Boca Raton Condo Association Sued For Breach Of Contract (FL)

The condominium association in a major Boca-area development is being sued for breach of contract by the owner of a unit.  The Promenade at Boca Pointe Condominium Association is accused of making up rules to prevent condo owners Gerardo and Ana Vizcano from leasing their unit for a full year.    Read the entire article……………………………….

Water damage in a condominium building (FL)

Q: A downstairs unit suffered water damage in our condominium building and we are fairly certain the damage is coming from the shower pan in the upstairs unit. The owner of that upstairs unit is refusing access and won’t let the association fix the common elements. The owner has represented that he fixed the problem, […]

Seven Bridges Delray Beach Discrimination Lawsuit Continues, New Magistrate Assigned (FL)

The litigation against the Seven Bridges (Delray Beach) Homeowners Association continues, despite a summary judgment entered last week by a federal judge in the $7M claim.  Signaling that litigation is not anywhere near over, the Federal Judge overseeing the case just assigned a new “Magistrate” who is responsible for managing settlement talks. That Magistrate, William […]

Poinciana residents seek action as trash piles up in neighborhood (FL)

A representative from the HOA, Trish Moore, sent a statement to 8 On Your Side.  “We are equally frustrated over the piles of trash that have been illegally dumped in our community. Trash removal is handled by the county, not the HOA,” she said. “As a homeowner’s association we are not equipped to handle trash […]

Tuscany, GL Homes settle construction-defect lawsuit (FL)

The Tuscany Property Owners Association has settled a construction-defect lawsuit against GL Homes for $125,000 just a month after it sued the county’s largest homebuilder.  The lawsuit, filed April 7, alleged that GL Homes performed its work in “a substandard and defective manner.   Read the entire article……………………………….

Owner Feels Locked Out from Information (FL)

Q: I live in Canada and own a condominium unit in Florida. I cannot travel yet to go back to Florida and my condominium board president has blocked me from sending him e-mails. What are my rights to get information about finances, planned maintenance, and minutes of meetings?   Read the Q&A…………………………………………

New law protects associations from covid liability (FL)

Q: What are your latest recommendations to community associations regarding Covid-19 vaccinations and the so called “vaccination passport”? Can an association mandate that in order to use the common facilities the person must show proof of vaccination? Should we be fully reopening our common facilities and if so does this expose our association to liability […]

Condo Q&A (FL)

Q: A tenant seeking approval to reside in our condominium has a dog weighing 60 pounds. We have a 30-pound limit on all dogs. When we denied the application because of the dog, the tenant then claimed that the dog is an emotional support animal and provided a letter dated after our original denial from […]

DOG BAN: HOA Demands Homeowner Remove Dogs, Says Not Allowed (FL)

A Palm Beach County homeowners association is suing a couple for allegedly keeping two German Shepherd dogs, in violation of HOA rules.  The lawsuit, just filed in Palm Beach County circuit court, demands that the couple remove the dogs immediately and permanently. The HOA seeks damages in excess of $30,000.    Read the entire article……………………………….

They do it their way: Voluntary HOA keeps activities high and dues low (FL)

Imagine paying just $450 a year in homeowners association dues. And that your dues were voluntary.  That’s the case at Coconut River Estates, an ungated community of about 200 homes off Airport-Pulling Road south of Golden Gate Parkway.  Their civic association was started 32 years ago and has successfully managed upgrades of common buildings, expansion […]

‘Ham ‘ it up for hurricane season (FL)

Southwest Floridians are all too familiar with power loss during hurricanes and storms, but who’s there to communicate for us in a state of emergency?  On Saturday morning in Punta Gorda, the Charlotte Amateur Radio Society collaborated with the Burnt Store Lakes Homeowners Association Community Emergency Response Team to demonstrate how Ham Radio operators can […]

Your condo building can still enforce you to wear masks (FL)

Although there are new mask guidances in place for fully vaccinated people (they no longer have to wear masks in certain settings), vaccinated people living in condominiums are now facing a new predicament — the government says they don’t have to wear masks if they are vaccinated, so, do they have to wear them in […]

HOA must respond to request to inspect records (FL)

Q: I live within a neighborhood governed by both a homeowner’s association and a master property owners association. A number of the owners are interested in seeing documents that will show us where our money is being spent on landscaping projects. At least one of us has requested this information from our HOA, on several […]

Can We Hold a Special Election? (FL)

Q: A director on my condominium association board resigned. The remaining directors can’t agree on who should fill the vacancy. Can we hold a special election and let the owners decide?   Read the Q&A…………………………………

Settlement Talks Underway In $7M Suit Against Seven Bridges Delray HOA (FL)

The $7M Federal Housing Discrimination lawsuit against the Seven Bridges HOA is heading towards its second day of settlement talks on Friday. While settlement conferences are routine in litigation, this is notable for two reasons: previous settlement conferences have failed to reach a resolution, and the parties spent 3 hours and 55 minutes meeting with […]

