Editor’s Note: David G. Muller is a Board Certified Attorney in Condominium and Planned Development Law with Becker & Poliakoff, P.A., which represents community associations throughout Florida, with offices in Naples, Fort Myers and 10 other Florida cities. The Firm focuses a substantial amount of its practice on condominium and homeowners association law. Attorney Muller responds to your community association questions. Send questions to Attorney Muller by e-mail to dmuller@beckerlawyers.com.
Q: In previous columns you addressed the new term limit law for condominium association directors. Have there been any developments regarding this law since your last column on this topic (from a few months ago)? I.M.
A: Yes, there is a very recent update regarding this new law, which states that condominium directors cannot serve more than 4 consecutive 2-year terms, essentially creating an 8-year term limit (subject to certain limited exceptions). As discussed in previous columns, including (most recently) my February 17, 2019 column, there is a significant legal question as to whether this law should be applied retroactively. In my February 2019 column I reported on a declaratory statement decision issued in late 2018 by the Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes, the state agency that has certain regulatory oversight over condominiums, wherein they determined that the law does apply retroactively. In my February 2019 column I provided my opinion that the Division’s 2018 declaratory statement was not correct due to a long established rule of Florida law that if the Legislature does not specifically state that a law is intended to be retroactive, it is prospective only. This new term limit law did not include any language expressing an intention to be retroactive.