Condo Q&A: New Board Members Must Take Classes?

Also: Could apartment unit owners request a record of fellow homeowners who are delinquent? And what are the policies for changing carpets with hardwood flooring?

NAPLES, Fla. – Question: I am operating for the board of my condominium affiliation. I listened to that, if elected, I have to get a course about my duties as a board member. Is this precise? – J.W., Naples

Remedy: The Condominium Act (Chapter 718, Florida Statutes), the Cooperative Act (Chapter 719, Florida Statutes), and the Home owners Association Act (Chapter 720, Florida Statutes) all demand that, inside of 90 times following being elected or appointed to the board of directors, each new director shall certify in creating to the secretary of the association that he or she has go through the association’s bylaws, posts of incorporation, declaration of condominium (condominiums), declaration of covenants (HOAs), proprietary lease (cooperatives), and the association’s guidelines, restrictions, and guidelines. Further more, he or she will work to uphold the paperwork and insurance policies to the finest of his or her skill and that he or she will faithfully discharge his or her fiduciary obligation to the association’s customers.

I strongly suggest that all board customers review their governing documents so that they are common with the board’s and the owners’ rights and obligations. That remaining claimed, after reviewing these files, most board members are nevertheless still left with questions on how to appropriately have out their tasks.

Chapters 718, 719, and 720, Florida Statutes give that, in the different to the penned certification previously mentioned, newly elected or appointed board customers, inside of 90 times of election or appointment, may post a certification of getting satisfactorily concluded the instructional curriculum administered by a division-authorized schooling supplier in a single yr prior to or 90 days just after the day of election or appointment. More, a certification is valid for the uninterrupted tenure of the director on the board.

If a director does not comply with the requirements in the time durations delivered, he/she shall be suspended from the board until finally he/she complies with the necessity. The board may perhaps briefly fill the emptiness throughout the period of suspension.

I do want to reiterate that although these classes are presented as an option to the written certification that board customers have reviewed their governing paperwork, I nevertheless strongly motivate board members to evaluate the governing files for their individual associations so that they are informed with regards to any certain provisions that use to their very own communities.

Query: My condominium affiliation lets for entrepreneurs to switch their carpeting with really hard-surface area flooring like tile, marble, wood, and so on., but only just after getting approval from the board of administrators. The problem is that the board does not have a regular policy pertaining to tricky-area flooring installations and some demands are diverse from 1 request to another. Do you see an concern with this? – S.B., Naples

Remedy: Sure, there are absolutely difficulties with the simple fact that the association does not have a regular plan with regards to tough-area flooring installations. Without these necessities, the affiliation will most likely operate into selective enforcement promises from homeowners if the association calls for certain installation parameters for a single unit but not for a different. Some associations will have diverse parameters for challenging-surface area flooring installations with regard to the flooring type.

I have no problems with either 1 of these strategies as lengthy as they are regularly applied from a single device to another.

In my belief, your board requires to consult with with a skilled in the difficult-floor flooring field to ascertain the correct sound-deadening content that needs to be installed ahead of the really hard-area flooring set up. Then, it demands to set a constant coverage for the association so the entrepreneurs are informed of what is needed if they want to set up tricky-floor flooring.

For the reason that this coverage is regarded as a rule impacting the use of a unit, the board will require to mail or e mail (for all those who have consented to acquire notices electronically) and post the observe of the board assembly at minimum 14 constant days prior to the board meeting. For additional info pertaining to tricky-surface area flooring guidelines as very well as procedures concerning the use of a unit, your board should really talk to the association’s lawful counsel.

Issue: I’d like to see a copy of all the owners who are delinquent in payment of assessments in my homeowner’s affiliation. Can I request the affiliation to offer me obtain to these accounts? – M.L., Bonita Springs

Response: Yes, you can question the association to offer you access to these accounts. The association is demanded to supply entry within just 10 company days of receipt of your request to evaluation these data.

Be sure to note that obtain to the records does not mean that the affiliation is essential to deliver you with copies absolutely free of demand or to immediately e mail you these records. The association can need that you critique the data in just 45 miles of the community or in just the county in which the association is found. Normally, the records evaluation occurs at the association clubhouse or the administration company’s corporate office environment. You are allowed to provide a digital camera or a scanner to make an electronic duplicate of the formal documents. Having said that, if you would like photocopies, then the affiliation may charge you up to $.25 per web page.

S. Kyla Thomson, Esq., is a associate of the Law Agency Goede, DeBoest & Cross. The information and facts provided herein is for informational applications only and must not be construed as authorized advice. The publication of this article does not develop an attorney-shopper marriage concerning the reader and Goede, DeBoest & Cross, or any of our attorneys.

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