“Board Term Limits and Website Records Access Explained” – News-Press
Q: One of the Directors for our Condominium Association has served for more than eight (8) years, and I noticed that he was included on the ballot for the upcoming election. I understood that term limits prevented a Director from serving more than eight (8) consecutive years. Should this Director have been included on the ballot? (G.F., via e-mail)
A: Yes. A director who has served more than eight (8) years and who timely submitted their intent to be a candidate for election to the Board of Directors is properly included on the ballot. However, the term limit could still apply.
Section 718.112(2)(d)3., of the Florida Condominium Act provides, in relevant part, that: “ A board member may not serve more than 8 consecutive years unless approved by an affirmative vote of unit owners representing two-thirds of all votes cast in the election or unless there are not enough eligible candidates to fill the vacancies on the board at the time of the vacancy. Only board service that occurs on or after July 1, 2018, may be used when calculating a board member’s term limit.”
The term limit language does not prohibit a board member from standing for election to the board, even where they have served eight (8) consecutive years since July 1, 2018. However, the term limit would apply if the candidate is not elected by at least a two-thirds (2/3) vote of all votes cast in the election.
Even if the board member in question will have served eight (8) consecutive years as of July 1 of this year, if they are properly elected, the term limit would not apply to prohibit them from serving on the board.
Q: I am an owner in a condominium association and recently submitted a request to inspect certain records of the association. In response to my request, the association provided a statement that the records I requested were available on the association’s website and indicated where on the website the records were located. I have objected, stating that I wish to inspect the records and do not want to have the records provided through the website. Can the board do this? (K.C., via e-mail)
A: Effective January 1, 2025, all condominium associations of 25 units or more are required to have a website which contains specific records of the association. The records required to be maintained on the website are found in Section 718.111(12)(g) of the Florida Condominium Act.
Section 718.111(12)(c)1.a., of the Florida Condominium Act, addressing the owner’s right to inspect the official records of the association, now provides that “[i]f the requested records are posted on an association’s website, or are available for download through an application on a mobile device, the association may fulfill its obligations under this paragraph by directing to the website or the application all persons authorized to request access.”
Accordingly, if a unit owner makes a request to inspect official records, and those official records are available through the association’s website, the association may satisfy its obligation to make records available by directing the requesting owner to the association’s website where those records are located.
With respect to homeowners’ associations, Section 720.303(5)(8) of the Homeowners Association Act, addressing the association’s obligation to make records available, provides that “[t]his subsection may be complied with by having a copy of the official records available for inspection or copying in the community or by making the records available to a parcel owner electronically via the Internet or by allowing the records to be viewed in electronic format on a computer screen and printed upon request.”
The language in the Homeowners’ Association Act is different from that in the Condominium Act and appears to provide that the records may be provided by e-mail to an owner in response to a request to inspect records, but it does not expressly indicate that the records may be made available solely by directing the owner to the association’s website.
If an association has questions as to fulfilling its records inspection obligation, by the use of the website or otherwise, the association should review that matter with its legal services provider.
Joe Adams is an attorney with Becker & Poliakoff, P.A., Fort Myers. Send questions to Joe Adams by e-mail to jadams@beckerlawyers.com. Past editions may be viewed at floridacondohoalawblog.com.
