Since the Surfside condo collapse in June, the CBS12 News I Team has been following efforts to protect people living in high-rises and how strict new inspections- like those now on the books in Boca Raton – could change life in South Florida condo towers. Read the entire article……………………………….
Condo questions: Board meetings are only held via Zoom. Can they do this? (FL)
Q: My husband and I do not have access to Zoom or other online meeting platforms. Our condo board started holding all of the board meetings on Zoom when the COVID-19 pandemic was on the rise. Read the Q&A…………………………………
Changing community services does not require unanimous approval (FL)
Q: I live in a gated community. We have guards on duty 24 hours a day. Presently some owners are trying to do away with the guards. I remember that years ago some residents tried to do the same thing and were not able to accomplish it. I do not recall the particular reason why […]
Firefighters battle flames at South Tampa apartment (FL)
A fire broke out Friday afternoon near the Westshore Yacht Club Condos in Tampa. It happened in an occupied single-family apartment on top of a garage in the area of Yeats Manor Drive and Olivette Court. Read the entire article……………………………….
Condo Q&A (FL)
Q: Our condo association sent out notice of a board meeting where the new budget for the upcoming year will be passed by the board, and it had the proposed budget attached to it. The proposed budget looks like it’s a significant increase in the amount of assessments. Isn’t that something that the unit owners […]
What Boca Country Club Residents Are Worried About & Delray Looks at Seawalls (FL)
A week from Friday, the formerly private Boca Country Club becomes the public Boca Raton Golf and Racquet Club. Traffic remains the main issue between the city and residents of the nearly 1,000 homes that border the golf course, and there remains no resolution that pleases the residents. Read the entire article……………………………….
Condo Won’t Give 100 Year Old Resident Decal to Enter Complex (FL)
She is 100 years old, and she’s surprised that her condo association won’t give her a decal to get into the complex. It’s why she turned to Help Me Howard with Patrick Fraser. Read the entire article……………………………….
Surfside Agonizes After Condo Collapse, With a Memorial Hanging in the Balance
Their fight is over the inevitable question that follows a tragedy that killed 98 people: What should be done with a place where such horror occurred? But unlike in other disasters, the land in Surfside is worth tens of millions of dollars and crucial to some survivors’ financial future. Read the entire article……………………………….
Declaration of condominium establishes repair responsibilities of association and owners (FL)
Q: I live in a condominium, and I am wondering who is responsible for fixing defective sliding glass doors. Read the Q&A…………………………..
Broward Commissioners To Vote On Condo Safety Recommendations (FL)
Broward Commissioners voting on recommendations from the Condo Structural Issues Committee working to prevent another Surfside tragedy. Mayor Steve Geller says the group held more than 24-hours of hearings Read the entire article……………………………….
Fighting Red Tide, One Neighborhood Pond at a Time (FL)
A GRASSROOTS EFFORT to improve local environmental water quality, starting at the neighborhood level, is beginning to bloom big-time. Building on a successful pilot program that has helped about a dozen Sarasota County homeowner communities bolster (and beautify) their stormwater retention ponds, Solutions to Avoid Red Tide—or START—has secured a major grant from Charles & […]
I-Team: Condo Inspections loom in Boca Raton (FL)
Just how safe are the beach-side condos in Palm Beach County and along the Treasure Coast? The CBS 12 News I-Team has been looking at that issue since the Surfside highrise collapse in June. Hundreds of buildings built in the 1980s and older dot our coastline and it could cost hundreds of millions of dollars […]
HOA looks to pluck pet chickens from family’s Boca Raton coop (FL)
A Boca Raton family is fighting to keep their chickens safely in their backyard coop after their homeowner’s association gave them 14 days’ notice to get rid of the birds. Read the entire article……………………………….
Condo questions: How do I request my records from association’s board? (FL)
Q: I want to submit an official records request to my condo association. Along with the records, I also want the board to answer a few questions I have about certain expenses from this past year which is also the subject of the records request. Can you explain how I can do this and what […]
Community law column Q&A (FL)
Q: I have heard that there have been recent changes in the law that requires a condominium association to send a special late notice to owners who are delinquent in payment of their assessments. Can you provide more information regarding the recent changes? Read the Q&A……………………………………
Displaced Crestview Towers’ Residents Frustrated They’re Not Being Allowed To Go Back Home (FL)
Many of Crestview Towers‘ homeowners came together Thursday to voice concerns about the lack of help and information being provided to them by the city and by their fellow owners, who make up the board of directors. “They’re working like turtles,” said resident Maria Echevarria. Read the entire article……………………………….
Island Walk Community homeowner fights to install solar roof (FL)
Frank Zhou remembers Hurricane Irma well. He wants to be ready for the next time Southwest Florida takes a direct hit and wants to install a whole solar roof. Read the entire article……………………………….