Regalia association scores $18M settlement in construction defects lawsuit (FL)

The Regalia condo association settled its lawsuit alleging a slew of construction and design defects and building code violations at the luxury oceanfront tower for $17.5 million.  In 2018, the Regalia on the Ocean Condominium Association sued the developers, architect, general contractor and subcontractors over alleged flaws such as improperly installed pool joints and cracking […]

Call Police, Not Security For Crime In Palm Beach County Gated Communities (FL)

Security guards are not cops. That’s the message that area law enforcement agencies want residents, whether new to South Florida or those who have lived here for ages, to remember. With real estate sales booming and people moving to Boca Raton and Palm Beach County from places like New York and New Jersey, security experts […]

Community facilities and COVID (FL)

Q: What are your latest recommendations to community associations regarding COVID-19 vaccinations and the vaccination passport? Can an association mandate that in order to use the common facilities, the person must show proof of vaccination? Should we be fully reopening our common facilities and if so, does this expose our association to liability if someone […]

Rollover of excess funds normal (FL)

Q: If there is an excess in monies collected from the annual budget, must the excess be returned to owners, or can it be used to reduce maintenance fees for next year?   Read the Q&A………………………………..

Form Association Or Face Fines? (FL)

The problem goes back to 1988, when a developer got a variance that allowed him to build 91 homes instead of 50 if he created an association to maintain the private roads and drains. But after the construction was finished, the association was dissolved in 1992.  And 29 years later, Sweetwater is telling homeowners they […]

Park Forest thirsty for irrigation water (FL)

It’s not quite a neighborhood water war, but the Englewood Water District will discuss Thursday how best to expand and fairly distribute its irrigation water in Park Forest.  The treated effluent has always been a precious commodity for irrigation — one that the Water District has measured out judiciously.    Read the entire article……………………………….

Winds of change coming for condo group as Gomez aims to be community ‘convener’ (FL)

Armed with a promise to “look inward” and a priority list that prioritizes quality of life and condominium property values, Fausto Gomez is off and running as the new president of the Key Biscayne Condo President’s Council, an organization which has 34 of the island’s condo communities as members.    Read the entire article……………………………….

‘Massacre at Tivoli Lakes’: Mahogany trees taken out at retirement community (FL)

Tivoli Lakes has begun removing 277 mahogany trees, much to the chagrin of some residents at the west of Boynton Beach retirement community.  “You could say we are in mourning,” said Ben Kass of Noceto Way. “These trees were so beautiful. We call it ‘the chainsaw massacre at Tivoli Lakes.’”  Read the entire article……………………………….

Condo questions: How to stop repeat parking offender? (FL)

Q: One of our owners continues to park his vehicle in the valet parking spaces and our rules strictly prohibit owners from using these parking spaces. When we send him a letter, he moves the car, but it always seems like the car is back in the valet parking spaces a few days later. What […]

Condominium not obligated to mail quarterly newsletter to owners (FL)

Q:  Our condominium is planning to create a quarterly newsletter. We plan to send the newsletter out via email to the owners. We have about 100 owners that do not have email addresses.  Can we legally send out the emails when everyone is not on email?    Read the Q&A…………………………..

Condo Q&A (FL)

Q: Can a condominium association stop a unit owner from displaying an American flag from inside of an enclosed lanai?   Read the Q&A………………………………….

Condo questions: Can I do my own electrical work in my condo? (FL)

Q: A question has come up about doing our own electrical work, etc., in the association rather than calling an electrician. I am not talking about complex electrical work, just simple jobs like replacing a light switch or the timer on the spa. If the wiring was not done correctly, and someone got hurt using […]

Condo Q&A: Money Budgeted but a Big Project Can’t Wait (FL)

Question: Our condominium association (I am on the board) already included a line item in this year’s annual budget for a new roof for one of the condominium buildings. However, the roof is in desperate need of replacement, and we want to have it replaced immediately. We cannot wait until all of the assessments are […]

Omnibus Bill (SB 630) Brings Changes for Florida Condos, Cooperatives and HOAs

This year’s large community association omnibus bill will likely become law. This bill, which bears an effective date of July 1, 2021, contains changes which will impact condominiums, cooperatives and HOAs. At more than 100 pages, we will discuss only some of those changes in today’s CALL Alert. This bill, along with all the others […]

Escambia County responds to flooding concerns residents blame on new development (FL)

Neighbors on Monarch Ln. in Escambia County say they’re still dealing with issues from Saturday’s storm, issues they say could have been avoided. Construction crews were seen Tuesday cleaning up sediment carried into yards by flooding, homeowners believe, was caused by a development at the end of their road.   Read the entire article……………………………….