Rules and Regulations of a Florida condo association

Can the President of a Board impose additional fines and penalties on a homeowner which goes beyond the rules and regulations of the association?"
Case in point: a condo homeowner broke the rules pertaining to a traffic violation within the condo association.
The fine in the Rules and Regulations of the condo, clearly states that a fine of up to $100.00 can be imposed on the homeowner. In addition, however,the president of the condo assoc. wants to impose barring the homeowner's vehicle from using his barcode to enter the property. Is this legal?

Frank,

Your president does not get out much, does he?

In the news feed on this site was a recent story about an Orlando homeowner who won a permanent injunction against his HOA, which had a policy of denying entry to those owners whom it claimed were in arrears. The entire story can be found at:
http://www.bizjournals.com/prnewswire/press_releases/2013/11/04/PH09276

In the case of a condo, each owner has an undivided interest in all the common areas. The owner of each unit also owns a share of the gate, the driveway, the parking areas, and all other common elements. I know of no legal basis for one owner to bar another from entering upon the property that they own jointly.

Adding to that is the fact that the president is apparently using his position to pursue a personal vendetta against another owner by taking actions that are not sanctioned by the association.

You would be wise to organize a recall election asap because this president is going to drown the association and its members in a sea of legal debts.

Frank,

As with others, I am not an attorney and I do not work in the legal profession.

Unless your governing documents allow that type of action, the Board would have overstepped it's authority by imposing such an action.

Now, to be honest, even with no such authority and State statutes prohibiting such action, there is nothing preventing the Association from initially taking such action. If they do this, you would need to hire an attorney and fight the issue. You should win any such legal action but you would still have to expend the time, energy and money to deal with the issue.

My suggestion is to point out to your Board what has been posted here, citing the law, etc. Then encourage them to seek a legal opinion prior to imposing any such action. If your Board has common sense, this should prevent them from taking such action.

As for what led to the action, if you are the individual the action may be taken against, I'd recommend complying with the rules and regs you agreed to follow when you moved into the development. This would prevent any such issues in the future.

Carol,

The President is typically the face and voice of the Board. Therefore, when the OP says President, they may or may not be associating that with the whole board.

Either way, my advice is still applicable.

No it is the same in self managed Associations. The Board sets the policy and makes the decisions.

Typically, the only authority given to an Association President by the governing documents is:

Preside at all meetings of the Board and General Membership
Be the signature for the Association on all written instruments

That is all the authority they have. The President typically have the duty to see that decisions of the Board are implemented but that is not the same as making the decision. Unfortunately, there are some individuals who don't understand what authority they have and do not have when they fill that position. Some think of the position being the same as a CEO or COO of a corporation, and it simply is not.

As I pointed out earlier, since the President presides over meetings and signs the paperwork, that individual is the face and the voice of the Association. Therefore, when the President says something, many believe that the Board has already approved the action or that the President has such positional authority.

Thanks for that reminder, Glen--nice help for the OP!

Yes, Tim, it is unfortunate that too many in HOAs think that the Board IS the president and vice versa. I try to correct that misunderstanding though. And I do know that Boards usually can, if in their documents, confer a lot of authority--even decision-making authority-- on the president. So I wondered if that happened on the OP's Board.

JohnC46:
I appreciate your message to my situation. However, if you allow me to explain the problem in detail, maybe you can help me further..."The Rules and Regulations of the condo, clearly states that a fine of up to $100.00 can be imposed on the homeowner who committed the infraction. In addition the president of the condo assoc. also wants to impose blocking the homeowner's vehicle from using his barcode to enter the development via residential gates. The vehicle, in question, must use the main gate for vendors and guests. Is this legal, especially, when it effects his wife who also drives the same vehicle?"
Thanks

Frank

I am not nor do I play a lawyer.

We agree the President cannot block access to the property. My personal opinion is he cannot block access to any gate, no matter how many gates there are.

I also think you have a case of a President overstepping/making up rules as he goes. This attitude is only going to get your association in trouble. Me thinks his time to go is upon you.