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Q.  I am a Board member in my homeowner’s association and I have a question regarding the fining committee. There are some Board members that believe that the fining committee should only serve at one fining committee hearing, similar to a jury. Once that particular set of people serve on the fining committee, they are essentially dismissed from serving. Other Board members believe that the fining committee should serve at the pleasure of the Board and may serve for more than one fining committee hearing. Which is the best approach? -G.K., Naples A. Both scenarios, as you have presented, can...

Q. We had our condominium election recently. Many homeowners live out of the State and some out of the country. They did not receive their election ballots in time to return them for the election because of the slow mail. This seems unfair as many owner votes did not count. I think the election should be redone to allow time for people to vote. - S.R., Naples A. This has always been a common complaint, but it has become more frequent due to the slow mail delivery lately. The Condominium Act and the HOA Act require that that the notice...

Q.  I live in a condominium association.  Our election is 30 days away.  I am running for a seat on the Board of Directors.  We just received the second notice of annual meeting and election, which contained the notice, the ballot, and the envelopes. However, the candidate information sheets were not included.  Isn’t the Association required to send out these candidate information sheets? - K.T., Naples A:  Candidates running for a seat on the Board of Directors are not required to provide candidate information sheets.  However, the candidate information sheets are usually the best way for other unit owners to...

Q: I live in a homeowner’s association. This year, we are having an election for two Board member positions. It is a contested election with six people running for the two Board of Directors seats. The Board has sent out the annual meeting notice, the election ballot with envelopes for return of the election ballot, as well as a proxy. We have been directed to return the proxy if we do not plan to attend the annual meeting in person. I don’t plan to attend the annual meeting in person as I will be out of town on that date....

Q.    I want to submit an official records request to my condo association. Along with the records I also want the board to answer a few questions I have about certain expenses from this past year which is also the subject of the records request. Can you explain how I can do this, and what is the association required to do?  - B.S., Naples, FL A:     Requests to inspect official records and written inquiries to the association are addressed in separate parts of Chapter 718, Florida Statutes. Official records requests are covered under Section 718.111(12), Florida Statutes, which...

Q. An owner in our condominium has requested permission to install an electric vehicle charging station in his parking space. We reviewed the law and have several questions about this. A: I have broken out your questions and answered each one separately. 1. For Condominiums F.S. 718.113 (8) requires the Owners charging station to be “Separately Metered”. What does this mean? A meter that will measure the amount of electricity used by the charging station independent of the Association’s main meter so the owner can be billed for the actual use. 2. What amount of “increased liability” insurance is sufficient...

Q.   I am running for the Board of my condominium association. I heard that, if elected, I have to take a class about my responsibilities as a Board member. Is this accurate? - J.W., Naples A: The Condominium Act (Chapter 718, Florida Statutes), the Cooperative Act (Chapter 719, Florida Statutes), and the HOA Act (Chapter 720, Florida Statutes) all require that, within 90 days after being elected or appointed to the Board of Directors, each new director shall certify in writing to the secretary of the association that he or she has read the association’s bylaws, articles of incorporation, declaration...

Q.  The incoming Board members are concerned that the budget for the upcoming fiscal year that was approved by the outgoing Board members is not adequate to cover needed areas (i.e. legal fees for review and revision of rules) plus underfunding a number of line items in the operating budget. Is it possible for the new Board to amend the budget or do we just have to live with it as it stands? - I.H., Vero Beach, FL A.    An association (whether a condominium association or homeowners’ association) in Florida is permitted to amend its budget at any time....

Q.  I am at Board member at my homeowner’s association. We have just recently implemented electronic voting. We also asked that owners provide us with consent to send official association notices via email so we could save on postage and mailing. Our annual meeting is scheduled for December and a very contested election will be occurring. We just received an official records request from one of the candidates for the owners’ email addresses. I know that the candidate is going to use the email addresses to send candidacy information to the owners. Are the email addresses confidential or should the...

Q. Our Association frequently holds social events where there is a 50/50 raffle. The winner gets 50% of the money collected and the social committee retains the rest. Is this legal? - L.M., Fort Myers A.   Probably not. 50/50 Raffles are a very common at many types of social and networking events. However, more than likely the raffle is actually illegal. Florida law allows 50/50 raffles if they comply with Section 849.0935, Florida Statutes. 50/50 raffles are considered a form of gambling and are illegal unless you comply with the following: 1. The organization conducting the raffle and receiving the...