The Bottom Line

Department of Business and Professional Regulation

July 19, 2013

Dear Friends,

A bill approved by the Florida Legislature and signed into law by Governor Rick Scott requires new changes to the way a variety of Homeowner Associations and its directors operate. The new law, effective July 1, 2013, requires that HOAs, report new information to the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) Division of Condominiums, Timeshares and Mobile Homes. We intend to make this a very straightforward process by creating a website by October 1, 2013, that will allow HOAs or their community association manager to easily register their information before the deadline of November 22, 2013.

The new law also requires all Homeowner’s Associations to abide by the following:  

  • Extending the records retention period to 7 years;

  • Requiring records be kept within 45 miles of the community or within the same county;

  • Providing for the electronic maintenance of records;

  • Prohibiting a fee for the photographing of official records;

  • Limiting copying fees to 25 cents per page;

  • Prohibiting personnel costs for document production for requests of less than 25 pages or that take less than a half hour to fill; and

  • Limiting personnel costs for document production to $20 per hour.

The law also requires the following from association directors and officers:

  • Requiring newly elected directors to certify that they have read and will uphold the governing documents or that they have taken a DBPR-approved education course;

  • Providing a process for associations to follow when entering a contract with an entity in which a director has a financial interest, including the ability for members to cancel the contract;

  • Prohibiting, with exceptions, officers, directors and managers from soliciting or accepting anything of value from those providing or offering to provide goods or services to the association;

  • Providing that officers or directors charged with felony theft or embezzlement of association funds are automatically removed from office; and

  • Requiring, unless waived annually, that associations maintain fidelity bonding.

Stay tuned for more updates on when the website goes live to be sure that all HOAs meet the November deadline.

Sincerely,

Ken Lawson’s Signature
Ken Lawson
Secretary

Department of Business and
Professional Regulation
1940 North Monroe Street
Tallahassee, Florida 32399
Customer Contact Center:
850.487.1395

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