, 550318) -SJ 00590; Ordered
                  engrossed -SJ 00591
04/27/07 SENATE Read 3rd time -SJ 00637; CS passed as amended; YEAS 38
                  NAYS 1 -SJ 00637; Immediately certified -SJ 00637
04/27/07 HOUSE In Messages
05/01/07 HOUSE Received, referred to Calendar -HJ 00951
05/02/07 HOUSE Placed on Special Order Calendar; Substituted for CS/HB 1465
                  -HJ 00999; Read 2nd and 3rd times -HJ 00999; CS passed;
                  YEAS 113 NAYS 0 -HJ 00999
05/02/07 SENATE Ordered enrolled -SJ 00875


ENROLLED 2007 Legislature CS for SB 1844, 1st Engrossed

2 An act relating to homeowners' associations; 

3 creating s. 720.3085, F.S.; providing that a 

4 parcel owner is liable for all assessments on a 

5 parcel; providing for the payment of interest 

6 and late fees on unpaid assessments; 

7 prioritizing the application of any payment 

8 received; prohibiting the placement of a 

9 restriction statement on the payment; providing

10 for the filing of a claim of lien for unpaid

11 assessments; providing for the foreclosure of

12 the lien; providing for notice to the owner;

13 providing for a qualifying offer from the 

14 owner; providing an effective date.

15 

16 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 

17 18 Section 1. Section 720.3085, Florida Statutes, is 

19 created to read: 

20 720.3085 Payment for assessments; lien claims.-- 

21 (1) A parcel owner, regardless of how his or her title 

22 to property has been acquired, including by purchase at a 

23 foreclosure sale or by deed in lieu of foreclosure, is liable 

24 for all assessments that come due while he or she is the 

25 parcel owner. The parcel owner's liability for assessments may 

26 not be avoided by waiver or suspension of the use or enjoyment 

27 of any common area or by abandonment of the parcel upon which 

28 the assessments are made. 

29 (2) A parcel owner is jointly and severally liable 

30 with the previous parcel owner for all unpaid assessments that 

31 came due up to the time of transfer of title. This liability 

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1 is without prejudice to any right the present parcel owner may 

2 have to recover any amounts paid by the present owner from the 

3 previous owner. 

4 (3) Assessments and installments on assessments that 

5 are not paid when due bear interest from the due date until 

6 paid at the rate provided in the declaration of covenants or 

7 the bylaws of the association, which rate may not exceed the 

8 rate allowed by law. If no rate is provided in the declaration 

9 or bylaws, interest accrues at the rate of 18 percent per 

10 year. 

11 (a) If the declaration or bylaws so provide, the 

12 association may also charge an administrative late fee in an 

13 amount not to exceed the greater of $25 or 5 percent of the 

14 amount of each installment that is paid past the due date. 

15 (b) Any payment received by an association and 

16 accepted shall be applied first to any interest accrued, then 

17 to any administrative late fee, then to any costs and 

18 reasonable attorney's fees incurred in collection, and then to 

19 the delinquent assessment. This paragraph applies 

20 notwithstanding any restrictive endorsement, designation, or 

21 instruction placed on or accompanying a payment. A late fee is 

22 not subject to the provisions of chapter 687 and is not a 

23 fine. 

24 (4) A homeowners' association may not file a claim of 

25 lien against a parcel for unpaid assessments unless a written 

26 notice or demand for past due assessments as well as any other 

27 amounts owed to the association pursuant to its governing 

28 documents has been made by the association. The written notice 

29 or demand must: 

30 (a) Provide the owner with 45 days to make payment for 

31 all amounts due, including, but not limited to, any attorney's 

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1 fees and actual costs associated with the preparation and 

2 delivery of the written demand. 

3 (b) Be sent by registered or certified mail, return 

4 receipt requested, and by first-class United States Mail to 

5 the parcel owner at his or her last address as reflected in 

6 the records of the association, if the address is within the 

7 United States, and to the parcel owner subject to the demand 

8 at the address of the parcel if the owner's address as 

9 reflected in the records of the association is not the parcel 

10 address. If the address reflected in the records is outside 

11 the United States, then sending the notice to that address and 

12 to the parcel address by first-class United States mail is 

13 sufficient. 

14 (5) The association may bring an action in its name to 

15 foreclose a lien for unpaid assessments secured by a lien in 

16 the same manner that a mortgage of real property is foreclosed 

17 and may also bring an action to recover a money judgment for 

18 the unpaid assessments without waiving any claim of lien. Such 

19 action may not be brought until 45 days after the parcel owner 

20 has been provided notice of the association's intent to 

21 foreclose and collect the unpaid amount. 

22 (a) The association may recover any reasonable 

23 attorney's fees incurred in a lien foreclosure action or in an 

24 action to recover a money judgment for the unpaid assessments. 

25 (b) The association may purchase the parcel at the 

26 foreclosure sale and hold, lease, mortgage, or convey the 

27 parcel. 

28 (6) If after service of a summons on a complaint to 

29 foreclose a lien the parcel is not the subject of a mortgage 

30 foreclosure or a notice of tax certificate sale, or the parcel 

31 owner is not a debtor in bankruptcy proceedings, the parcel 

Page 3 

1 owner may serve and file with the court a qualifying offer at 

2 any time before the entry of a foreclosure judgment. For 

3 purposes of this subsection, the term "qualifying offer" means 

4 a written offer to pay all amounts secured by the lien of the 

5 association plus interest accruing during the pendency of the 

6 offer at the rate of interest provided in this section. The 

7 parcel owner may make only one qualifying offer during the 

8 pendency of a foreclosure action. 

9 (a) The parcel owner shall deliver a copy of the filed 

10 qualifying offer to the association's attorney by hand 

11 delivery or by certified mail, return receipt requested. 

12 (b) The parcel owner's filing of the qualifying offer 

13 with the court stays the foreclosure action for the period 

14 stated in the qualifying offer, which may not exceed 60 days, 

15 to permit the parcel owner to pay the qualifying offer to the 

16 association plus any interest accruing during the pendency of 

17 the offer. 

18 (c) The qualifying offer of the parcel owner must be 

19 in writing, be signed by the owner of the parcel and the 

20 spouse of the owner if the spouse holds a homestead interest 

21 in the parcel, be acknowledged by a notary public, state the 

22 total amount due the association, state that the total amount 

23 due the association is secured by the lien of the association, 

24 state that the association is entitled to foreclose the lien 

25 and obtain a foreclosure judgment for the total amount due if 

26 the parcel owner breaches the qualifying offer, state that the 

27 parcel owner will not endanger the priority of the lien of the 

28 association or the amounts secured by the lien, and state the 

29 actual date or dates the association will receive the total 

30 amount due from the parcel owner. If the parcel owner makes a 

31 qualifying offer under this subsection, the association may 

Page 4 

1 not add the cost of any legal fees incurred by the association 

2 within the period of the stay other than costs acquired in 

3 defense of a mortgage foreclosure action concerning the 

4 parcel, a bankruptcy proceeding in which the parcel owner is a 

5 debtor, or in response to filings by a party other than the 

6 association in the lien foreclosure action of the association. 

7 (d) If the parcel owner breaches the qualifying offer, 

8 the stay shall be vacated and the association may proceed in 

9 its action to obtain a foreclosure judgment against the parcel 

10 and the parcel owners for the amount in the qualifying offer 

11 and any amounts accruing after the date of the qualifying 

12 offer. 

13 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2007. 

 

 Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.


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