Becker & Poliakoff

Community Association

A Guide to Sending the New Notice of Late Assessment

As of July 1, 2021, associations are required to send delinquent owners a Notice of Late Assessments, giving the owners 30 days to bring the account current prior to turning the account over to the association’s legal counsel for collections. Failure to provide the delinquent owner with this 30-day notice will preclude the association from recovering legal fees related to past due assessments, i.e., any fees incurred in a subsequent collection/foreclosure action. The notice must be sent via first class United States mail to the owner’s last address as reflected in the association’s official records, and if the last address is not the property address, the notice must also be sent to the property address by first class United States mail. The notice is deemed delivered upon mailing and a rebuttable presumption that the notice was mailed as required can be established by a sworn affidavit executed by a board member, officer or agent of the association, or by a licensed manager. A form for the 30-day notice, titled “Notice of Late Assessment” can be found in §§718.121, 719.108 and 720.3085, Fla. Stat.

Owners Can Record Meetings; Free Speech Rights Unclear

Q: I recently agreed to serve on the board of my condominium association. There is one owner who comes to many of the board meetings and sits in the front row with his phone device pointed at the head table. I assume he is recording the meetings, which I understand he has the right to do. My question is whether there are any limits on what this person can do with his recordings. For example, can he take photographs of me or other board members and post them on social media type sites? (J.L; via e-mail)