Florida State Statute 617 Not for Profit Corp Homewowners

Discussions on a Community that has been created under Florida State Statute 617 and is a Club formed for mobile home owners. We have been created under this not for profit state statute 617 but are also mobile home owners within this club. We have Articles of Inc, ByLaws and a community elected Board of Directors. We seem to be lacking in homeowner rights for the community or the membership. But seem to be solely, without much recourse as homewoners, at the mercy of the Board of Directors decisions. The BOD have most of the authority to make the decisions, have the platform, limiting the membership to restrictive participation of these rulings.

I do know, that in one point in time (1999), the Florida State Statute 617 had Statute 617.301 to 617.312 which did cover homeonwer, co-op etc rights but was removed in 2000 which left our not for profit community without these rights.

By our Previous Attorney......We at one time had reference in our bylaws to Florida State Statute 719 which was created for cooperatives. This statute gave us reference to rights as co-op owners/mobile home owners. A previous BOD who advised us to get a new attorney (our present attorney) put an amendment to remove this reference from our bylaws at the advise of the present attorney.n And guess what.............the membership voted it out. Presently we have very few rights that are being honored since then.

I as a community member would like to regain those rights for the membership homeowers. There seem to be very little I or anyone can do to recover those rights. Several of us have gotten together and attempted to bring this to our BOD attention but we are not being heard? We do not have a platform like they do? As Many of us have attempted to make the membership aware of their rights. We are a Senior Community. The majority of the membership just wants to come down as snowbirders and enjoy their time here and do not want to take an active role. I and some other members are full time residents of this Club that was incorporated under FL statute 617. We are happy in our present homes. We do not want to move due to Board Members having all or most of the power. We want some homeowner rights.

I believe that the BOD is not doing their fiduciary duties of care. We are restricted to 3 minutes at any meeting they choose to hold per when they choose to hold them. When we speak we are not being heard or even in some cases being heckled at open meetings by other members in the community. I know that this is not acceptable or professional behavior to take place at our meetings. The BOD seems to allow this behavior without calling the meetings to order. The Board of directors is spending community funds through the attorney to restrict members within the community sometimes Using the words "at the advise of the attorney" or " it has been advised by the attorney".

Again..........we are a senior community of people of the thinking that they are to just sit down and behave themselves and don't necessarily stand up for themselves. We are of a generation that bitching in the street is ok but don't make waves?

I am aware that legally it is hard to prove that The BOD is not doing their fiduciary duties as per stated? As an individual I do not have the funds to fight this.....nor can not get enough contributed funds to get our rights back.

Please .....if anyone is of legal opinion or can help with any advise or any way or suggest any remedies to persue that I have not already persued..............please help?

Who actually owns the land? Do the mobile home owners pay rent to the owner of the land, or do they own the lots under their homes? This could affect members' rights and responsibilities.

Thank you for your response! I looked up the word pedantic and now know what it means. And no...I am not of a legal nature but am beginning for an old gal to know more than I need to know at this stage of my life. I appreciate anything at all that is helpful and will look up anything I need to for to understand what is being said to me. I have read the state statutes that we were incorporated under. Have a good understanding of them. I have read our by laws over and over again. I have read some of the Florida statues of 719 which covers co-ops. I know way more than I need to know but can't seem to find and answer or a direction to go in at this point in time to fight to get back any rights as actual individual owners of mobiles which sit on a piece of property which we all own by being members in the club?

First of all we are not a homeowner association. We are a not for profit club that is incorporated under Florida State statutes 617. We do not have any home owners rights. Maybe a few things we can do in our bylaws if the BOD would honor them? I am stumped as to what can be done to get some rights besides what is limited within our by laws. So to speak we are an Oligarchy organization run by a small group of people who we elected to be our BOD. The land was bought and the club owns it. All of the assessments we pay go to the maintenance of the Club. We raise no funds other than what are assessments are. We have a membership which we paid for when we joined and our assessment which pays for all expenses on the budget. We have very little protection against whatever our BOD chooses to do or spend even when it is spent on something needless. It is somewhat of a hopeless situation for those in the community who care about what is happening?

That is why I am out here hoping someone can direct me in to how to stop what is happening in our community. We own our mobiles which sit on the land that belongs to the club. But in essence WE ARE THE CLUB or the corporation. The land that we sit is the club land!

