_edited.png)
Late Thursday, the governor vetoed a controversial bill on the long contentious short-term rental issue
Half a dozen new Florida
real
estate-related laws will
go into effect
on Monday, following this year’s legislative session.
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed bills into law that deal with long-controversial issues such as the governing structure at condo hotels and the lack of oversight at residential communities governed by associations. Another new piece of legislation aims to help homebuilders obtain building permits.
Late Thursday, DeSantis vetoed a bill
tied to
the controversial issue of short-term rentals booked through websites such as Airbnb and VRBO. Senate Bill 280 would have restricted the number of people who can stay in a short-term rental, and it would have trumped most county and municipal regulations imposed so far. The legislation aimed to curb party houses, limited occupancy to two people per bedroom, and two more people in a common area such as a living room.
Here are the bills signed into law this year that take effect
July 1
:
Lawmakers this year ramped up repercussions against condo and homeowners association board members and managers, including imposing criminal penalties for those who go rogue.
The legislation
is in direct response
to the tidal wave of complaints against leaders by residents who live in communities governed by associations. Across South Florida, homeowners have alleged various types of mismanagement, including election meddling, excessive assessment increases, little to no property maintenance, and fraud, usually in the form of fund misappropriation.
The
biggest
alleged fraud case is the
, a West Kendall community that’s one of the biggest HOAs in Florida. In 2022, a former board president, her husband, and three other ex-board members
were arrested
over allegations
they ran a massive scheme.
The ex-board members allegedly hired bogus contractors who did no work on the 3,800-acre property and
then
payments made to the fake contractors from association accounts
, according to the arrest affidavit
.
The HOA legislation, HB 1203, and the condo association legislation, HB 1021, implemented the same criminal penalties, including for accepting kickbacks and hiding records. The stringent penalties came after lawmakers
a similar proposal in last year’s session.
The HOA law specifically targets issues Hammocks residents and investigators of the board’s dealings faced. Under the new law, HOAs
have to
provide subpoenaed records within five business days. At the Hammocks, former board members had refused to
provide
a second batch of subpoenaed documents, with their attorney arguing the request was illegally broad and burdensome.
Lawmakers, however, scrapped provisions in the HOA legislation that would have capped annual regular assessment increases to 10 percent and
special
assessment increases to 5 percent of the budgeted HOA expenses for a fiscal year.
The clauses were taken out
at the last minute during the session.
The condo law also addresses a common complaint among residents:
Over the years,
many have said that their associations either sue them or send them cease-and-desist letters after they speak out against board members or management companies.
Florida’s Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation provision bans retaliatory behavior, and the new condo law extended the anti-SLAPP provision to condo associations.
The condo law also mandated higher education requirements for board members and criminalized election fraud.
A last-minute addition to the condo bill deals with the contentious and fragile balance of power at condo hotels.
The mixed-use complexes include hotel rooms, spas, pools, retail,
and restaurants, as well as
common areas such as elevators, landscaping and roofs.
Collectively,
the amenities and common areas are owned and managed by investors, known as commercial lot owners, and condos
are individually owned
.
Generally, the commercial lot owners have more power to maintain condo-hotel complexes and to levy assessments on unit owners for the upkeep.
In lawsuits, condo owners have taken issue with commercial lot owners’ power
that ultimately deprives
residents of any ownership other than their units.
While commercial lot owners’ greater power
is spelled out
in condo-hotels’ declarations, unit owners have argued in lawsuits that this governing structure violates the Florida Condominium Act.
The new law takes
the power that
commercial lot owners
have
under condo-hotel declarations and codifies it under the condo act.
This change is beneficial to commercial lot owners who have argued that they need
to have
more control over condo hotels to maintain the properties up to the standards of their hotel flags.
High-end brands such as Carillon, St. Regis, and Ritz-Carlton often brand condo hotels.
