Legal Q&A: What Are Illegal Condo Board Activities?

Can a delinquent owner’s title be provided in the minutes? Can a board ban recordings? Need to board members’ names be recorded on how they voted?

STUART, Fla. – Concern: Is it inappropriate or illegal to identify a delinquent operator and the volume owed in the minutes of a conference the place the board votes to suspend an owner’s voting legal rights? – B.S., Port St. Lucie

Respond to: No. The minutes should replicate adequate data to identify the residence or device and owner in concern. This sort of as a motion stating, “I shift that the voting rights of the owner of ton (quantity) be suspended thanks to the owner being delinquent in the payment of assessments owed to the affiliation for more than 90 times.” So, when it is not unlawful to name the man or woman, we typically propose you do so in the method indicated previously mentioned.

Problem: In the absence of a unanimous board vote – on any subject – are the names of the administrators voting “aye” and “nay” to be recorded in the minutes? – J.J., Stuart

Answer: Regardless of whether the vote is unanimous or not the vote of each and every director should really constantly be recorded in the minutes per the regulation. See applicable statutes below. This is generally disregarded and the votes are recorded as “unanimous” or “two in favor, one against” but this is not proper.

718.111(1)(b) A director of the affiliation who is existing at a meeting of its board at which action on any corporate make a difference is taken shall be presumed to have assented to the motion taken except if he or she votes towards these motion or abstains from voting.

A director of the affiliation who abstains from voting on any motion taken on any company matter shall be presumed to have taken no place with regard to the action. Directors may well not vote by proxy or by key ballot at board meetings, apart from that officers might be elected by secret ballot. A vote or abstention for every single member current shall be recorded in the minutes.

720.303(3) Minutes – Minutes of all meetings of the users of an affiliation and of the board of directors of an association have to be taken care of in prepared form or in a further sort that can be transformed into published kind in a realistic time. A vote or abstention from voting on each individual issue voted upon for every director existing at a board conference will have to be recorded in the minutes.

Concern: Our HOA president states that board and membership conferences can only be recorded by entrepreneurs with the consent of the members. Is this true? – L.D., Vero Seaside

Solution: No. Florida legislation gives any lawful attendee at the associates assembly or board assembly the proper to report the meeting. They do not have to have the permission of the board or any attendees. On the other hand, if you are heading to report the meeting, the individual executing the recording should announce at the commencing the conference that they are recording it. Anyone that does not want to be recorded can leave. See regulation under for HOAs. There is a comparable law for 718 condominiums.

Florida Statute. 720.306(10) Recording – Any parcel proprietor may well tape file or videotape meetings of the board of directors and conferences of the users. The board of directors of the affiliation may perhaps undertake reasonable regulations governing the taping of conferences of the board and the membership.

Dilemma: Do HOA and condominium meeting “participation rules” have to have a vote of the owners or can they be proven by the board or home managers, or PM, and printed to the membership? – K.E., Jensen Seashore

Response: Commonly, unless your governing paperwork incorporate quite unique provisions, the participation rules do not require to be accredited by a vote of the users, just the board of administrators. The house manager could draft them, but the board has to approve them. Your association authorized counsel need to also evaluate the regulations before they are adopted.

Richard D. DeBoest II, Esq., is co-founder and shareholder of the Regulation organization Goede, Adamczyk, DeBoest & Cross, PLLC. The information and facts offered herein is for informational reasons only and must not be construed as legal suggestions.

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