9/11 first responder vs. HOA (FL)
A 9/11 first responder contracted lung issues after cleaning up debris at the site of the Twin Towers. As a result, he leaves his shoes outside to avoid bringing allergens into his home. His HOA said that’s breaking the rules. Watch the news report……………………………
Pre-renovations begin at Destin’s aging Shoreline Towers condo. What’s the fate of the HOA? (FL)
Preconstruction inspections will be conducted this week ahead of the start of an estimated $10 million to $15 million structural renovation project at the 45-year-old Shoreline Towers condominium complex on Holiday Isle. Read the entire article……………………………….
HUD Charges Fla. HOA with Disability Discrimination
A condo owner helped remove debris following 9/11 and needs to leave shoes outside due to a respiratory condition. HUD alleges the condo board turned down his request. Read the entire article……………………………….
Former Property Managers Say Condo Board Repeatedly Failed to Act on Repairs (FL)
As the Keys Weekly reported on Sept. 2, Key West’s chief building official Raj Ramsingh has scheduled a Sept. 13 condemnation hearing for Santa Clara Condominiums. Ramsingh’s petition to declare the building unsafe and unfit for human habitation outlines serious concerns about the roof, an unsafe stairwell, uneven weight loads on floors and ceilings, significant […]
Community associations affected by the 2021 legislative session part V (FL)
This week continues our review of the 2021 legislative changes, continuing the discussion of Senate Bill 630, which took effect July 1, 2021. Last week we concluded our review of the changes to Chapter 718, the Condominium Act and started the review of changes to Chapter 719, the Cooperative Act. Read the entire article……………………………….
With $10M-plus renovation pending, Shoreline Towers owners seek to recall HOA board (FL)
With their homeowners association board poised to embark on a multi-million dollar structural renovation of their aging condominium, some condo owners at Shoreline Towers on Holiday Isle have requested a recall of the entire governing body. Read the entire article……………………………….
Key West building official deems condo ‘unfit for human habitation’ (FL)
A New Town condo association had until Friday, Sept. 3 to prove its building is “safe for habitation.” But the city’s building department on Thursday, Sept. 2 issued a petition to declare Santa Maria Condominiums “unfit for human habitation.” Read the entire article……………………………….
Designed to fail: How Florida’s lack of condo board oversight could mean another Surfside
USA Today report on buildings built before 1981. Read the entire article……………………………….
Real estate Q&A: How do we correct the size of our condo in association’s documents? (FL)
Q: In our condo, all the units have two bedrooms, but some are slightly larger and pay $40 more in monthly maintenance. Ours is one of the smaller units but is listed in the condo documents as a larger one. We have been paying the lesser amount, and the association has cashed the checks while […]
Association may force owners to submit complaints by certified mail (FL)
Q: We live in a community with 600 units, spread across a total of five buildings. There is a master association for the entire community. In the past, if we had a complaint, we would write to the master association and drop it in their mailbox located outside the office. Now, the master association is demanding […]
Key Biscayne condo recertification process essentially on target in wake of Surfside disaster (FL)
It didn’t take a tragedy like the one in Surfside for some condominium or apartment owners to take proactive steps when it comes to safety. Read the entire article……………………………….Take, for instance, the Oceansound structure on Key Biscayne, the largest condominium property within Key Colony on the southern fringe of the island.
Condo Q&A (FL)
Q: I have several questions about the fining/suspension committee hearing. 1. May the owner who appears before a hearing committee (provided in Florida Statutes 718 (Condo), 719 (Co-Op) and 720 (Homeowners Association – HOA) bring a witness or their attorney to the hearing? Read the Q&A………………………………….
Federal agency announces expert team to investigate Surfside condo collapse
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) on Wednesday announced that it has established a team of experts to investigate the collapse of the Champlain Towers South condominium building. Read the entire article……………………………….
Boca Raton Passes Condo Recertification Ordinance (FL)
The Boca Raton City Council has passed a building recertification program. The newly adopted ordinance that passed Tuesday night means that certain buildings that are 30 years old or older must submit for recertification and undergo safety inspections. Read the entire article……………………………….
‘They Were Bullies’: Inside the Turbulent Origins of the Collapsed Florida Condo
The team that developed Champlain Towers managed to build the condos despite checkered pasts, internal strife and a last-minute change that infuriated leaders in Surfside, Fla. Read the entire article……………………………….
‘Dangerous’ seawalls? Naples sues property owners, turns out, City owns them (FL)
Over the last three years, hundreds of thousands of tax dollars were spent by the City of Naples to sue property owners along seawalls they said were in disrepair. As it turns out, the City owned the seawalls all along and they ultimately settled. It’s all about a question that dates back to roughly 2012, […]
Tierra Verde residents want county and city to help pay cost of dredging (FL)
Residents of a Pinellas County community say they shouldn’t have to foot the entire multi-million dollar bill to keep their canal from drying up, so ABC Action News wanted to find out what’s behind the water worries along a popular boating waterway. Read the entire article……………………………….
