What a great time of year. The best
actually. Everyone seems to be in the holiday spirit. You drive
down the streets and people have beautifully decorated their
homes. But what about the people that live in condos and HOAs?
Are they allowed to do the same?
In regard to condominiums, Florida Statute
718.113(6) states:
An association may not refuse the request of a unit owner for a
reasonable accommodation for the attachment on the mantel or
frame of the door of the unit owner of a religious object not to
exceed 3 inches wide, 6 inches high, and 1.5 inches deep.
So, in a condominium, unit owners get the
right to have a whopping 3 x 6 inch religious display on their
door at holiday time. Anything bigger than that and the Board
can say take it down because you’re violating the statute. In
an HOA, the statute makes no mention about the right to have a
religious display. Why? Because it’s just another example of
simply not enough caring and thought going into the making of
HOA laws.
If you think that the Board’s power is
limited solely to preventing religious displays on the exterior
of your condominium unit or the exterior of your home, think
again. The Board can even decide what religious displays are
allowed on the common areas.
In Tower Forty-One Association v. Levitt¸ 426
So.2d 1290 (3rd DCA, 1983) the appeals court upheld a ruling by
the trial court which agreed with a condominium association that
prohibited an owner from displaying a Succoh on a common
element. In that case, the bylaws of the association stated
that “No industry, business, trade, occupation or profession of
any kind, commercial, religious, educational, or otherwise,
shall be conducted, maintained, or permitted on any part of the
property or in any condominium parcel.” The court simply
prevented the condominium association from violating its own
documents.
In Neuman v. Grandview at Emerald Hills,
Inc., 861 So.2d 494 (4th DCA, 2003) the condominium association
passed a rule banning the use of the common elements for
religious services. In fact, the association only did so after
70% of the owners voted in favor of such a rule. Two unit
owners challenged the rule in court, taking the position that
their constitutional rights were being violated as was Florida
Statute 718.123 which precludes condominium rules from
unreasonably restricting a unit owner’s right to peaceably
assemble. Here is what else the court said:
It appears to us that inherent in the condominium concept is the
principle that to promote the health, happiness, and peace of
mind of the majority of the unit owners since they are living in
such close proximity and using facilities in common, each unit
owner must give up a certain degree of freedom of choice which
he might otherwise enjoy in separate, privately owned property.
Condominium unit owners comprise a little democratic sub society
of necessity more restrictive as it pertains to use of
condominium property than may be existent outside the
condominium organization.
The court found the rule prohibiting
religious services in the common areas to be reasonable and
sided with the association.
As we head into the holidays and the final
two weeks of the year, eat, drink and be merry. And remember,
despite your passion and zeal to display your pride in your
religion, you may have to somewhat keep it in check. At this
time of year, we take off two weeks from the blog and will
resume January 7th, 2019. In the interim, I wish all of you
and your families a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year.