Though summer season is a superb time for a little bit of relaxation and rest, Florida condominiums have some work forward of them.
Home Invoice 913, also called the 2025 Reform Invoice, got here into impact July 1. Whereas a lot of the large invoice focuses on softening the blow of the security laws handed in 2022, there are some essential factors not associated to milestone structural inspections or structural integrity reserve research (SIRS).
Beneath, you’ll discover an inventory highlighting a few of the most vital modifications. Be aware that this invoice is directed at condominium and cooperative associations. HOAs should not named, however don’t be shocked if a few of these modifications are mandated for householders associations afterward.
Desk of contents
Official affiliation data
New data added to necessities
Florida condominiums should keep financial institution statements, ledgers, affidavits, and authorized assembly minutes as official data.
Digital conferences are thought-about data
Digital conferences should be recorded and retained for at the least one 12 months. Sure, which means they should be added to the web site or net portal for homeowners to view in case your affiliation has 25+ models.
As of now, many attorneys are of the opinion that phone-in conferences wouldn’t should be recorded.
New and up to date data should be posted to web site inside 30 days
Except a shorter interval is in any other case required, a doc or file should be made obtainable on the rental affiliation’s web site, or made obtainable for obtain by an software on a cellular gadget inside 30 days after the affiliation receives or creates an official file.
Digital voting
House owners can vote to have digital voting
If at the least 25% of the voting pursuits of a condominium petition the board to undertake a decision for digital voting for the following scheduled election, the board should maintain a gathering inside 21 days after receipt of the petition to undertake such decision.
The board should obtain the petition inside 180 days after the date of the final scheduled annual assembly.
Votes will be submitted through e mail
Except the affiliation has adopted digital voting in accordance with subsections (1)-(6), the affiliation should designate an e-mail tackle for receipt of electronically transmitted ballots.
Electronically transmitted ballots should meet all the necessities of this subsection.
A unit proprietor could ship a poll to the e-mail tackle designated by the affiliation with out complying with s. 718.112(2)(d)4. or the principles offering for the secrecy of ballots adopted by the division.
The affiliation should depend accomplished ballots which can be despatched by e mail to the designated e mail tackle, offered the finished ballots adjust to the necessities of this subsection.
A poll that’s emailed to the affiliation should embody all the following:
- An area for the proprietor to kind of their unit quantity
- An area for the proprietor to kind of their first and final names, which additionally features as their signature
- This assertion in capitalized letters, and in a font dimension bigger than every other font dimension used within the e-mail from the affiliation to the unit proprietor: WAIVING THE SECRECY OF YOUR BALLOT IS YOUR CHOICE. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO WAIVE THE SECRECY OF YOUR BALLOT IN ORDER TO VOTE. BY TRANSMITTING YOUR COMPLETED BALLOT THROUGH E-MAIL TO THE ASSOCIATION, YOU WAIVE THE SECRECY OF YOUR COMPLETED BALLOT. IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO WAIVE YOUR SECRECY BUT WISH TO PARTICIPATE IN THE VOTE THAT IS THE SUBJECT OF THIS BALLOT, PLEASE ATTEND THE IN-PERSON MEETING DURING WHICH THE MATTER WILL BE VOTED ON.
- The proprietor should transmit their accomplished poll to the e-mail tackle designated by the affiliation no later than the scheduled date and time of the assembly throughout which the matter is being voted on
- There’s a rebuttable presumption that an affiliation has reviewed all folders related to the e-mail tackle designated by the affiliation to obtain ballots if a board member, an officer, or an agent of the affiliation, or a supervisor licensed below half VIII of chapter 468, gives a sworn affidavit testifying to such evaluate
Digital conferences
Conferences can happen just about, however a bodily location should nonetheless be included
Zoom, Groups, and so forth., can be utilized to host board and membership conferences. Nevertheless, digital conferences should be recorded and preserved for at the least one 12 months.
Annual conferences could also be carried out in individual or through video convention. However, if the annual assembly is carried out through video convention, a quorum of the board members of the administration should be bodily current on the bodily location the place homeowners can attend the assembly.
The situation should be offered within the affiliation’s bylaws. If the bylaws are silent as to the situation, the assembly should be held inside 15 miles of the condominium property or inside the identical county because the condominium.
Board or committee members can take part in conferences through phone, real-time videoconferencing, or comparable real-time digital or video communication. Digital attendees depend towards a quorum, and such members could vote as if bodily current.
A speaker should be used in order that conversations will be heard by the board or committee members attending in individual, in addition to by any homeowners current at a gathering.
If a gathering is to be carried out through video convention, the discover should state that and embody a hyperlink and a convention phone quantity for homeowners to attend, in addition to the tackle of the bodily location the place homeowners can attend the assembly in individual.
Milestone structural inspections
Readability on minimal peak necessities
HB 913 clarifies that condos with three or extra liveable tales should full milestone inspections and structural integrity reserve research. So should you stay in a three-storey constructing, however solely two tales have models, your constructing is exempt.
