No. CS/CS/CS/CS/HB 657
Filed under Housing.
Community Associations; Provides requirements for terminating dissolved HOA governing documents; provides requirements relating to easements of dissolved HOA; provides retroactive applicability; requires condominium & homeowners' associations to include specified statement in their governing documents or to hold meeting by date certain to vote to amend governing documents to include such statement; revises provisions relating to official records, electronic ballots, turnover inspection reports, & roofs; provides disclosure requirements for conflicts of interest; removes presuit mediation requirements; requires that specified arbitrators conduct arbitration proceedings; authorizes HOA's to be terminated; provides requirements for termination of HOA; provides duties & responsibilities of HOA board, & termination trustee; provides for distribution of HOA assets & paying lawful debts after termination; authorizes circuit court to create & administer community association court program; provides duties of chief judge; provides jurisdiction of community association court program; authorizes community association court program to take certain actions; requires each judicial circuit to submit to Legislature specified report annually by specified date; provides duties of OSCA; provides for funding & additional judges.
Plain English Summary
AI-GENERATEDHOA members can now vote to terminate their association and its covenants through a new court-supervised process. This allows communities to exit restrictive governance structures entirely.
All associations must hold a member vote by January 2027 to amend their governing documents with specific statutory references. Failure to comply creates a mandatory legal obligation for every existing community.
Directors and officers must now disclose financial conflicts of interest in writing before voting. They are strictly prohibited from participating in discussions or votes on matters where they hold a conflict.
The bill removes mandatory presuit mediation for most HOA disputes. Parties can now proceed directly to court or request nonbinding arbitration, significantly changing how legal conflicts are resolved.
AIRequires all HOAs and condominiums to hold a member vote by January 1, 2027, to add a specific statutory reference to their governing documents.
AIDirectors, officers, and committee members must disclose financial conflicts in writing before voting and are prohibited from participating in the discussion or vote on the matter.
AIDirectors, board members, or community association managers who willfully fail to provide records to law enforcement or prosecuting agencies upon request commit a second-degree misdemeanor.
AIHomeowners' association documents may not preclude a property owner from using any roofing material, provided the roof is substantially identical in shape and color to association requirements and meets Florida Building Code standards.
AIRemoves the statutory requirement for mandatory presuit mediation before filing court actions for most HOA disputes.
AICreates a statutory mechanism for HOA members to terminate the association and its covenants through a court-supervised plan.
AIAuthorizes circuit courts to establish a specialized court program with jurisdiction over disputes under the Condominium, Cooperative, and HOA Acts.
AIEliminates the mandatory presuit mediation step for HOA disputes, replacing it with a requirement to petition for nonbinding arbitration or request mediation.