The last-minute addition came after a group of attorneys worked “to help promote the clarification of the law,” according to an
April 8
letter to DeSantis from Mark Grant, one of the attorneys who worked on the changes.
The law
is expected
to
prompt more litigation, including new claims in pending lawsuits. The most prominent dispute has played out for the past eight years at the oceanfront
in Miami Beach.
Opponents of the controversial law
are expected
to push for amendments during an October session of the Florida Legislature.
A building permit bottleneck has long frustrated developers, especially in large areas such as Miami-Dade County.
This law aims to speed up the building permitting
process
at residential subdivisions and planned communities in large counties and municipalities. Under the legislation, such localities have to create a program by
Oct. 1
to expedite building permit approvals by providing developers with an application in which they can identify the number of building permits they need. Counties and municipalities face increased requirements to expedite building permits in 2027.
The law applies to counties with at least 75,000
residents,
and municipalities with at least 10,000 residents, as well as localities with more than 25 contiguous acres of land that’s either agricultural or designated for residential development.
Lawmakers passed changes to the state-backed
Corp.,
which is
considered the insurer of last resort. The law now allows surplus lines insurers to
take out
policies from Citizens for non-primary residences or non-homesteaded properties. Surplus insurers will typically provide coverage to riskier and more expensive properties. Under this law, Florida’s Office of Insurance Regulation will have to approve the rates
offered by these insurers
.
House Bill 1503 also allows citizen policyholders who are required to have flood insurance to purchase only dwelling coverage for a flood loss. That will reduce the cost to consumers because they were previously required to have dwelling and contents coverage.
DeSantis signed the bill into law in May after the House and Senate voted unanimously to pass the legislation in March.
Earlier this month, the
Citizens’ Board of Governors voted to raise rates for personal lines by an average of 14 percent statewide,
reported. The rate increase would go into effect next year.
Half a dozen new Florida
real
estate-related laws will
go into effect
on Monday, following this year’s legislative session.
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed bills into law that deal with long-controversial issues such as the governing structure at condo hotels and the lack of oversight at residential communities governed by associations. Another new piece of legislation aims to help homebuilders obtain building permits.
Late Thursday, DeSantis vetoed a bill
tied to
the controversial issue of short-term rentals booked through websites such as Airbnb and VRBO. Senate Bill 280 would have restricted the number of people who can stay in a short-term rental, and it would have trumped most county and municipal regulations imposed so far. The legislation aimed to curb party houses, limited occupancy to two people per bedroom, and two more people in a common area such as a living room.
Here are the bills signed into law this year that take effect
July 1
:
Lawmakers this year ramped up repercussions against condo and homeowners association board members and managers, including imposing criminal penalties for those who go rogue.
The legislation
is in direct response
to the tidal wave of complaints against leaders by residents who live in communities governed by associations. Across South Florida, homeowners have alleged various types of mismanagement, including election meddling, excessive assessment increases, little to no property maintenance, and fraud, usually in the form of fund misappropriation.
The
biggest
alleged fraud case is the
, a West Kendall community that’s one of the biggest HOAs in Florida. In 2022, a former board president, her husband, and three other ex-board members
were arrested
over allegations
they ran a massive scheme.
The ex-board members allegedly hired bogus contractors who did no work on the 3,800-acre property and
then
payments made to the fake contractors from association accounts
, according to the arrest affidavit
.
The HOA legislation, HB 1203, and the condo association legislation, HB 1021, implemented the same criminal penalties, including for accepting kickbacks and hiding records. The stringent penalties came after lawmakers
a similar proposal in last year’s session.
The HOA law specifically targets issues Hammocks residents and investigators of the board’s dealings faced. Under the new law, HOAs
have to
provide subpoenaed records within five business days. At the Hammocks, former board members had refused to
provide
a second batch of subpoenaed documents, with their attorney arguing the request was illegally broad and burdensome.
Lawmakers, however, scrapped provisions in the HOA legislation that would have capped annual regular assessment increases to 10 percent and
special
assessment increases to 5 percent of the budgeted HOA expenses for a fiscal year.
