Board Certification
Under the new statutes which were signed into effect July 1, 2024, Board Members are now obliged to attend a four (4) hours certification course within ninety (90) days of being elected or appointed to the Board of Directors. Additionally, Board Members must attend continuing education each year to stay in compliance with the new requirements.
Many Association Law offices as well as the state of Florida are offering this four-hour course at no expense to the participants. Upon completion of the course, your Board Members must submit their certificate to the Secretary so that it may be added to the Association records.
As part of the Association record, these certificates can be requested at any time by any member of the Association. If a Board Member fails to attend the course or properly record their completion with the Association, they may be reported to the DBPR and removed from the Board as they will have “abandoned” their position.
This course must be completed and recorded with the Association. Below are links to some of the available courses which can be attended online for free. If you have had your annual meeting and are aware that yourself or other Board members have not completed this mandatory certification, ensure that it is completed.
Free online courses:
https://condos.myfloridalicense.com/education/
https://online.beckerlawyers.com/77/2070/classes-portal/landing-page.asp
It is important to be aware of the new state certification requirements for Board Members. The new requirements, as of July 1, 2024, have mandated that Board Members take a four (4) hour certification course and certify in writing that they have read and understand their Association’s Governing Documents.
Board Members elected or appointed after July 1, 2024, will have ninety (90) days from joining the Board to fulfill this requirement. Existing Board Members will have until June 31, 2025, to meet the new requirement. The link above will take you to a course provided by Becker PLLC, which is being offered at no cost to existing clients.
This certification is valid for seven (7) years, provided that the Board Member continuously serves on the Board. In addition, Board Members are expected to take one (1) hour of continuing education every year after being certified.
https://online.beckerlawyers.com/77/2070/classes-portal/landing-page.asp
Click here to read Eric Glazer's July 18, 2024 comments on the new law. Eric is Certified by The Florida Bar as an expert in Condominium and Planned Development Law. Eric's Blog can be viewed here.
The educational curriculum must be at least 4 hours long and include instruction on milestone inspections, structural integrity reserve studies, elections, recordkeeping, financial literacy and transparency, levying of fines, and notice and meeting requirements.
A director of an association of a residential condominium who was elected or appointed before July 1, 2024, must comply with the written certification and educational certificate requirements by June 30, 2025. The written certification and or educational certificate is valid for 7 years after the date of issuance and does not have to be resubmitted as long as the director serves on the board without interruption during the 7-year period.
One year after submission of the most recent written certification and educational certificate, and annually thereafter, a director of an association of a residential condominium must submit to the secretary of the association a certificate of having satisfactorily completed at least 1 hour of continuing education administered by the division, or a division-approved condominium education provider, relating to any recent changes to this chapter and the related administrative rules during the past year.
718.1124 Failure to fill vacancies on board of administration sufficient to constitute a quorum; appointment of receiver upon petition of unit owner.—
(1) If an association fails to fill vacancies on the board of administration sufficient to constitute a quorum in accordance with the bylaws, any unit owner may give notice of his or her intent to apply to the circuit court within whose jurisdiction the condominium lies for the appointment of a receiver to manage the affairs of the association. The form of the notice shall be as follows:
NOTICE OF INTENT TO
APPLY FOR RECEIVERSHIP
YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED that the undersigned owner of a condominium unit in (name of condominium) intends to file a petition in the circuit court for appointment of a receiver to manage the affairs of the association on the grounds that the association has failed to fill vacancies on the board of administration sufficient to constitute a quorum. This petition will not be filed if the vacancies are filled within 30 days after the date on which this notice was sent or posted, whichever is later. If a receiver is appointed, the receiver shall have all of the powers of the board and shall be entitled to receive a salary and reimbursement of all costs and attorney’s fees payable from association funds.
(name and address of petitioning unit owner)
(2) The notice required by subsection (1) must be provided by the unit owner to the association by certified mail or personal delivery, must be posted in a conspicuous place on the condominium property, and must be provided by the unit owner to every other unit owner of the association by certified mail or personal delivery. The notice must be posted and mailed or delivered at least 30 days prior to the filing of a petition seeking receivership. Notice by mail to a unit owner shall be sent to the address used by the county property appraiser for notice to the unit owner, except that where a unit owner’s address is not publicly available the notice shall be mailed to the unit.
(3) If the association fails to fill the vacancies within 30 days after the notice required by subsection (1) is posted and mailed or delivered, the unit owner may proceed with the petition.
(4) If a receiver is appointed, all unit owners shall be given written notice of such appointment as provided in s. 718.127.
(5) The association shall be responsible for the salary of the receiver, court costs, and attorney’s fees. The receiver shall have all powers and duties of a duly constituted board of administration and shall serve until the association fills vacancies on the board sufficient to constitute a quorum and the court relieves the receiver of the appointment.
History.—s. 1, ch. 81-185; s. 8, ch. 2008-28; s. 1, ch. 2008-202.