Condo questions: Is board required to give owners notices who are not full-time residents?

Attorneys at Goede, DeBoest & Cross respond to questions about Florida community association law. The firm represents community associations throughout Florida and focuses on condominium and homeowner association law, real estate law, civil litigation, estate planning and commercial transactions.

Q: A large percentage of the owners in our condo building live out of town for at least part of the year. The board posts notices of all meetings on the bulletin board in one of the common area rooms of the building. Is the board required to give these notices to the owners who don’t live in the building full time since they won’t see the posted notices in the building if they aren’t here?

— J.N., Boca Raton

A: First, we need to separate your question into two parts depending on the type of meeting that you are referring to: (a) meetings of the board or (b) meetings of the members.

Section 718.112(2)(c), Florida Statutes addresses the requirements for all meetings of the board, including notice requirements. For regular board meetings, the statute only requires that notice be posted conspicuously on the condominium property at least 48 continuous hours before the meeting, except in an emergency.

There is no requirement that the notice be provided by mail or email, or otherwise transmitted to all owners, whether or not those owners are able to see the posted notice by being physically present on the condominium property.

Please note, however, that there are additional requirements for certain types of board meetings, including a meeting at which a special assessment or an amendment to rules regarding unit use will be considered.

The statute provides that notice of such board meetings, in addition to being posted conspicuously on the condominium property, must also be mailed, delivered, or electronically transmitted to the unit owners at least 14 days before the meeting.

As to meetings of the members, such as a budget meeting, a special meeting of the members, or the association’s annual meeting — except if an election is to be held, which has its own set of notice requirements — then the notice must be mailed, delivered, or electronically transmitted to the unit owners and posted conspicuously on the condominium property at least 14 days before the meeting.

Please note, however, in connection with all of the above, you should also look at your association’s governing documents to see if they contain any specific provisions with regard to notice of meetings, as such provisions may have additional or different requirements than what is provided in Chapter 718, Florida Statutes.

Q: The board of my condo association, which has over 400 units, has been charging and collecting a fee of around $900 from all new owners when they buy a unit and the fee is categorized as a “capital contribution.” Is such a capital contribution allowed under the Florida Condominium Act?

— B.G., Fort Pierce

A: Assuming that your community is indeed a condominium association as you have stated, governed by Chapter 718, Florida Statutes, and not a homeowners’ association, which is governed by Chapter 720, Florida Statutes, then the collection of a capital contribution from new owners is not permitted.

Section 718.112(2)(i), Florida Statutes, states, in relevant part, “An association may not charge a fee in connection with the sale, mortgage, lease, sublease, or other transfer of a unit unless the association is required to approve such transfer and a fee for such approval is provided for in the declaration, articles, or bylaws. Any such fee may be preset but may not exceed $150 per applicant.”

As provided in the statute above, a condominium association’s ability to collect a fee from new owners is limited to those associations which are required by their governing documents to approve transfers, and the amount of such transfer fee is to be specified in such documents.

Even then, such a transfer fee may not exceed $150. Therefore, a condominium association may not charge a capital contribution fee of $900 for new owners. Please note that Chapter 720, Florida Statutes, governing homeowners’ associations, does not contain this same restriction.

Avi S. Tryson, Esq., is partner of the Law Firm Goede, DeBoest & Cross. Visit www.gadclaw.com or to ask questions about your issues for future columns, 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 Treasure Coast Newspapers: Is board required to give owners notices who are not full-time residents?