Violation notice

Depends on the role of the board member and the contract with the PM. Who is to write them up? How are they enforced? How are the violations written up? Do they quote the rule violating from the documents?

Usually there is a period where they come to face the board to discuss the violation. That would be the time board would know.

Melissa, Ellen:

Thank you !

So, my understanding is that the board can delegate the authority to issue violations either yo the PM or a board member. However, when it comes to issuing a fine if the violation is not addressed, the board should vote at an open meeting, correct ?

Read your by laws or CC&Rs. Each HOA is different. My HOA did not issue fines. We had the ability but it was not defined. Have to have a fining schedule that identifies the violation and the cost of it.

Your HOA may put it as a PM responsibility. Otherwise it can be the board to decide once presented or found

VC, I am now keeping an eye on the provisions of FS 718 (the Florida Condo statute) here. Do double check me.-- I will trust you are keeping in mind that the point in time where a notice of violation is issued is not the point in time where the board/HOA/statute/fining committee has decreed there actually is a violation. If the owner does not appeal within a certain timeframe, then this is an actual violation, and the owner better step up and fix it or beg the board for an extension. And so on.

-- I see FS 718 says the board delegates some authority to a 'fining committee.' (I say "some" because the board has the option to replace members of committees, so in my experience, a correct reading of the statute here is to conclude that the final say on committee decisions shall be the board's.)

-- My reading of FS 718 says that the fining committee must deliberate and vote in open meeting, unless the committee is consulting with the HOA attorney for legal advice.

-- If you want to review the relevant sections of FS 718, then go to http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0718/0718.html, and perform keyword searches as follows, without the quotation marks:

" fine"

"meetings of a committee"

"committee meetings"

Our initial contact with a violator is a polite so and so is improper. Please correct it. The second contact is a formal violation notice with threat of fines. The third contact is fining begins

In our community (HOA in Florida under FS 720, which is similar to FS 718 for condos) we do delegate the authority to the PM to send the violation notices. There should be a written violation policy. There are very specific time frames for notices of violations that you have to follow in the statutes and you have to allow for a hearing. Our policy is:

1. PM sends a friendly notice by email or written letter of the potential violation and asks them to fix it.
2. If not fixed, PM sends a written official by email and first class mail. first notice. We give them a reasonable amount of time to fix it (usually 14 - 30 days) depending on the situation.
3. If still not fixed after the reasonable period, they are sent a second notice by email and certified mail asking them to appear at the next board meeting for a hearing and possible fining. This notice has to give them 14 days before the board meeting.
4. If not corrected, the board hears the complaint at the board meeting the owner has been invited to. They are allowed to present their case to the board. Board votes on fine if necessary. We have a fining schedule that we follow (per statute, you can fine up to $100 per day per incident, max of $5000).
5. If board votes for a fine, fining committee (separate, requirements for who can be on the fining committee are in the statute) is called. Owner must be given at least 14 days notice of fining committee hearing.
6. Owner can present their case again at the fining committee. Fining committee only uphold the fine or deny the fine. They cannot adjust the fine.
7. If fine is upheld, fine is added to the owner's account. If not paid, late fees and interest are charged. A lien can be placed on the home once the account (which may also include late assessments) reaches $1000. HOA can foreclose after lien has been placed.

More to your point, our PM sends the letters. The board receiveds a violation report at least once a month. PM follows the guidelines in our declaration and our rules and regulations and ARC guidelines, so he's not just making up violations. I sometimes also report things I see, like illegal parking after hours when the PM is not around or on the weekends. It's a joint effort.

In my association, which is pretty large, if our PM had to run every violation past every board member it would be chaos. But your board needs to figure out a process and document it.

You are right - you could just fine the person if they don't comply and then send them to the fining committee for a hearing. However, I think the fine has to be voted on by the board in an open meeting. As you know, fining would not qualify for a reason to have a private meeting.

We hold two hearings because we want to give the person the opportunity to explain their issue before we decide on the fine. And FS 718 does restrict the amount to $1000 per occurence. FS 720 says $1000 or whatever is in your documents (ours is $5000). I'm not sure about the liens and foreclosure - you definitely can in FS 720, but it looks like maybe you can't in FS 718.

It might help if you told us:

- Does your HOA have a management company (aka PMC)? (and if so, do they typically hand out / enforce violations?)

- Are you on the 'giving' or 'receiving' end of the violation?

- Some idea of what the violation is in this case?

Bill

Our property manager does not send out a violation notice without Board approval.