After the Surfside tragedy, everyone wanted to know how such a tragedy could happen and what steps could be taken to avoid similar incidents in the future. What caused the collapse? Could it have been avoided? Why were repairs not made? Why did local governments allow repairs to drag on? Why were repairs not made […]
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Take It to the Board: The Smoker’s Dilemma with Dennis Eisinger of Eisinger Law
In this episode of Take It to the Board, host Donna DiMaggio Berger speaks with Dennis J. Eisinger, who founded Eisinger Law in 1996 and serves as the firm’s managing partner. For the past four decades, he has represented all types of community associations throughout Florida, as well as developers, financial institutions, and private equity clubs. […]
Read More“Should Board Members Be Paid?” – News-Press
Q: Is a condominium association permitted to pay the members of the board of directors? Board members spend a lot of time and energy in a thankless job. It only seems fair that they should get some benefit for all the effort. (M.S., via e-mail) A: Section 718.112(2)(a)1 of the Florida Condominium Act states that […]
Read MoreAssistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke Speaks at Becker Legacy Speaker Series
Becker & Poliakoff, in partnership with the University of Miami School of Law, recently welcomed Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke as the keynote speaker of the Alan S. Becker and Gary A. Poliakoff Preeminent Leaders in Law Speaker Series. The educational forum, established in honor of the firm’s founding members (Becker, J.D. ’69, and Poliakoff, […]
Read More“Management Company Conflict of Interest Questioned” – News-Press
Q: Can the president of a condominium association also be an owner of the property management company that represents the association or is that a conflict of interest? (K.R., via e-mail) A: The facts you describe create a rebuttable presumption of a conflict of interest, because the president of the association, who is presumably also […]
Read MoreCommunity Update – April 2022
In this edition of the Community Update, we address transparency in condominium and homeowners’ associations’, issues associated with alcohol consumption on association property, what associations can and cannot do about solar panels, and even how the Constitution applies to private community associations. Many condominium and homeowners’ associations’ activities are required to have a certain amount […]
Read MoreCan Anything Be Done About Solar Panels?
If you are living in an HOA, you probably have heard that the association cannot prohibit the installation of solar panels (or “solar collectors”). A Florida law, F.S. 163.04, provides that any “deed restriction or declaration” or even any “similar binding agreement” may not prohibit – or have the effect of prohibiting – solar collectors, […]
Read MoreThe ABC’s – Alcohol Sales, BYOB, and Related Considerations
Does your association include facilities that serve and sell alcohol? Is the association property zoned to permit alcohol-related uses? Does your association hold any alcoholic beverage licenses from the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation’s Division of Alcohol Beverages and Tobacco (“Division”) and corresponding local government approvals and, if so, what is the geographical […]
Read MoreStatutory Meeting Requirements
Many condominium and homeowners’ associations’ activities are required to have a certain amount of transparency. One way that association activities are made transparent is through statutory provisions requiring most kinds of meetings to be open and noticed to the membership. In fact, applicable laws governing the operation of condominium and homeowners’ associations allow board members […]
Read MoreThe Current Crisis with Florida’s Real Property Insurance with Andrea Northrup, Vice President of Insurance Office of America (Part 2)
Florida’s current property insurance industry is in crisis, and it’s one that has been years in the making. Private insurers are exiting the state at alarming numbers and Citizens is once again becoming the only option for many community associations. In Part 2 of this podcast episode, host Donna DiMaggio Berger and Andrea Northrup, Vice […]
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