Q: My condominium association will be having its annual meeting soon, which will include an election for members to the board of directors. Some of our board members have served for numerous years, and I understood that there are now term limits on the number of years a board member could serve. What is the current status of term limits for condominium associations? (J.A., via e-mail)
A: You are correct. The Florida Legislature amended the Florida Condominium Act in 2018 to impose an eight-year term limit for board members. Section 718.112(2)(d)2. of the statute now states that a board member may not serve more than eight consecutive years unless either approved by a vote of the unit owners representing two-thirds of all votes cast in the election or unless there are not enough eligible candidates to fill all vacancies on the board at the time of the election. The statute goes on to provide that only board service that occurs on or after July 1, 2018, may be used when calculating a board member’s term limit.
Therefore, no statutory term limit would apply to an election this year. However, this will be an issue that associations will have to address for elections that occur after July 1, 2026.
Q: We are confused about the new condominium association reserve law. Our association consists of two-story buildings. Some of the owners seem to think our association will need to have fully funded reserves. Some of the owners seem to think our association reserve does not need to be fully funded because our building is only two stories. Any information you could give us about this situation would be greatly appreciated. (K.M., via e-mail)
A: The short answer is that “nothing has changed” on reserves for one and two-story condominiums, with one big exception. That exception is that it will now be more difficult to waive or reduce the full funding of statutory reserves or to authorize the use of reserves for an alternate purpose.
The 2022 amendments to the statute did not do a good job of distinguishing between buildings of three stories or more and one and two-story properties. Those ambiguities were largely eliminated with a “glitch bill” passed in 2023.
One and two-story buildings do not legally require a “structural integrity reserve study,” commonly called the “SIRS.” Further, the new law, which prohibits any waiver of “SIRS Reserves” for budgets adopted after December 31, 2024, does not apply to your community.
Your community must reserve accounts for roof replacement, building repainting, pavement resurfacing, and any item with a replacement or deferred maintenance expense exceeding ten thousand dollars. The reduction or waiver of that funding is still permissible by a vote of the unit owners, but this is where the law has changed.
Under previous law, a waiver vote could be approved by a majority of those who vote at a meeting where a quorum is established, often called the “majority of the quorum” standard. Under the new law, which is in effect now, the required vote is a majority of all units, not just those who vote. This assumes one voting interest is assigned to each unit, which is almost always the case.
The new law also requires a vote of a majority of all units to authorize use of the reserve money for a purpose other than that for which it was budgeted and collected.
All other legal requirements, such as the timing and manner in which reserve schedules must be presented, rules on the frequency of depositing assessment monies into reserves, and rules on pooling, have not been changed for one- and two-story condominiums. For condominiums of three stories or more, the changes are significant.
Joe Adams is an attorney with Becker & Poliakoff, P.A., Fort Myers. Send questions to Joe Adams by e-mail to jadams@beckerlawyers.com. Past editions may be viewed at floridacondohoalawblog.com.