Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Florida

possible Illegal special assessment by HOA

The HOA board estimated the insurance payment when they did the budget in Dec 2006. They increased our dues 5% which is the maximum allowed in our bylaws. Now in Feb the board states that the actual insurance will be $22,000 rather than the budgeted $9,000. The board voted for a special assessment on each homeowner stating that the issue was not budget-related so they did not need to follow the bylaws which require a vote of all homeowners. They found one sentence in the bylaws which stated ambiguiously that they could assess when there was lack of funds and ignored the whole large section which gives specific situations for special assessments and specific rules. The homeowners asked the board to get a ruling from their lawyers but they refused stating that the lawyers never give clear rulings and it is a waste of time. One board member, a landscaper, stated he can read the bylaws as well any lawyer. Also this board has only held 1 annual meeting in the past 10 years and none of the 5 members have been elected to it. What can we homeowners do because this board can now put assessments on us anytime they overspend and say they underbudgeted? Can people who are not legally elected place extra assessments on us? Thanks


Asked on 2/08/07, 1:17 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Ryan Rooth Rooth Law Group, P.A.

Re: possible Illegal special assessment by HOA

Your association is caught in the unfortunate insurance crisis plaguing this state. If the association does not pay the insurance you expose all the unit owners to enormous liability. Instead of exposing them to the liability they levied a special assessment. As much as it is frustrating to see your dues raised 5% then an additional special assessment your alternatives are not very good either. My best advice: If you don't like the current board, then become a board member. You can also review the budget and see what expenses you can decrease and move on from there. You can hire an attorney to review the condo docs but that will not solve the high insurance premium your association faces.

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Answered on 2/08/07, 10:37 am


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