The purpose of this article is to address the following:
- Homeowners’ and condominium association board member certification requirements, certificate retention and continuing education requirements (all of which are quite different);
- Condominium association and homeowners’ association hurricane protection requirements;
- Clarify homeowners’ association website posting requirements and remind homeowners’ association board members of mandates from the 2024 legislation.
Chapter 718, F.S.: CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION BOARD MEMBER CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS, CERTIFICATE RETENTION AND CONTINUING EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS:
- Each newly elected or appointed board member must submit to the secretary of the association the: (i) written certification AND (ii) educational certificate within 1 year before being elected or appointed or 90 days after the date of election or appointment.
- Specifically, for the (i) written certification, all residential condominium board members must certify, in writing to the secretary of the association, that he or she has read the association’s declaration of condominium, articles of incorporation, bylaws, and current written policies; that he or she will work to uphold such documents and policies to the best of his or her ability; and that he or she will faithfully discharge his or her fiduciary responsibility to the association’s members.
- For the (ii) educational certificate, condominium association board members must complete an educational curriculum that has been approved by the DBPR that is at least four hours long with certain mandated subjects.
- A director of an association of a residential condominium who was elected or appointed before July 1, 2024, must comply with both written certification AND educational certificate requirements by June 30, 2025.
- To reiterate, a director of an association of a residential condominium who was elected or appointed after July 1, 2024, must comply with both the written certification AND educational certificate requirement within 90 days after being elected or appointed to the board.
- The written certification and/or educational certificate is valid for seven years after the date of issuance and does not have to be resubmitted as long as the director serves on the board without interruption during the seven-year period.
- Continuing Education: In addition to the (i) written certification and (ii) educational certificate discussed above, one year after submission of the most recent written certification and educational certificate, and annually thereafter, a board member of an association of a residential condominium must submit to the secretary of the association a certificate of having satisfactorily completed at least one hour of continuing education administered by the division, or a division-approved condominium education provider, relating to any recent changes to this chapter and the related administrative rules during the past year.
- Condominium association board members elected or appointed before July 1, 2024, have until June 30, 2025, to meet the new education curriculum requirement consisting of 1 hour of continuing education per year.
- The condominium association must retain a director’s written certification and/or educational certificate for inspection by the members for seven years after a director’s election or the duration of the director’s uninterrupted tenure, whichever is longer.
- Any director who fails to timely comply with the foregoing written certification and educational certificate requirements is suspended from service on the board until he or she complies.
Chapter 720, F.S.: HOMEOWNERS’ ASSOCIATION BOARD MEMBER CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS, CERTIFICATE RETENTION AND CONTINUING EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS:
- Homeowners’ association board members elected or appointed to the board on or after July 1, 2024, must take a board certification course within 90-days after being elected or appointed to the board (no minimum time required, typically around two hours).
- In addition, homeowners’ association board members must complete the education specific to newly elected or appointed directors at least every four years.
- The DBPR approved educational curriculum specific to newly elected or appointed directors must include training relating to financial literacy and transparency, recordkeeping, levying of fines, and notice and meeting requirements.
- In addition to the education course specific to newly elected or appointed board members, Homeowners’ association board members with fewer than 2,500 parcels in the association must take four hours of continuing education annually and if 2,500 parcels or more in the association, then eight hours of continuing education annually.
- The homeowners’ association must retain each director’s written certification or educational certificate for inspection by the members for five years after the director’s election.
- The ability of a recently elected or appointed homeowners’ association board member to simply submit a written certificate certifying that they read the association’s declaration of covenants, articles of incorporation, bylaws, and current written rules and policies; that he, or she, will work to uphold such documents and policies to the best of his or her ability; and that he, or she, will faithfully discharge his or her fiduciary duties to the association, is no longer an option to meet certification requirements as it has been removed from Section 720.3033, Florida Statutes.
HURRICANE PROTECTION REQUIREMENTS:
- Chapter 718, F.S.: Condominium Association Hurricane Protection Specifications.
- Chapter 720, F.S.: Homeowners’ Association Hurricane Protection Specifications.
The board or any architectural, construction improvement, or other similar committee of an association must adopt hurricane protection specifications for each structure or other improvement on a parcel governed by the association. The specifications may include the color and style of hurricane protection products and any other factor deemed relevant by the board. All specifications adopted by the board must comply with the applicable building code.
Chapter 720, F.S.: HOMEOWNERS’ ASSOCIATIONS NEW WEBSITE / APP POSTING REQUIREMENTS FOR THOSE HOA’S REQUIRED TO HAVE A WEBSITE / APP:
HOA New Website: By January 1, 2025, an association with 100 or more parcels shall post several documents within its Official Records on its website or make available such documents through an application that can be downloaded on a mobile device.- HOA New Website Posting Requirement for Members’ Meetings–
- HOA New Website Posting Requirement for Board Meetings
REMEMBER, EVERY HOMEOWNERS’ ASSOCIATION BOARD MUST DO THE FOLLOWING:
- Adopt hurricane protection standards/rules as discussed above.
- Provide copies of the rules and covenants to every association member before October 1, 2024, or post same on the association’s website and send notice to each member at their address used for official notices as to where they can locate them.
- Adopt rules and regulations governing official record retention.
Jeffrey Rembaum, Esq. of Kaye, Bender, Rembaum attorneys at law, legal practice consists of representation of condominium, homeowner, commercial and mobile home park associations, as well as exclusive country club communities and the developers who build them. Mr. Rembaum is a Certified Specialist in Condominium and Planned Development Law. He is the creator of ‘Rembaum’s Association Roundup’, an e-magazine devoted to the education of community association board members, managers, developers and anyone involved with Florida’s community associations. His column appears monthly in the Florida Community Association Journal. Every year since 2012, Mr. Rembaum has been selected to the Florida Super Lawyers list and was also named Legal Elite by Florida Trends Magazine. He can be reached at 561-241-4462.