Rob Samouce writes articles and newsletters which are of interest to community associations, condominium associations and homeowners associations. The articles have been published in the Naples Daily News (www.naplesnews.com) and the newsletters are periodically sent to our clients. Those articles and newsletters that are listed below, and can be searched by key words in the articles or by date the article appeared in the Naples Daily News.
HOA House Bill 1203 Becomes LawAugust 12, 2024 - 2:10 PM
“Surfside” Condo Bills SB 4-D and SB 154 are Law of the LandJuly 1, 2023 - 11:10 AM
In gated communities gate guards are usually not security guards
/in Condominium AssociationsSome people who live in gated communities get a false sense of security that they are “safe” because they live behind the gates and there are “security guards” at the gate. They probably don’t understand that their community is just providing gate guards to control access through the front gate but they do not guarantee […]
Are your governing documents nuisance provisions strong enough?
/in Condominium Associations, Condos and HOA'sMany older, or Developer drafted, community governing documents have weak or lack any nuisance provisions. This prevents many Condominium and Homeowners’ Associations from being able to legally go after obnoxious residents for their bad behavior. We are seeing many more people escaping from lock downs up north this Season to enjoy our Florida sunshine and […]
Grandfathering of Rental Restrictions in Condos and HOA’s
/in Condominium Associations, Condos and HOA'sFor many years now, Chapter 718, Florida Statutes has provided that any new rental restrictions approved by the membership of a Condominium as an amendment to the governing documents only apply to those who voted for the amendment or those who obtained title to the unit after the amendment was approved and recorded in the […]
Electric charging and natural gas fueling options at condominiums
/in Condos and HOA'sWith the increased interest in electric charged, and now natural gas fueled cars, Chapter 718.113(8) and (9), Florida Statutes was amended effective July 1, 2021 to accommodate unit owners desiring ownership of such alternative vehicles. We have seen demand so far for electric charging stations but not yet for natural gas fueling stations. First, such […]
Owners in a gated community cannot access gate records
/in Condominium Associations, Condos and HOA'sUnder Senate Bill 630 approved by the 2021 Florida Legislature which became effective as of July 1/ 2021, a new type of homeowners’ association records was added to the list that are not available or accessible to members. “Information an association obtains in a gated community in connection with guests’ visits to parcel owners or […]
A sound legal foundation for your Condominium or Homeowners’ Association is important
/in Condominium Associations, Homeowners AssociationsThe collapse of the Champlain Towers building has brought renewed interest on structural building integrity to many Condo and HOA Associations. We are seeing many Associations operating older buildings putting out bidding for new engineering structural review. Such an engineering study will help insure the soundness of a building’s structural foundation. However, what about an […]
Surfside Towers Collapse contributed by yellow banana owners?
/in Condominium Associations, Condos and HOA'sWe see some of the same decisions made year after year by some local Condominium boards. Whatever we do this year, let’s not raise our owners’ Assessments over last year’s amount. Usually, in such buildings, the reserves have been woefully underfunded with the owners opting to partially or fully waive the funding of Association reserves. […]
New 2021 Legislation affecting Condominium, Cooperative and Homeowners’ Associations Part II
/in Condominium Associations, Homeowners AssociationsThis year two bills relevant to Community Associations (Senate Bills 630 and 56) became law effective July 1, 2021. Last month we reviewed the provisions of Senate Bill 630. Today we will look at Senate Bill 56. The review is the order presented in the Bill and not in any order of importance. SB 56: […]
New legal protection from COVID lawsuit for condos and HOA’s
/in Condos and HOA'sOn March 29th, Florida Governor Desantis approved and signed Senate Bill No. 72 to protect Business Entities from COVID lawsuits in Florida. The new law became effective on that date. As a basis for the new laws the Bill says that: “The Legislature finds that the COVID-19 outbreak in this state threatens the continued viability […]
Should a Condo or HOA require proof of vaccination to use the common facilities?
/in Condos and HOA'sNow that a lot of the population is getting a COVID vaccination, we are hearing that a few Boards of Directors of area Condominium or Homeowners’ (HOA) Associations are floating the idea of considering requiring proof of vaccination for owners, family members, tenants and guests in order to use the common area amenities such as […]