Condo Q&A: Should Monthly Fees Drop If Amenities Are Closed?

STUART, Fla. – Problem: Our HOA board has resolved to adjust the trim shade of all 108 homes. The properties are off white, and the trim has been a variation of light blue since they have been built in 1990. They now want to paint turquoise, peach, yellow, lime environmentally friendly or grey. The CC&R’s point out the HOA maintains the exterior of homes and paints each seven yrs. My argument is that this is a content alteration and should really not be authorized. Enable me if you can or lead me in the appropriate path. – N.D., Melbourne

Solution: Home-owner Associations are controlled by Chapter 720, Florida Statutes. Chapter 720 does not have any necessity that content alterations be authorised by a vote of the owners. You might be thinking of Chapter 718, Florida Statutes which governs condominiums. So, with no statutory necessity for proprietor acceptance of the shade adjust, it would be a board final decision unless your governing files give some style of restriction.

You should really browse your governing files carefully to ascertain if there are any restrictions with regards to shade improvements to the homes. If you have been a condominium, then the Statute, 718.113, needs a 75% acceptance of the full voting passions to make the shade adjust unless the Declaration of Condominium presents or else.

Problem: Through the recent lockdown, residents here and in several, maybe all, Florida communities have been deprived of facilities. In our scenario, charges to help our two clubhouses and connected facilities (particularly sports activities courts, swimming pools, and health and fitness center with locker rooms), are itemized at somewhere around 31% of our full quarterly charges. The management business did keep a skeletal employees, and all common charges (e.g. drinking water, electric, routine maintenance of two swimming pools and two very hot tubs, and much more) experienced to have been significantly decreased. These facilities have been shut for 3 months.

When I emailed the on-web site supervisor about a proration of charges, the response was NO! Our board of administrators contains associates of the builder’s business, the management business, and no residents as the association has not been turned in excess of to residents however. Is there a precedent or statute for proration of charges in this scenario? Would it be authorized to withhold the 31% if I have been to place it in an escrow account? – A.C., Port St. Lucie

Solution: The crisis powers statutes for condominiums, cooperative and home-owner associations give the board the authority to close or control access to the facilities in purchase to avoid the transmission of COVID-19. Although this might feel unfair, you will have to know that the board of administrators has a fiduciary obligation to avoid or limit legal responsibility. Closing the facilities is in the best fascination of the overall health and fitness of the owners and lessens the authorized exposure of the association.

The price of retaining and insuring the facilities does not prevent just for the reason that they are shut. So, no you can not legally withhold the payment of assessments for the reason that the facilities have been shut by the board in reaction to the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic.

An additional way to imagine about it is that you can not withhold having to pay your taxes for the reason that some authorities companies or properties have been shut owing to the pandemic. Placing your evaluation payment in an escrow account would not prevent the association from recording a lien from your unit for unpaid assessments, so I would not suggest that program of motion unless you have a court purchase allowing you to do it.

Problem: The time remaining in isolation has provided me way too substantially time to ponder items of minor to no value. This remaining 1: My spouse and I just lately bought a unit in a 26-flooring condo setting up on the Gulf Coast in Southwest Florida. We obtained a “unit” insurance policy plan covering private house ($21,000), decline of use ($8,400) and dwelling ($116,000).

My concern to you is: If a hurricane should really injury the exterior of the setting up, the COA has a plan covering this injury, but if the setting up is destroyed requiring a comprehensive rebuild, am I lined for the worth ($325,000) of our specific unit under the COA plan? – N.P., SWFL

Solution: Segment 718.111(eleven) Florida Statutes covers a condominium associations insurance policy necessity. It needs the Affiliation to insure the condominium setting up for 100% of its substitute price based on an appraisal of the setting up done no significantly less frequently than each 3 yrs.

Richard D. DeBoest II, Esq., is co-founder and shareholder of the Regulation agency Goede, Adamczyk, DeBoest & Cross, PLLC. The details delivered herein is for informational applications only and should really not be construed as authorized information. The publication of this write-up does not create an lawyer-shopper relationship among the reader and Goede, Adamczyk, DeBoest & Cross, PLLC or any of our attorneys. Readers should really not act or chorus from acting based upon the details contained in this write-up without initial calling an lawyer, if you have questions about any of the concerns elevated herein. The selecting of an lawyer is a final decision that should really not be based solely on advertisements or this column.

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