Woman fights to have ham radio operations banned after potential interference with insulin pump (FL)
A Marion County woman is taking on her neighborhood association, in a matter she said puts her health at risk. Michelle Smith, a Type 1 Diabetic, and a consultant determined that her neighbor’s ham radio hobby might have interfered with the doses of insulin being pushed out from her pump. Read the entire article……………………………….
Rock Springs Ridge and the Tale of Two Towers (FL)
It started out as the feel-good story of the summer. It quickly changed into a plot-twisting Shakesperean drama with unexpected turns around every corner. Now, it has landed into the genre of JRR Tolkien. Today’s feature presentation: Rock Springs Ridge and the Tale of Two Towers. Read the entire article……………………………….
Board, rather than membership, makes business decisions for Association (FL)
Q: Our small gated community is overrun with toxic bufo frogs. After several homeowners got together and researched how to rid the community of this problem a solution was found with a licensed removal company. The board president was asked to put issue on the agenda for our annual meeting for a vote. He refused. Read […]
Countless emails to the association (FL)
Q: An owner in our community sends countless emails to the association asking for information and updates on various projects. The requests have become overwhelming and our manager is unable to adequately respond and tend to her other responsibilities. What are we required to do here? Read the Q&A……………………………….
Condo Q & A (FL)
Q: I have several questions about the fining/suspension committee hearing. Can the Owner who appears before the Hearing Committee bring a witness or their attorney to the hearing? Read the Q&A……………………………….
The Surfside condo collapse triggered evacuations. Hundreds are still waiting to go home.
For some 20 years, Guarnizo lived a peaceful life in North Miami Beach’s Crestview Towers — a 156-unit condominium occupied by both young families and elderly residents, many with roots stretched throughout Latin America. Then the Champlain Towers South in Surfside collapsed in June, marking one of the worst building failures in U.S. history and […]
Florida Condo Collapse Victims File Consolidated Complaint Against Association
Former residents of the Surfside, Fla. collapsed condominium have filed a consolidated amended class action complaint against the building’s condo association. Plaintiffs allege that the Champlain Towers South Condominium Association breached its duty by neglecting to maintain, repair, and replace the building’s common elements and portions of condominium units that provided structural support to the […]
Collapsed Surfside Towers Actually Broke Building Code From the Very Beginning (FL)
For over a month, crews worked to recover survivors and then the dead from the collapsed Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Florida. The 98th and final victim was identified only two weeks ago. During the same period, forensic engineers have combed through the debris of the 12-story condominium tower, searching for the reason for the […]
Judge Wants Sale Of Surfside Condo Collapse Property To ‘Benefit All Victims Collectively’ Instead Of Onsite Memorial (FL)
A Miami-Dade County Judge would prefer the site of the Surfside condo collapse property to be sold to benefit the families of the victims instead of building a memorial on the site. He said the memorial could be built at a nearby park. The city of Miami Beach recently offered a portion of the 28-acre […]
Miami orders hundreds of residents to evacuate 8-story condo building deemed unsafe (FL)
Hundreds of residents of a Miami condo building were ordered to evacuate by Tuesday morning after city officials deemed the building unsafe, according to reports. Residents began removing their belongings Monday night from the 138-unit Read the entire article……………………………….
Another part of NW Miami-Dade (condo) building’s roof collapses; homeowner says looters stole belongings (FL)
A second part of a Northwest Miami-Dade apartment building’s roof has collapsed, and one homeowner said looters have stolen his belongings due to a lack of security at the complex. Read the entire article……………………………….
Partial Roof Overhang Collapse At NW Miami-Dade Condo, Similar Collapse At Building A Month Ago (FL)
A roof overhang partially collapsed on one of the buildings at Lakeview Garden condominiums in northwest Miami-Dade. There’s no word on if anyone was injured. Read the entire article……………………………….
Rock Springs Ridge HOA President still favors land swap deal with City to purchase golf course lands (FL)
For a while, it looked like a match made in heaven. Back in April, the residents of Rock Springs Ridge (through its Homeowners Association), The Golf Group (owners of the closed Rock Springs Ridge Golf Course), and the City of Apopka proposed a three-way deal that made sense to all parties. The City would swap […]
Resident Frustrated After He Was Fined by Condo for Not Wearing Mask (FL)
The mask-wearing controversy extends beyond schools. One downtown Miami resident told NBC 6 he was fined $100 by his condo board for not properly wearing a mask in a common area of the building. “It should be up to us to decide because the original thing was if you are vaccinated you don’t have to […]
How Florida condo associations wielded political power before the Surfside collapse
Soon after Jason Pizzo was elected to Florida’s state Senate in 2018, he began working on a bill that reflected one of his top priorities: stiffening penalties for secrecy, fraud and kickbacks on condominium boards. The legislation, he said, was a response to constituents’ complaints about shady financial dealings that led to condo residents getting […]