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MAYBE IT’S TIME TO BRING BACK AND
OLD LAW
By
Eric Glazer, Esq.
Published March 21, 2022
Even after the death of 98 innocent people at
The Champlain Towers in Surfside, the fact is…….The Florida
Legislature did not pass a single law regarding the need for
more building inspections, mandatory funding of reserves,
mandatory education for board members or anything whatsoever to
prevent another tragedy. It seems impossible to believe.
Prior to the year 2000, the condominium
statute contained a provision that created an advisory council
on condominiums. The statute read as follows:
718.5019 Advisory council; membership;
functions.--
(1) There is created the Advisory Council
on Condominiums. The council shall consist of seven members. Two
shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House of
Representatives, two shall be appointed by the President of the
Senate, and three members shall be appointed by the Governor. At
least one member shall represent timeshare condominiums. Members
shall be appointed to 2-year terms. In addition to these
appointed members, the director of the Division of Florida Land
Sales, Condominiums, and Mobile Homes shall serve as an ex
officio member of the council. It is the intent of the
Legislature that the appointments to this council be
geographically distributed across the state and represent a
cross section of persons interested in condominium issues and
include unit-owner and board representatives and a
representative from at least one association with less than 100
units. For administrative purposes, the commission shall be
located in the Division of Florida Land Sales, Condominiums, and
Mobile Homes of the Department of Business and Professional
Regulation. Members of the council shall serve without
compensation, but shall be entitled to receive per diem and
travel expenses pursuant to s. 112.061 while on official
business.
(2) The functions of the advisory council
shall be to:
(a) Receive input from the public
regarding issues of concern with respect to condominiums and to
receive recommendations for any changes to be made in the
condominium law. The issues that the council shall consider
shall include, but not be limited to, the rights and
responsibilities of the unit owners in relation to the rights
and responsibilities of the association.
(b) Review, evaluate, and advise the
division concerning revisions and adoption of rules affecting
condominiums.
(c) Recommend improvements, if needed, in
the education programs offered by the division.
(3) The council is authorized to elect a
chairperson and vice chairperson and such other offices as it
may deem advisable. The council shall meet at the call of its
chairperson, at the request of a majority of its membership, at
the request of the division, or at such times as may be
prescribed by its rules. A majority of the members of the
council shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of all
business and the carrying out of the duties of the council.
This law was repealed in the year 2000.
Instead, this year there was only a Florida
Bar “task force” primarily made up of attorneys who represent
condominium developers. It’s time to broaden the field again.
It’s time for The Governor to create a
similar committee strictly made up of people he wants giving
recommendations. Maybe his committee should consist of people
either living in or representing a residential condominium.
Certainly there should be members of boards of directors, a
structural engineer, a building official and a general
contractor. A committee like this should be making
recommendations to The Florida Legislature, not special interest
group after special interest group that happens now.
What do you guys think?
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About
HOA & Condo Blog
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Eric Glazer graduated
from the University of Miami School of Law in 1992 after
receiving a B.A. from NYU. He has practiced community
association law for three decades and is the owner of
Glazer and Sachs, P.A. a five attorney law firm with
offices in Fort Lauderdale and Orlando.
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Eric is Board Certified by The Florida Bar in
Condominium and Planned Development Law.
Since 2009, Eric has been the host of Condo Craze
and HOAs, a weekly one hour radio show that airs at 11:00 a.m.
each Sunday on 850 WFTL.
See:
www.condocrazeandhoas.com.
Eric is the first attorney in the State of
Florida that designed a course that certifies condominium and
HOA residents as eligible to serve on a Board of Directors and
has now certified more than 20,000 Floridians all across the
state. He is certified as a Circuit Court Mediator by The
Florida Supreme Court and has mediated dozens of disputes
between associations and unit owners. Eric also devotes
significant time to advancing legislation in the best interest
of Florida community association members.
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