Becker & Poliakoff

Community Update – January 2025

Community Update – January 2025

This year promises to be filled with new opportunities to grow together as a community. Whether you’re considering implementing a new rule, looking for helpful tips to overcome budgeting challenges, or need to simplify your voting process, we’ve got you covered. Don’t miss our featured podcast episode which provides a candid look at life within a condominium association.

Social media, which provides an instantaneous platform to a large number of “viewers,” can wreak havoc in community associations. Jennifer L. Biletnikoff provides strategies that may help prevent your community from going “viral” in, “Perils and Pitfalls of Social Media in Community Associations.”

The Fair Housing Act (FHA) prohibits discrimination based on familial status, which includes families with children under 18. As such, condominiums and homeowner’s associations may face legal challenges if they have rules restricting children’s use of community facilities, unless they qualify as a 55+ community. Michael O. Dermody explains everything you need to know in, “Can 55+ Communities Avoid Compliance With Federal Laws Which Prohibit Age and Familial Status Discrimination?

As aging condominiums in Florida face rising maintenance costs and deteriorating infrastructure, the possibility of termination and redevelopment is becoming a more viable option. Joseph Arena offers valuable advice on the legal and political complexities surrounding the termination process in, “Condominium Termination: Don’t Let the End Catch You by Surprise.”

Associations should regularly review their declarations and rules to avoid exceeding the authority granted to them. Joseph Markovich provides a pivotal reminder for condominium and homeowners associations to ensure that their rules align with their governing documents in, “THIS CASE: Charterhouse Associates, LTD., Inc. v. Valencia Reserve Homeowners Ass’n, Inc.

Click here to view the full Community Update!