HB 203 Threatens to Increase Costs for Community Associations
Last year, our firm stood with community associations to oppose legislation funded by the real estate title lobby. The bill was temporarily defeated, but is back in front of the legislature this year and it contains many of the same objectionable provisions.
HB 203 is hitting the Florida House Civil Justice Subcommittee today and threatens to increase costs to community associations. We want to urge you to contact your state legislators to oppose this bill and vote “No” on HB 203. As community association lawyers we protect the rights of community associations, and we’d hate to see this bill make it costlier for associations to operate.
You can read the full bill here. The concerning changes in this bill are not the that estoppel certificates can be delivered electronically, nor that it would specify the required content, effective periods, and approved delivery methods for estoppel certificates. What is concerning is that associations will have to wait for a sale of a unit to close until they get paid for the work they did to obtain the sale.
This bill also obligates associations to prepay costs, in conjunction with a cap put on the amount that a title company will reimburse them. If the costs are higher than the cap, the association is responsible for that cost.
Finally, if a home or condominium is not sold, the association will not be paid for the prepaid costs and services performed. Those costs will then be transferred to existing homeowners through higher fees and assessments.
On behalf of your community association, contact Representative Kathleen Passidomo, Representative Mike Hill, and Representative Kionne McGhee to tell them you oppose the passing of HB 203 and urge them to vote “No.”
At AriasBosinger we want to encourage community associations to be informed of their rights as well as the laws that work to make their roles more cumbersome and costly. Together we have the ability to halt this bill and protect community associations across Florida from undue costs. Tell your Representatives to vote “NO” on HB 203.
Email Representative Kathleen Passidomo