The devastating collapse of Chaplain Towers in Surfside in 2021 has changed the way many people view condos. For Florida residents, Governor Ron DeSantis has quietly introduced a new law that won’t benefit condo owners.
The law is aimed at condominium safety. However, it will only benefit companies such as Miami Beach hotel and spa Carilon, which can now avoid a $16.3 million payment, as the law has been made retroactively.
Florida Residents Struggling With Home Insurance
Due to the rising cost of living, Florida residents appear to be struggling with paying for home insurance. The main issue for homeowners in this area is the number of natural disasters happening there every year.
Due to these natural disasters, the cost to insure a home in Florida is huge. Around 70% of Florida homeowners are struggling with rising home insurance costs, and 12% have dropped their home insurer in the last year because they can no longer afford to pay for it.
Florida Insurance Premiums Are Out of Control
Many Florida residents are having to foot the bill for the natural disasters in the Sunshine State on their home insurance, and things have become out of control.
While the Florida government has said that it aims to try and help residents with this issue, that help cannot come soon enough for those who feel they can no longer afford to live there due to home insurance prices.
Insurance Companies Seizing Homes
As a further source of contention, insurance companies have seized peoples’ homes as they cannot keep up with the high insurance premiums.
Some people are now being forced to live out of their cars or even on the streets. Where they could once easily afford their homes, the high insurance premiums have made this no longer possible.
Residents Are Fleeing Florida
Due to home insurance prices and many other reasons, Florida residents who have called the Sunshine State home for all, if not most, of their lives are choosing to leave the state to live somewhere cheaper.
While the cost of living has proved difficult for everyone across the US, many people deciding to move to Florida in recent years have caused prices there to rise. Native Floridians are being pushed out of the state by more wealthy people and are choosing to move to Georgia, Texas, and North Carolina.
House Bill 1021
This new law is known as House Bill 1021, and it mainly deals with fraud, election meddling, withholding records and other mismanagement by boards of directors and property managers at condo associations.
While this might sound like a good thing, the main issue wasn’t about what the bill was initially meant for and was instead about the extras that were added on silently.
What the New Condo Law Includes
House Bill 1021 includes various new measures, such as buildings that are three or more stories higher to have structural integrity reserve studies every ten years when a building is either 25 or 30 years old, depending on how close to the coast it is.
It also aims to increase transparency for owners, mandatory training for management and stricter oversight and enforcement.
Board Directors Must Take a Course
The new law also requires newly appointed board directors to take an educational course that is at least four hours long and covers milestone inspections, structural integrity reserve studies, and fine levies.
They also need to certify in writing to the association secretary that they have read the declaration of condominium, articles of incorporation, bylaws, and current written policies.
Condominium Board of Administration Meetings
The condominium board of administration meetings are essential for both the board members and residents so that they can gain a good understanding of each other.
The new law enables residents to ask questions at board meetings at least four times a year and can speak on any agenda items for each meeting.
Mismanagement of Condo Hotel Associations
One of the main reasons DeSantis decided to put laws for directors and people on the board of condo hotel associations is the rise in complaints against those on them.
Some of the issues raised include election meddling, an excessive increase in inspections, very little property maintenance, and fraud.
Board Members Facing Criminal Charges
Wanting to take this issue seriously, the bill will impose criminal charges on board members who don’t follow these changes.
The hope is that this will hold board members to a high standard regarding building safety and document maintenance, amongst a whole host of other issues outlined in the bill.
Homeowners Can View Building Records
In a move that hasn’t been seen before, condo owners can now view building records, giving them better knowledge of the building they live in and helping them become better prepared should something go wrong.
It also provides better hurricane protection for these buildings, a problem Florida is known to have.
The Bill Addresses Previous Concerns
Over the last few years, there have been several concerns from condo owners that haven’t always been taken seriously, which this new bill hopes to change.
Two of the most notable reports happened in 2007 and 2016. Both of these and other reports are still relevant to this day, which lawmakers find quite frightening.
The Law Should Benefit Condo Owners
The law was initially meant to benefit condo owners. There are 1.5 million condominium units in Florida, and the legislation should have placed more accountability on condo associations and managers to get repairs and anything else done.
It initially began as a way to ensure the safety of condominium buildings and require inspections and money to carry out necessary repairs to prevent what happened at Chaplain Towers from happening again.
The Chaplain Towers Disaster
What happened at Chaplain Towers never should have happened, and this legislation initially hoped to address this so that it wouldn’t happen in the future.
The disaster claimed over 90 lives and sent shockwaves throughout Florida and the rest of the U.S. It also proved to government authorities that something needed to be done, and soon, so that the same thing doesn’t happen again.
The Law Benefits Condo Companies
Instead of benefiting condo owners, the law has benefited condo associations and managers. One of these is the Miami Beach hotel and spa Carillon.
The company had a $16.3 million judgment that the condo association there won. However, as the new law is retrospective, Carillon has gotten away with not paying the judgement, as the payment no longer stands.
Issues With Condo Hotels
Condo hotels throughout Florida have had many disputes between unit owners and the owners of the hotels and amenities.
The governing declarations for these properties give the owners of the hotels and amenities power over the maintenance of hotel keys, amenities and other common areas, such as lobbies and elevators. They can also levy assessments on condo owners to upkeep these properties.
$60,000 Payment for Homeowners
Florida’s homeowners are expected to face $60,000 in fees per home due to homeowners association fees and rates due to hurricanes.
The Sunshine State is accustomed to bad weather, but the high fees could lead to many being forced out of their homes and possibly out of the state.
Homeowner Associations Are Underfunded
For years, homeowner associations have complained that they are underfunded and require higher funds, which is partly what this law aims to achieve.
These associations now claim that homeowners will need to carry out a special assessment of their homes, which will be costly and put homeowners off.
Florida Cracks Down on Short-Term Rentals
Over the last few months, Florida has announced another law focusing on short-term rentals offered by companies such as Airbnb and Vrbo.
It will shift the enhanced regulatory powers from local to state level, which will create a more centralized approach to managing the short-term rental market and should standardize regulations across Florida.
The Bill Fails To Address Families
One issue with this bill is that it fails to address families. The new law states that the maximum overnight occupancy of a rental can’t exceed two persons per bedroom and two persons in the common area.
The issue is that some families might not be able to follow the two-person-per-room rule. If parents have a newborn baby who has to sleep in the room with them, that’s three people per room. Or, they may have three children and don’t want one child sleeping alone.
Benefits of the Bill
Despite the bill’s many issues, it has some benefits. These include issues with how condo hotels are governed and their governing structure.
It also includes the lack of oversight of residential communities that are governed by associations. Another piece of legislation aims to help homebuilders gain building permits.
$7.4 Million in Funds
House Bill 1021 addresses a loophole that was in previous legislation regarding the authority of the state’s Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR).
This means that the DBPR can now enforce condo and condo association laws. Condo owners will now have to complain about mismanagement or corruption to the DBPR, who can then intervene. $7.4 million in funds has been allocated to help them enforce this law.
Condo Owners Are Threatening to Sue
Not all condo owners are happy about this new legislation. They want the bill to include provisions that allow developers more control over common areas in mixed-use buildings. If this isn’t done, they are threatening to sue.
With the new bill set to be put into law on July 1, only time will tell whether these condo owners can see any other benefits of the bill or if they feel they are being forced out of their own homes due to feeling the hotel, retail and corporate spaces are more of a priority.
