Condo Q & A
Q: I live in a condominium association. In November of last year, the board passed the budget for the 2022 fiscal year. Recently, we received an email from the board president explaining that the association had more expenses than anticipated and that our assessments were increasing by $200 beginning in July. The issue is that the board didn’t amend the current budget and there was no board meeting to adopt the new assessments. Is this right? P.W., Naples
A: No, this isn’t right. If your board proposes to increase the owners’ assessments per quarter, it is required to amend its budget and amendment of a budget occurs at a board meeting. The Florida Administrative Code, Section 61B-22.003(7) requires condominium associations to follow the provisions of Section 718.112(2)(e), Florida Statutes for any amendments to its budget. Section 718.112(2)(e), Florida Statutes is the section that governs budget meetings. This provision of the statute states that if your board wants to increase assessments, it must go through the same process as adopting the initial budget. Specifically, it must post and mail a notice of a budget meeting at least fourteen (14) days prior to the date of the meeting along with a copy of the proposed amended budget.
If you believe that your board did not properly amend its budget in order to increase its assessments, I recommend informing the board regarding the applicable Florida Administrative Code and the Florida Statute provisions. If your board refuses or fails to properly adopt an amended budget, I recommend that you speak to legal counsel regarding the next steps forward in this situation.
Q: I’m hearing conflicting information regarding grills on condominium balconies. One person I spoke to said it was prohibited while another said that it was allowed as long as it was within a certain size limit. Who is right? J.M., Fort Myers
A: Section 10.10.6.1 of the Florida Fire Prevention Code allows listed electric portable, tabletop grills, not to exceed 200 square inches of cooking surface, or other similar apparatus to be used on a condominium balcony. This provision was added into the Florida Fire Prevention Code, effective December 31, 2017, and remains in full force and effect. That being said, even if permitted by the Florida Fire Prevention Code, you should confirm with your association whether it has any use restrictions in the Declaration of Condominium or rules that prohibit the use of electric grills or similar items on the balcony. If so, the prohibition may be applicable despite the Florida Fire Prevention Code as the condominium restriction may be stricter than the minimum requirements of state law.
Q: I am on the board of my homeowner’s association. We received an official records request from an owner requesting that we send him copies of financial reports, meeting minutes, meeting notice, budgets, and association contracts over the last seven years. It is a cumbersome request. Unfortunately, we don’t have any rules and regulations regarding official records requests. Are we obligated to go through all the official records, pull the records requested, and then send the records to him? What is the response time on this? We anticipate that it will take a couple of days to pull and compile these records. K.H., Naples
A: The good news is that the association is not obligated to go through all of its official records in order to provide the owner with copies of the records he is requesting. Section 720.303(5), Florida Statutes states that the association is required to make the official records available for inspection and/or photocopying by an owner within 45 miles of the community or within the county in which the association is located and that the availability of the official records must be provided within 10 business days after receipt by the board or its designee of a written request. This means that the association must provide the owner access to its official records within 10 business days of receipt by the board. It does not mean that the association must go through its own records, locate the records being requested for review, compile the records, and send them to the owner. What it does mean is that the association must make the official records available for owner inspection. This includes allowing an owner to access paper documents, informing the owner that the official records are available on a website that can be accessed on the Internet, or allowing the records to be viewed in an electronic format on a computer screen. Please note that the right to inspect the records also includes the right to make photocopies and print the records, in cases where the documents are on a computer screen.
John C. Goede, Esq., is a shareholder of the law firm Goede, DeBoest & Cross. Visit www.gadclaw.com to ask questions about your issues for future columns or send your inquiry to: question@gadclaw.com. The information provided herein is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. The publication of this article does not create an attorney-client relationship between the reader and Goede, DeBoest & Cross, or any of our attorneys. Readers should not act or refrain from acting based upon the information contained in this article without first contacting an attorney, if you have questions about any of the issues raised herein. The hiring of an attorney is a decision that should not be based solely on advertisements or this column.
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Condo Q & A
