Question on MRTA

Hi- does MRTA HOA renewal before the 30 year time go property by property as it is platted and deeded ("root title") or does the HOA CC&R's 30 year time frame run from when the HOA itself is established?

Actually, it goes property-by-property since the root of title dates for the deeds are usually not all the same. MRTA will extinguish deed covenants and restrictions individually.

This is how I understand it and also what the Deptartment of Economic Opportunity in Tallahassee that administers MRTA in this state told me when I called them. I even spoke with an attorney there.

Geno is exactly right on all counts. DEO in FL is only involved in the paperwork shuffle of revitalization submissions. MRTA is a real estate law and, indeed, the part of the MRTA that has confounded HOA's in FL is that the MRTA law "forgot" that it would extinguish HOA Covenants! This seems reasonable that it would be forgotten, considering the average (generous characterization) level of professional functioning of state legislatures and that HOA's are corporate entities and entirely a creature of statutes generated by political and economic energy.

MRTA has been around since 1963 but there was very little appreciation of its influence on HOA's until FL HOA's began to expire. Very few lawyers even today understand it, though it is not inscrutable if you have any knowledge of real estate law. There is much "opinion" given by misguided and uninformed HOA attorneys about this real estate law. (Would you want a special OB/GYN doctor directing the diagnosis and treatment of your brain tumor?)

Expiration of covenants is still "hidden" by HOA's from the owners, who entrust the integrity of the legal structures and protection of their homes and investment to a volunteer, amateur group of neighbors. That is because the absence of authority to act FOR the owners legally, by virtue of covenants and the mandatory nature of the HOA's obligations, is a potential hot mess of risk management issues for the individual owners who are ultimately going to be paying the tab of an expired HOA that is without statutory authority. Additionally, Boards and management companies will be Defendants in any lawsuits arising from the failure of the HOA to meet its obligations and can be personally sued if they have breached their fiduciary duty to their members.

The Mantra--should be chanted by the board directors along with the Pledge of Allegiance before every board meeting: "I promise to exercise the fiduciary duties of care, loyalty and obedience to the members that I serve."

So if 3 owners want to get the revitalization process started, what exactly should we do? The BOD has said they do not want to get the community to vote because they believe the unilateral action of BOD only vote in 2015 was effective even though it was done after some parcels' root of title was past the 30 yr mark. Do we contact someone locally at the county level to set up the process? Most homeowners in the community are not aware yet of the issue.

DouglasK1 is right. As frustrating as it is, the BOD will not be convinced that their actions were ineffective and unlawful until a lawyer, hired by them, tells them so. You can get your 3 committee volunteers together and begin to engage in the process of enlisting support to petition the BOD to cooperate in revitalizing covenants, however, I can almost guarantee you will not be successful. You will likely be attacked by the BOD as troublemakers or worse and your efforts as an organizing committee will be for nought. Even though the law says owners can do this, in reality, it is almost impossible for owners to do the heavy lifting required when the BOD is not in support and/or actively suppressing your committee's activity. BOD has the edge and people want to believe BOD over your bad news. You need to lay some serious groundwork first.

Begin by raising consciousness of the situation in the community. You will not get help from any agency of the state. You have entered into a private, civil contract and no one will get involved except attorneys.

You might send a demand letter to the BOD that they have unlawfully clouded your parcel title by recording an unlawful "preservation" over your previously expired property restrictions. This worked for me and got the ball rolling and cost nothing except a title search ($300).

When the BOD did not take my concerns seriously, my lawyer wrote a "come to Jesus" letter, which prompted a meeting between my lawyer and the BOD. Predictably, that went nowhere.

My lawyer then invited the BOD to a mediation before filing a lawsuit. That consumed all of 20 minutes and went nowhere.

My lawyer then filed a legal complaint, and that began the community awareness and reluctant involvement. Owners did not want to believe that Covenants and Rules/Regs were expired and were fearful of change. Though I didn't want to spend the money, I understood what an illegitimate HOA could mean in terms of future financial risk.

During the litigation, I sponsored a neighborhood meeting to begin the education process. I invited my attorney to host the meeting and engage with owners to explain the situation and answer questions about why this matters and what the risks are to homeowners who choose to ignore the wrongful deed of their BOD. This worked for me and I posted a video meeting online for all owners to view to help the educational process and begin the conversation.

Subsequently, I organized and presented a well-documented community meeting with the lawyer as the guest speaker with handouts and an open Q & A session. By that time, there were two lawsuits and people became confused and concerned and were ready to listen with their brains. The litigants gave permission for their cases to be discussed and the Q & A session was extremely well-received by members--but the BOD walked out in protest!

Two months later, the BOD held their own MRTA meeting for members, hosted by their attorney. By that time, BOD realized that MRTA had expired the covenants of most parcels in the community and were negatively perceived by members as spending a lot of money on unnecessary litigation aimed at suppressing the truth rather than attending to the necessary business of beginning a revitalization.

Find the things that might motivate your owners to pay attention. Start small and engage interest and educate. Use an attorney as an information resource and to increase credibility. This will not be a sprint.