By Joseph Adams on Posted in Legislation, Reader Q&A
- Suspension of Use Rights: A “glitch” in the previous version of the condominium statute was closed. The new law clarifies that when an association suspends a unit owner for violation of the condominium documents, the right to use parking spaces, elevators, utility services, common elements needed to access the unit, and limited common elements intended to be used only by that unit, may not be suspended.
- Phase Condominiums: Under previous law, all phases must be added to a condominium within seven years after the date of recording the original declaration. The new statute permits an amendment to extend the seven-year term for an additional three years.
- Condominium Within a Condominium: Primarily a technical change for the benefit of developers of sophisticated commercial or mixed-use projects, the new law permits a condominium to be subdivided into additional units, otherwise known as a “condominium within a condominium.”
- Developer Obligations When Creating Condominiums: Under previous law, many legal obligations of a developer began when the declaration of condominium was first recorded. Some developers’ attorneys have asserted that this creates a basis for arguing a violation of a federal disclosure law known as the Interstate Land Sales Disclosure Act, which was used during the recent market meltdown as a means to avoid undesirable real estate contracts. Under the new changes, the measuring stick for many developer obligations will be tied to the filing of a surveyor certificate (which is necessary to legally create a condominium), not just the filing of the declaration. Fort Myers Representative Heather Fitzenhagen was the House Sponsor of this Bill.
- Expedited Foreclosure: Also the product of a local Legislator, Chapter 2013-137, Laws of Florida, is aimed at expediting mortgage foreclosures, and was sponsored in the House by Naples Representative Kathleen Passidomo. Among other things, the new statute permits an association to speed up a mortgage foreclosure case by requesting an “order to show cause” for the case to be set for a trial, even though the association was not the party that filed the lawsuit.
- “Swiping” Drivers’ Licenses: Section 322.143 was amended, effective July 1, 2013, to provide that private entities may only “swipe” drivers’ licenses in limited circumstances unless they have the consent of the individual whose license is being “swiped.” Drivers’ licenses may still be swiped to verify the identity of an individual if the individual pays for goods or services with a method other than cash, to verify age when providing an age-restricted good or service, to prevent fraud or other criminal activity in certain financial transactions and to verify identity information in certain retail transactions. An association may still swipe a driver’s license and store the information with the individual’s consent, provided that the association informs the individual of what information will be collected and the purpose for which it will be collected. If the individual does not consent, the association is not prohibited by the law from manually collecting and recording the individual’s information from his or her driver’s license. Read more…