Board of Directors - IT’S BACK TO SCHOOL TIME

By Eric Glazer, Esq.

    

It’s the end of the summer.  Millions of kids across our state have to suck it up and return to school.  And if the kids have to endure school for the next ten months, all of you can endure a measly three hours.  I’m talking of course about Condo and HOA Board Certification.

    

            There’s a lot that goes into my job as a lawyer in this area of the law.  Working on the current cases I have, keeping abreast of the changes in the law, advocating for legislative reform, doing the Condo Craze Radio Show each week and writing this blog each weeks as well.  Without a doubt however, my favorite part of what I do is teaching and meeting all of you at our state-wide seminars.

   

As you all know by now, condo directors must get certified within one year prior to getting elected or appointed to the board or within 90 days of actually getting elected or appointed to the Board.  They can do so in one of two ways.  The first way is the chicken’s way out and quite frankly is an embarrassing loophole in the law.  The law actually allows you to sign an affidavit which basically states that you have read your association’s governing documents and that:

“he or she will work to uphold such documents and policies to the best of his or her ability; and that he or she will faithfully discharge his or her fiduciary responsibility to the association’s members.”

           

            Honestly, this is ridiculous.  Many of you have illegal provisions in your governing documents.  Your affidavit apparently requires you to promise to uphold these provisions even if they are illegal and unenforceable.  Worse yet, the affidavit does not even require you to read or even acknowledge Florida Statute 718 (the condo statute) or Florida Statute 720 (the HOA statute).

  

            Thank heavens that the law provides that you can also get certified by taking a DBPR approved course.  I fought hard three years ago to ensure that HOA members had the ability to get certified by attending these classes and am very proud of helping to pass legislation which did just that.  I am also proud to say that I have taught the course to over 10,000 of you all across the state.  At each class, not only do the attendees learn something, but I do as well.  So do the attorneys in my firm.  Your questions always help raise awareness to so many issues and often times you provide practical answers to what may seem like complicated issues.  The bottom line is that we all learn from each other.

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