The clauses were taken out
at the last minute during the session.
The condo law also addresses a common complaint among residents:
Over the years,
many have said that their associations either sue them or send them cease-and-desist letters after they speak out against board members or management companies.
Florida’s Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation provision bans retaliatory behavior, and the new condo law extended the anti-SLAPP provision to condo associations.
The condo law also mandated higher education requirements for board members and criminalized election fraud.
A last-minute addition to the condo bill deals with the contentious and fragile balance of power at condo hotels.
The mixed-use complexes include hotel rooms, spas, pools, retail,
and restaurants, as well as
common areas such as elevators, landscaping and roofs.
Collectively,
the amenities and common areas are owned and managed by investors, known as commercial lot owners, and condos
are individually owned
.
Generally, the commercial lot owners have more power to maintain condo-hotel complexes and to levy assessments on unit owners for the upkeep.
In lawsuits, condo owners have taken issue with commercial lot owners’ power
that ultimately deprives
residents of any ownership other than their units.
While commercial lot owners’ greater power
is spelled out
in condo-hotels’ declarations, unit owners have argued in lawsuits that this governing structure violates the Florida Condominium Act.
Sign Up for the National Weekly Newsletter
SIGN UP
The new law takes
the power that
commercial lot owners
have
under condo-hotel declarations and codifies it under the condo act.
This change is beneficial to commercial lot owners who have argued that they need
to have
more control over condo hotels to maintain the properties up to the standards of their hotel flags.
High-end brands such as Carillon, St. Regis, and Ritz-Carlton often brand condo hotels.
The last-minute addition came after a group of attorneys worked “to help promote the clarification of the law,” according to an
April 8
letter to DeSantis from Mark Grant, one of the attorneys who worked on the changes.
The law
is expected
to
prompt more litigation, including new claims in pending lawsuits. The most prominent dispute has played out for the past eight years at the oceanfront
in Miami Beach.
Opponents of the controversial law
are expected
to push for amendments during an October session of the Florida Legislature.
A building permit bottleneck has long frustrated developers, especially in large areas such as Miami-Dade County.
This law aims to speed up the building permitting
process
at residential subdivisions and planned communities in large counties and municipalities. Under the legislation, such localities have to create a program by
Oct. 1
to expedite building permit approvals by providing developers with an application in which they can identify the number of building permits they need. Counties and municipalities face increased requirements to expedite building permits in 2027.
The law applies to counties with at least 75,000
residents,
and municipalities with at least 10,000 residents, as well as localities with more than 25 contiguous acres of land that’s either agricultural or designated for residential development.
Lawmakers passed changes to the state-backed
Corp.,
which is
considered the insurer of last resort. The law now allows surplus lines insurers to
take out
policies from Citizens for non-primary residences or non-homesteaded properties. Surplus insurers will typically provide coverage to riskier and more expensive properties. Under this law, Florida’s Office of Insurance Regulation will have to approve the rates
offered by these insurers
.
House Bill 1503 also allows citizen policyholders who are required to have flood insurance to purchase only dwelling coverage for a flood loss. That will reduce the cost to consumers because they were previously required to have dwelling and contents coverage.
DeSantis signed the bill into law in May after the House and Senate voted unanimously to pass the legislation in March.
Earlier this month, the
Citizens’ Board of Governors voted to raise rates for personal lines by an average of 14 percent statewide,
reported. The rate increase would go into effect next year.
The law bans local governments from adopting legislation that would set standards relating to heat exposure, including water consumption, cooling measures, employee monitoring and protection, rest breaks, and posting notices or providing materials that would inform employees how to protect themselves from heat. House Bill 433 kills
to create heat protections.
Parts of the country, including South Florida, have experienced
this summer. The state doesn’t have protections for outdoor workers, who include construction and agriculture workers.
DeSantis signed this legislation into law in April.
Комментарии