FL: Is there a statute governing how long an HOA can take to process an application?

Hello All,

I would appreciate some input. I own several units in one community and am embroiled in a legal battle with them.

Naturally the HOA is completely ignoring my emails calls letter etc. I submitted an application 2 weeks ago (and paid the fee) and the HOA has been ignoring the request.

Does Florida/Palm Beach County provide a maximum time frame the board has to process the application? So far they have not even done the backround check etc.

The CC&R's make no mention of a time frame, From what I understand they have 30 days to make a to process/make a decision or the tenant is automatically approved.

Can anyone shine some light on this for me?

If the prospective tenant is a military servicemember, then Florida statutes say the HOA has seven days to approve or deny the application. See Florida statute 83.683, http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=0000-0099/0083/Sections/0083.683.html

Else I think you are stuck adding this to your legal dispute. I expect the judge's ruling will boil down to whether the HOA's timeframe for reviewing the application is reasonable.

For a HOA who has a member who is in a legal dispute, the HOA's being vindictive towards the member is common and hard to battle.

Thirty days sounds way reasonable to me. I think I would ask the judge to order the HOA to set the timeframe at three or maybe even two weeks.

30 Units. Self managed HOA

This is a rental application

Thanks.

If there are no timelines in governing docs, or local or state statutes, 30 days seems fair.

Now, the question is whether the board in question is holding it up for a reason, or is not good at doing this seemingly simple task.

How often does the HOA meet? We only met 1 time a month. We could not make a decision till our meetings. So how long before next meeting?

Why is the HOA in the business of lease agreements approval? A HOA is typically a 3rd party to lease agreements. So how does this process work in your HOA?

What damages would you sue for? Don't think there really are much involved here. You would still be in same position if they turned down the tenant as you are now. It would seem that any background check expenses should be on each party doing the search. It also not necessarily an overnight check. We had 2 or more weeks to go to the local county courthouse to prove we did not have a police record in that county. That was when I rented an apartment.

I think the 30 days is a bit too quick to run to a lawyer. 60 days would be more like it. Plus it would need proof of a turn down or no work done. The court would need PROOF of what your saying not demanding.