Readability relating to submissions
Associations are required to submit the standing of their milestone inspections to the Florida Division of Enterprise and Skilled Regulation (DBPR) yearly. Nevertheless, the DBPR will present the knowledge to the Workplace of Program Coverage Evaluation and Authorities Accountability, which is able to compile a report for the Legislature.
SIRS could also be postponed below sure circumstances
If a rental completes a milestone inspection required by s. 553.899, or an inspection accomplished for the same native requirement, it might delay efficiency of a required structural integrity reserve examine for not more than 2 consecutive finances years instantly following the milestone inspection if it must pay for restore and upkeep suggestions created because of the milestone inspection.
Structural integrity reserve research
Deadline prolonged
Rental associations present on or earlier than July 1, 2022, that are managed by homeowners aside from the developer, should have a structural integrity reserve examine accomplished by December 31, 2025. The deadline was 2024, however it has been prolonged to offer condos extra time.
An affiliation that’s required to finish a milestone inspection in accordance with s. 553.899 on or earlier than December 31, 2026, could full the structural integrity reserve examine concurrently with the milestone inspection.
Funding supply should be recognized
The structural integrity reserve examine should take into accounts the funding technique or strategies utilized by the affiliation to fund upkeep obligations by common assessments, particular assessments, traces of credit score, or loans.
If the SIRS is carried out earlier than the affiliation has authorized a particular evaluation or secured a line of credit score or a mortgage, the SIRS should be up to date to mirror the funding technique chosen by the affiliation and its impact on the reserve funding schedule, together with any anticipated change within the quantity of standard assessments.
Reserve funding and thresholds
Non permanent funding suspension possibility
For a finances adopted on or earlier than December 31, 2028, if the affiliation has accomplished a milestone inspection pursuant to s. 553.899 inside the earlier 2 calendar years, the board, upon the approval of a majority of the entire voting pursuits of the affiliation, could briefly pause reserve fund contributions, or scale back the quantity of reserve funding for the aim of funding repairs beneficial by the milestone inspection, for not more than 2 consecutive annual budgets.
An affiliation that has paused reserve contributions below this subparagraph should have a structural integrity reserve examine carried out earlier than the continuation of reserve contributions to be able to decide the affiliation’s reserve funding wants, and to suggest a reserve funding plan.
Extra versatile choices to pay for repairs
Reserves for the objects listed in paragraph (g) (roof, construction, plumbing, fireproofing, home windows, electrical) could also be funded by common assessments, particular assessments, traces of credit score, or loans. A particular evaluation, a line of credit score, or a mortgage below this subparagraph requires the approval of a majority vote of the entire voting pursuits of the affiliation.
A unit-owner-controlled affiliation that’s required to finish structural integrity reserve research could safe a line of credit score or a mortgage to fund capital bills required by a milestone inspection below s. 553.899 or a structural integrity reserve examine.
The road of credit score or mortgage should be adequate to fund the cumulative quantity of any beforehand waived or unfunded parts of the reserve funding quantity required by this paragraph, and the newest structural integrity reserve examine.
Funding from the road of credit score or mortgage should be instantly obtainable for entry by the board to fund required restore, upkeep, or alternative bills with out additional approval by homeowners.
Funding choices
An affiliation could make investments reserve funds in a single or any mixture of certificates of deposit or in depository accounts at a neighborhood financial institution, financial savings financial institution, industrial financial institution, financial savings and mortgage affiliation, or credit score union with no vote from homeowners.
Adjustment to threshold for objects that should be added to order examine
Every other merchandise that has a deferred upkeep expense or alternative value that exceeds $25,000 should be added to the reserve examine. The edge was beforehand $10,000. This quantity might be adjusted yearly for inflation beginning February 2026.
Group affiliation managers (CAMs) and professionals
Authorized compliance
CAMs and corporations could not knowingly observe directives that violate state or federal legal guidelines.
Assembly attendance
CAMs should attend at the least one board or membership assembly in individual annually.
Disclosure required for higher transparency
Anybody bidding on SIRS or milestone inspection work should disclose intentions to bid on follow-up tasks.
Presumption of battle if CAMs enter into contracts past regular providers
A rebuttable presumption of battle exists when CAMs enter into contracts past routine CAM providers.
Group affiliation managers or a neighborhood affiliation administration agency, together with administrators, officers, and anybody else with a monetary curiosity in a neighborhood affiliation administration agency, or a relative of such individuals, should speak in confidence to the board any exercise that will fairly be construed to be a battle of curiosity.
A rebuttable presumption of a battle of curiosity exists if any of the next happens with out prior discover:
- A neighborhood affiliation supervisor or agency proposes to enter right into a contract or different transaction with an affiliation
- A supervisor or agency enters right into a contract for items or providers with the affiliation, for providers aside from neighborhood affiliation administration providers
Conclusion
HB 913 could be very prolonged, and addresses a number of completely different parts of rental administration. Boards and managers are inspired to learn the invoice on a few separate events to make sure they haven’t missed something essential.
We’ll replace this text if amendments are made to the invoice, however as at all times, contact an legal professional when you have particular questions.
