Laws Effective July 2024 - House Bill 1021: Community Associations
House Bill 1021 (HB 1021) introduces significant changes to the governance and operation of condominium associations in Florida. Key provisions include:
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- Community Association Managers (CAMs): The bill mandates that CAMs and management firms must return all association records within 20 business days upon termination of their services or upon written request. Non-compliance may result in license suspension and civil penalties.
- Conflict of Interest Disclosures: CAMs and management firms are required to disclose any potential conflicts of interest. If a CAM or their relative has a financial interest in a contract exceeding $2,500, the association must solicit multiple bids from other providers to ensure transparency.
- Milestone Inspections: The legislation clarifies that milestone inspection requirements do not apply to four-family dwellings with three or fewer habitable stories above ground.
- Official Records Maintenance: Associations are now obligated to maintain additional official records, including invoices, transaction receipts, deposit slips, and building permits, to enhance transparency and accountability.
- Digital Accessibility: Effective July 1, 2026, associations with 25 or more units must post digital copies of official documents on their websites or via a mobile application, facilitating easier access for unit owners.
These measures aim to improve the management and operational transparency of condominium associations in Florida.
General Bill by Commerce Committee and State Administration & Technology Appropriations Subcommittee and Regulatory Reform & Economic Development Subcommittee and Lopez, V. (CO-SPONSORS) Anderson; Bartleman; Benjamin; Caruso; Cross; Garcia; López, J.; Mooney; Porras; Redondo; Stevenson; Valdés
Community Associations: Provides requirements & penalties for community association managers & management firms relating to conflicts of interest; revises & provides provisions relating to condominium & cooperative associations, including milestone inspections, reporting requirements, financial reports, unit owner & board meetings, director education, criminal activity & penalties, official records, legal actions, electronic voting, & notices; requires Division of Florida Condominiums, Time Shares, & Mobile Homes to submit report to Governor & Legislature & create database.
Effective Date: July 1, 2024
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Monday, July 1st, the Governor will be signing into law the much-anticipated HB 1021 aka the “Condo 3.0” legislative package. This package will be overhauling many of the aspects of FS 718, requiring more oversight from the state and more expectations of Board Members.
This bill is in response to both the collapse of Champlain Tower and the controversy of The Hammocks embezzlement case. This comprehensive bill will be altering many of the requirements for Associations. Although unanimously approved by the state legislature, the language will be challenged and altered over time as we have seen with the previous “Glitch Bill” which corrected certain contradictions from previous bills.
What Board Members can expect from Seacrest Services is our continued effort to provide as much information to you as we reasonably can in the form of our weekly updates. As with previous updates, we will provide links to relevant articles written by attorneys who can give legal interpretation of the new language set forth.
Some of the changes that Board Members can expect to take effect immediately after signing:
- Four (4) mandatory meetings per year, one per quarter. The two presently mandatory meetings, those being the Annual Membership meeting and the Budget meeting will count towards the required four. The other two meetings will be Board meetings for the purpose of giving unit owners the opportunity to ask questions about the status of projects or other aspects of the Association.
- The requirement for Board Members to attend a four (4) hour Orientation to learn the expectations of Boards for the operation of Associations. Board Members will also need to take continuing educational courses to maintain their certification. The previously accepted self-certification or signing off that a Board Member has read the documents will be removed.
- Associations with twenty-five (25) or more units will be required to set up a website for unit owners to access Association records. This website must be created and made available to unit owners by Jan 1, 2026.
- Associations must organize their records in a reasonable format so that they may be inspected during records request. For any document that is available on the Association website, directing that unit owner to access the website will be considered a reasonable response to such record requests. If an Association has not properly maintained their records or have lost portions, they will be expected to make a reasonable effort to recover those records. Should certain records not be replaceable, a list of those items must be created to be kept as part of the record.
- Annual Meetings will require that the Association Property Manager attend the meeting to ensure that the meeting follows state guidelines.
As Condo Attorneys begin to give their interpretation of these new laws, we will provide articles to give further insight into the changes to the statutes. The above are simply a small sample of the changes taking place, with the bill going into further detail and specific requirements.
For further information, please consider referring to the articles below: