Florida lawmakers passed a bill this week placing oversight on condo boards that imposes criminal penalties for some board violations.
This bill was drafted upon recommendations of a Miami-Dade grand jury and Florida’s DBPR after the uncovering of massive condo board fraud by various news outlets in 2016.
To become law, the bill, CS/CS/HB 1237, still needs Gov. Scott’s signature. If signed, it becomes effective on July 1, 2017.
CS/CS/HB 1237 covers a number of condo oversight rules, but high-profile ones include:
- If a condo association has more than 150 units, it must publish its financial reports on a password-protected web page.
- If owners are denied documents and if fraud is proven, the people responsible for the fraud could face felony charges after July 2018.
- Condo board directors are limited to eight years unless they get a super-majority of votes in later elections.
- Directors can’t receive payments from the condo association, nor can they hire relatives.