Perspectives

The 2024 Florida Legislative Session ended last Friday, March 8th, and it was one of the busiest sessions in memory in terms of producing new community association legislation. The following are just a few of the bills which passed which we will be covering in our upcoming comprehensive Legislative Guidebook. Please remember that these bills […]

Representative Lopez’s HB 1021 just passed the Regulatory Reform & Economic Development Subcommittee with a strike-all amendment without objection and will be heard next in the State Administration & Technology Appropriations Subcommittee. The Senate counterpart to this bill, Senator Bradley’s SB 1178, does not currently match up.

This is the second in a series of weekly updates, each focusing on a Bill that we at CALL believe deserves your close attention. To those of you who answered our call to reach out to legislators on the Senate Fiscal Policy Committee last week, thank you. The Senate Fiscal Policy Committee adopted a strike […]

As you may know, the 2024 Legislative Session commenced last Tuesday and promises to be one of the most active in recent memory.  This alert is the first in a series of weekly updates, each focusing on a Bill that we at CALL believe deserves your close attention.  The first Bill we will focus on […]

The 2024 Legislative Session begins this week, on Tuesday, January 9, 2024, and promises to bring sweeping changes to community association operations throughout Florida. Today’s CALL Alert provides our clients with an update on the bills filed to date, and lets you know which ones we are watching closely as they pass through the committee […]

Governor DeSantis signed the much anticipated Surfside Glitch Bill, SB 154, into law earlier today. This lengthy law will be the subject of future Becker webinars and classes as well as be featured in our 2023 Legislative Guidebook along with more than a dozen other bills that passed this Session which may impact your community.

A new law, which became effective on March 24, 2023, is intended to limit the liability of the owner or principal operator of a multifamily residential property for criminal acts that occur on the premises which are committed by third parties who are neither employees nor agents of the owner or operator.

If you own a unit in a high-rise condominium or manage such condominiums, you are likely aware that the Condominium Act requires that the condominium buildings must be retrofitted with a fire sprinkler system or an engineered life-safety system (ELSS). The Condominium Act provides that the local authority having jurisdiction (AHJ) may not require completion […]

Last year, the Florida Legislature passed SB 4-D with the stated purpose of safeguarding the millions of Floridians living in older multifamily buildings. Known as the Condo Safety Law, SB 4-D requires periodic engineering inspections for buildings three stories and higher and mandates that associations reserve funds to pay for ongoing maintenance and repair projects. […]

While many communities are in the process of adopting a budget with significant increases, primarily due to increased insurance premiums, the Florida Legislature is meeting in Special Session to attempt to address the property insurance crisis in our State. Here are some of the highlights from SB 2-A and HB 1-A which are currently being […]

The Florida Special Session produced the most sweeping legislation affecting condominium and cooperative associations in decades. SB-4D, known colloquially as the Condo Safety bill, became law on May 26, 2022. This law requires periodic engineering inspections and a new structural integrity reserve study for buildings three stories or higher. While SB-4D naturally has garnered the […]

By December 31, 2023, safety door closing devices must be installed on all elevators in Florida. These requirements originated with the DBPR and were incorporated within the Florida Administrative Code and the Florida Building Code. On March 23, 2021, the DBPR adopted Section 61C-5.001, Florida Administrative Code, which incorporates several provisions of the American Society […]

Governor DeSantis signed SB 518 into law  May 18.  The bill further amends Section 163.045, F.S. to provide that a local government may not require a notice, application, approval, permit, fee, or mitigation for the pruning, trimming, or removal of a tree on a residential property if the property owner has documentation from an arborist or landscape architect […]

The Florida Legislature concluded the 2022 Session without passing any major community association legislation. Several counties and the Florida Bar convened task forces in the aftermath of the Surfside tragedy. Primary among the suggested legislative changes for multifamily buildings were periodic engineering inspections, reserve studies and reserve funding mandates.

As you read the bill summaries discussed below, please remember that these are NOT new laws and some of these bills have already been determined to be going nowhere. Most of the bill consolidation occurs the last week or two of Session which is currently scheduled to end on March 11.

The Florida Bar’s Condominium Law and Policy Life Safety Advisory Task Force issued a comprehensive report on October 12, 2021. It was anticipated that many of the Task Force’s recommendations would be taken up as proposed bills by Florida legislators. The Florida 2022 Legislative Session commenced on January 11 and is expected to wrap up […]

This week, we’re going to discuss a few bills that will impact all types of Florida community associations. CS/HB 7 /SB 72 (Brandes) are bills which would protect “business entities” against COVID-19 related claims for damages, injury or death. These bills do include condominiums, cooperatives, and HOAs within the definition of a business entity. Given

Florida is always potentially in the path of a deadly storm during hurricane season. Because of that geographic vulnerability, property insurance changes are hotly debated each year during Florida’s 60-day Legislative Session. Every year seems to bring increasingly active hurricane seasons and, naturally, property insurance rates climb ever higher.