“Can Condominium Assessments Be Collected Annually?” – News-Press
Q: I am on the board of my condominium association, and we are working on our budget for the next fiscal year. Our condominium is located within a larger community that has a master association. The master association assessments are paid in one payment due in January. The board of my condominium association is considering also requiring that the condominium assessments be paid once in January as well to make our accounting easier. Is this permitted for a condominium association? (M.R., via e-mail)
A: No. Florida condominium associations must collect assessments at least quarterly; condominium associations may not require unit owners to pay regular condominium assessments only once per year. Section 718.112(2)(i) of the Florida Condominium Act (the “Act”) provides that assessments must be made against the units no less frequently than quarterly and in an amount sufficient to provide funds in advance for payment of anticipated operating expenses. Accordingly, a condominium association may not levy its regular assessments on an annual-only basis.
This is different from many homeowners’ associations governed by Chapter 720, the Florida Homeowners’ Association Act. Chapter 720 does not contain the same statutory requirement mandating how often assessments may be collected, which is why some homeowners’ associations impose annual assessments.
As you prepare your condominium association’s budget, you should plan to collect assessments no less frequently than quarterly and review your condominium documents, particularly the bylaws, to confirm whether they establish a specific collection schedule. While it would be somewhat unusual, it is not unheard of for bylaws to specify how frequently assessments will be collected from owners.
Q: There has been confusion in my condominium association concerning the size of our board of directors. It does not appear that there is any clear statement regarding the number of directors in our condominium documents. How do we resolve this issue? (G.X., via e-mail)
A: If the bylaws of a condominium association governed by Chapter 718 are silent as to the number of directors, the statutory default is a five-member board unless the condominium has five or fewer units. Section 718.112(2)(a) of the Florida Condominium Act provides that the association’s bylaws must describe the form of administration, including the titles of officers and the powers, duties, manner of selection and removal, and compensation, if any, of officers and board members. The statute further provides that, in the absence of such a provision, the board of administration is composed of five members. If the condominium has five or fewer units, the board must consist of not fewer than three members.
Therefore, if your condominium bylaws do not specify the number of directors, the board should apply the statutory default: five directors, unless the condominium has five or fewer units, in which case the board must have at least three directors.
By contrast, homeowners’ associations governed by Chapter 720, the Florida Homeowners’ Association Act, do not have the same statutory default number of directors, so a homeowners’ association would need to look to its governing documents to determine the proper board size.
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.
