Condo Q&A: Is It Legal for HOAs to Have 50/50 Raffles?

Also: A rental operator life in a 125-device neighborhood, and was informed they need to have a web-site and should publish selected official documents. Have to they? And: An impartial contractor/handyman doesn’t legally will need workman’s comp insurance policies. Is it all right to use him?

NAPLES, Fla. – Problem: My homeowner’s affiliation is taking into consideration web hosting a social function where by there will be a 50/50 raffle. Fundamentally, anyone who comes to the celebration will be requested to donate a distinct amount and a drawing is held for a winner. 50 percent of the gathered money go to the winner and the other 50 % goes to the association to fund upcoming social gatherings. Is this legal? – S.R., Delray Beach front

Solution: Unless your homeowner’s association qualifies as an “organization” less than the relevant Florida legislation, it is unlawful for your homeowner’s affiliation to conduct a 50/50 raffle. The relevant Florida legislation can be found in Section 849.0935, Florida Statutes.

This regulation enables sure businesses to carry out raffles these types of as 50/50 raffles. Nevertheless, the word “organization” is precisely defined as an business which is exempt from federal cash flow taxation this sort of as a 501(c)(3), (4), (7), (8), (10), and (19) organization and which has a present-day dedication letter from the IRS.

For corporations that qualify, any brochures, ads, notices, tickets or entry blanks applied in connection with the raffle will have to conspicuously disclose:

1. The regulations for the drawing
2. The complete identify of the charitable group and its principal place of company
3. The source of the resources employed to award the hard cash prize
4. The day, hour, and place in which the winner will be picked out, and the prize awarded
5. That no acquire or contribution is required

Product e. over can be challenging. Even though you are unable to mandate that to enter the raffle you “must” pay back an entry charge, you might “suggest” a minimal donation. On the other hand, lawfully, if a person needed to enter for cost-free or for significantly less than the prompt minimum amount donation you must allow it.

I do not consider that your homeowner’s association would qualify underneath the definition of “organization” beneath Area 849.0935, Florida Statutes. However, in order to make positive, you ought to talk to your authorized counsel or accounting qualified. If it does not qualify, your homeowner’s association simply cannot lawfully perform a 50/50 raffle.

Issue: Our homeowner’s affiliation has an Architectural Evaluate Board, ARB. The ARB’s tasks include things like reviewing and approving or disapproving proposed architectural variations within just our community. The ARB does not present discover to the local community when they meet and they do not retain any minutes of their conference. Is this appropriate? – J.K., Hollywood

Solution: Chapter 720 is the Florida regulation that governs homeowner’s associations. Area 720.303, Florida Statutes requires board of directors’ conferences to be found at minimum 48 hrs prior to the meeting, open to all associates, besides for restricted situation, and that minutes must be kept of all the board actions at the assembly.

These similar demands apply to any committee or other comparable physique vested with the electrical power to approve or disapprove architectural selections with respect to a precise good deal in a group. This indicates that your community’s ARB is essential to notice its meetings, preserve it open up to all users of the neighborhood and to preserve minutes of its conclusions.

Question: Our condominium has 125 models. We are currently being advised that we ought to have an association web site and are essential to post sure official information on it. Is this correct? – S.S, Plantation

Response: No that is not correct. Florida Statute 718.111(12)(g) provides that an affiliation managing a condominium with 150 or more units have to have a web page and post particular files on it.

Given that your condominium is much less that 150 models you are not demanded by regulation to sustain a site. Observe that there is no site need for cooperatives of owners associations.

Problem: Our affiliation has a handyman that we regularly use as an impartial contractor. It is only him and sometimes a helper. He does not have workers payment insurance policy as he is lawfully exempt from getting expected to have it.

Our administration business is telling us we must not use this human being if he is not insured. Our association has its own personnel payment insurance coverage and typical legal responsibility so I am not confident I comprehend the challenge. What is your opinion on this subject matter? – A.C., Fort Lauderdale

Remedy: Workers’ compensation is a kind of insurance policy supplying wage replacement and healthcare advantages to staff members wounded in the training course of work in trade for obligatory relinquishment of the employee’s ideal to sue his or her employer for the tort of carelessness. So, personnel compensations secure the employer not the affiliation specifically.

If an incident takes place you have general liability coverage to protect the association, and if the human being somehow could verify he was an staff of the association, that is what the association’s staff compensation is for.

The draw back of the employer not acquiring worker’s payment is that if the staff will get harm and the employer is not perfectly financed, the wounded man or woman will only have one entity to sue, the association.

If the employer has workers compensation, then some of the liability can be laid off on the employer and presumably considerably less on the affiliation. But yet another actual trouble is that if the handyman causes hurt to the association assets or injures anyone, he has no normal liability insurance policies to spend for it.

For all those explanations, we do not propose the affiliation hire persons without worker’s comp., even if not legally essential, and definitely not without having common liability coverage.

The details presented herein is for informational reasons only and should not be construed as lawful guidance. The publication of this write-up does not develop an legal professional-shopper romantic relationship amongst the reader and Goede, Adamczyk, DeBoest & Cross, or any of our attorneys. Audience need to not act or refrain from performing based mostly on the facts contained in this report without initial getting in touch with an lawyer, if you have inquiries about any of the challenges raised herein. The using the services of of an attorney is a selection that ought to not be primarily based exclusively on ads or this column.

© 2021 Journal Media Team. John C. Goede, Esq., is partner of the law organization Goede, Adamczyk, DeBoest & Cross.