Governance

Per FL Statute 718.111(12)(g):

1. By January 1, 2019, an association managing a condominium with 150 or more units shall post digital copies of the documents specified in subparagraph 2 (see below) on its website.

• a. The association’s website must be an independent website wholly owned and operated by the association or a website operated by a third-party provider dedicated to the association’s activities and documents.
• b. The association’s website must be accessible through the Internet and must contain sections accessible only to unit owners and employees of the association.
• c. Upon a unit owner’s written request, the association must provide the unit owner with a username and password for accessing the protected sections of the association’s website.

2. A current copy of the following documents must be posted in digital format on the association’s website:

• a. The recorded declaration of condominium of each condominium operated by the association and each amendment to each declaration.
• b. The recorded bylaws of the association and each amendment to the bylaws.
• c. The articles of incorporation of the association filed with the Department of State.
• d. The rules of the association.
• e. A list of all executed contracts or documents to which the association or the unit owners have an obligation or responsibility and a list of bids received by the association within the past year. Summaries or copies of bids for materials, equipment, or services which exceed $500 must be maintained on the website for 1 year.
• f. The annual budget and any proposed budget to be considered at the Annual Meeting.
• g. The annual audited financial statements and any monthly income or expense statement to be considered at a meeting.
• h. The certification of each director.
• i. All contracts or transactions between the association and any director, officer, corporation, firm, or unaffiliated association or any other entity in which an association director is also a director or officer and financially interested.
• j. Any contract or document regarding a conflict of interest or possible conflict of interest.
• k. The notice of any Unit Owner Meeting and the agenda for the meeting no later than 14 days before the meeting. The notice must be posted on the front page of the website or on a separate page of the website labeled “Notices” and linked from the front page. The association must also post on its website any document to be considered and voted on by the owners during the meeting or any document listed on the agenda at least 7 days before the meeting.
• l. Notice of any Board Meeting, the agenda, and any other document required for the meeting, which must be posted no later than the date required for notice.
• m. Designation of the person or entity, with a street or email address, for receipt of a request for an estoppel certificate.

3. The association shall ensure that the information and records which are not allowed to be accessible to unit owners, are not posted on the association’s website. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the association or its agent is not liable for disclosing information that is protected or restricted pursuant to this paragraph unless such disclosure was made with a knowing or intentional disregard of the protected or restricted nature of such information.

4. The failure of the association to post information required under subparagraph 2 is not in and of itself sufficient to invalidate any action or decision of the association’s board or its committees.

Here's a link to the Jupiter Bay Condominium Association website.

Article from the Palm Beach Post (August 14, 2016)

By: Ryan Poliakoff The Condo Consultant

Over the past month, significant confusion has developed concerning whether low- and mid-rise condominium buildings (those not greater than 75 feet tall) must comply with Florida laws that require high-rise condominiums without certain types of fire safety systems to either retrofit their properties to include these systems, or opt out by a unit-owner vote.

The Florida Fire Prevention Code provides that all high-rise buildings, defined as those greater than 75 feet tall, shall be protected by an approved, supervised automatic fire sprinkler system, to be installed not later than Dec. 31, 2019. There are exceptions for certain buildings, including those that have an approved engineered life safety system (such as a partial sprinkler system along with compartmentalization, smoke detection and control, and other similar systems).

The Condominium Act has, for many years, provided that the members of an association may, by majority vote, opt out of this requirement. The statute (Section 718.112) says that, by “Dec. 31, 2016, a residential condominium association that is not in compliance with the requirements for a fire sprinkler system and has not voted to forgo retrofitting of such a system” must become compliant by the 2019 deadline. That seems simple enough. (Note that in 2019 the FL legislature extended the deadline to January 1, 2024)

The problem is that, at one point, the statute expressly referred to high-rise condominiums, and that language was removed. The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation has recently taken the position that the removal of the “high rise” language effectively applied the Fire Prevention Code sprinkler requirements to all condominiums, regardless of height. This has caused a panic among low-rise condominium properties, which had never considered they might be obligated to retrofit their properties. A minority of association attorneys have agreed with the DBPR, and are advising their low-rise clients that they should conduct opt-out votes so they are not subject to the sprinkler requirements.

The Florida Fire Sprinkler Association Inc. and the American Fire Sprinkler Association’s Florida chapter have recently released a statement that strongly disagrees with the DBPR’s interpretation of the law. They point out that no state sprinkler retrofit requirement for mid-and low-rise condominiums exists, anywhere. The only state code requirement, by its own definition, relates exclusively to high-rise properties.

No other state law or statute, including the Condo Act, contains any sprinkler retrofit requirement. The Condo Act simply says that — notwithstanding any code, statute, ordinance, administrative rule or regulation — an association is not obligated to retrofit the common elements with a fire sprinkler system, if the members have voted to forgo that requirement. Importantly, it does not say the converse — that, absent an opt-out vote, a condominium must install a sprinkler system. That requirement is only found in the Fire Prevention Code, and the Fire Prevention Code only applies to high-rise buildings. Further, it makes sense that the high-rise language was removed from the Act. The opt-out provision in the Condo Act can be used not only to opt out of state laws, but also to opt out of local codes and ordinances.

While the state law has no mid- or low-rise sprinkler requirement, it is conceivable that a local code somewhere in Florida does require low-rise buildings to install full sprinkler systems — and if so, the statutory procedure can arguably be used to opt out of that requirement, as well. I am not aware of any such codes, but I do suggest that even low-rise condominiums check with their local fire marshal to ensure that no such requirement exists. Absent that, however, and accepting you can never predict how any individual judge interprets a law, it seems highly unlikely the language of the Condominium Act, by itself, could be interpreted to require low- or mid-rise condominiums to install sprinklers or fire safety systems.

Keep in mind, the position of the FFSA and the AFSA is against the interest of all fire sprinkler installers. Their members could make millions by supporting the DBPR interpretation of the Condominium Act. They are, to their credit, instead stating the most logical conclusion — that you can’t create a legal requirement that doesn’t exist by removing language from a statute that didn’t control the issue in the first place.

Ryan Poliakoff is a co-author of “New Neighborhoods - The Consumer’s Guide to Condominium, Co-Op and HOA Living” and a partner at Backer Aboud Poliakoff & Foelster, LLP.