Condo Owners Bill of Rights - part 2-

Stew Richland

There is no magical solutions to the problems that many Associations have here in Century Village.  Based on factors published in community papers, voiced at the delegate assembly committee meetings, at pools, and at the club house one must conclude that there have been long-term systemic problems leading to the crumbling of the infrastructure of many Associations here in Century Village.

The premise of this article is to examine whether condo owners need some sort of “Bill of Rights”  to protect them from some of the decisions made by their associations.  Unit owners might feel that the Board may have acted in an unfair way by adding a bylaw that may take away a unit owners rights, or having a lien placed on their property unfairly or receive a letter from an Association lawyer, and you might have been told that the majority rules and there is nothing you can do about it.

There is in place, by the State of Florida routes to be taken by a unit owner in order to resolve an issue they may have with their Association. Florida has an Ombudsman that can help mediate issues and there are forms provided by the State in which a unit owner can file a formal complaint against their Association.  How effective these courses of action are problematical and may not provide the unit owner with a result they could live with.

While protections already exist for owners governed by a condominium association, conflicts often occur, including misunderstanding of rights or inequitable implementation of an association’s policies and penalties. This is when some owners wish they had some sort of  “homeowners bill of rights.”  This would include that boards can only conduct Association business when they have a quorum;  that homeowners would have a right to attend and participate in meetings of the association at least once a year; that owners who are behind on fees could correct any financial default before foreclosure by tendering payment in full; and that owners would have a right of access to all books and records of the association.  Associations exist solely to serve their unit owners. The added delay and expense of mandatory mediation would damage the very consumers it is intended to protect.

An internet search on these issues will provide those interested with very interesting ideas on this subject.  One site described  one of the typical problems that owners have to cope with.  “ Selective Enforcement is used as a defense by an owner to a claim by the association that the owner is violating one of the association rules or restrictive covenants in the Association Governing Documents.  In some rare cases, the owner may actually initiate a lawsuit or arbitration against the Condo Association claiming that they are arbitrarily or selectively enforcing their rules and regulations.”

Authors note:  We live in an age in which an incredible amount of information is at our fingertips. Much of the information we obtain from the internet is factual but very often lacks the human touch.  For the last few months, I have been enjoying the comfort of our pools and listening to the conversations of our residents while they float around enjoying their swim time.  Sadly much of their conversations dealt with the problems they were having with their Associations. I listened and asked questions and then I began to write my article.  I hope that some of what I have put together provide some guidance in resolving their Association issues.