I spoke with a gentleman in our park that is knowledgeable and he told me we do not have any covenants on file at the county clerks office.

There are members within the community who feel that it is a somewhat hopeless situation! And honestly we do not have the money to hire an attorney to fight this situation to get us some rights for our community?

Please quote verbatim every instance where the bylaws use the word "member."

Please quote verbatim every instance where the articles of incorporation use the word "members." If you do not have a copy of the articles of incorporation, then contact the Florida Secretary of State and ask how you can get a copy.

If you are a lawful member of this corporation, and the members are permitted to elect directors, then this is likely the best avenue to cause change.

Otherwise I cannot respond constructively to your concerns until I at least know exactly what the bylaws and articles of incorporation say about "members."

Dean J.....

Are you of the legal profession? If so can you answer a question for me or maybe you can answer it anyway? Yes...we were incorporated under st statute 617 as a club. A group of people or renters at that time (1979) decided to buy this piece of property from the city. Membership fees charged for being a member. Mobiles purchased from owner to next owner. Membership fee paid to the club. Assessments charged monthly to the club. We the membership elect the BOD to serve. We vote on any ammendments to BYlaw that the BOD proposes. The BOD creates the rules and policies to run the club. The BOD are members of the club themselves. I am aware that we as members are limited to what we can do if the BOD is not willing to actually adhere to their fiduciary duties. They are our neighbors even if they are not doing right by the membership.

At one point in time 617 had statutes that were in them that gave us rights as homeowners. They were 617.301 to 617.312. They were removed in 2000. But those same statutes exist in 719, 720 etc. We had 719 referenced in OUR CLUB BYLAWS at one point in time but the BOD told us the attorney advised us to remove it. An amendment was proposed to remove and the membership voted to remove. Can we legally put it back in to our bylaws. The old attorney I believe advised them to leave it in? But the new (present) attorney advised us to take it out. I do not know the history on it due to the present BOD not wanting for us to know the history on it. This present BOD created a policy this year when someone asked to view records. The policy is that the membership will have to pay to view records. Another deterrent to the membership. Yes it is legal according to 617. Everything they do is legal according to 617. Not necessarily the best thing for the community but legal!

Can we be a corporation under 617 and still reference 719 in our bylaws? This will give us back co-op rights or owner rights without being an actual co-op created under 719?

If you are of the legal profession maybe you can advise me on where to go to research the history on the removal of those statutes from 617. I just know they existed in 1999 and no longer in 2000?

Thanks

Thank you Dean! I am aware that we need a good portion of the membership to get involved. That seems to be a problem as we are a senior snowbirding community. There is a small group THAT DO want the changes but even after creating petitions to present to the board it is so time consuming getting signatures from people who do not want to get involved? It would be ok with a BOD that cares about the community but we are not always going to elect that kind of BOD? Guess we will have to wait to get them again to make the changes if possible.

I wish it were not so hard to prove that a BOD is not doing their fiduciary duties? And so hard to convince people that what you are doing IS FOR THEM?

Thanks to you for your response!

Correct. Today:

1999's FS 617.301 is today's FS 720.301
1999's FS 617.312 is today's FS 720.312

FS 720 shows this legislative history.

Today's FS 719 says nothing in its history about either FS 617.301 or FS 617.312.

If the membership has the right to amend the bylaws, then the membership can amend the bylaws to whatever the membership wants, as long as the amendment is lawful. I think it is possible that subjecting this corporation to FS 719 is possible, but a thorough review by an attorney would be needed.

At some point you have to understand that the bylaws and articles of incorporation (AoI) may give you all rights as members. If so, then the members can enforce the bylaws and AoI as if they were contracts. To get constructive advice, this is why you need to quote these two documents (bylaws and AoI) here.

If you do not understand this, then you need to hire an attorney sooner rather than later.

Thank you to all for your responses which has enlightened me as to some other possible options to pursue the issue. I am now looking into the co-operative act 719 which actually does suite us best as per a previous attorney. After reading about what a co-op is.....our park does fit the bill? I will do some research on that possibility. We do have a community close to us that is a co-operative. I may get with someone from their along with research on
co-op and see where that leads. Maybe talk with someone on that BOD and see where that leads for information.

Thanks again.....Rose

No shares stated. It is a certificate of membership for the not for profit corporation subject to the articles and bylaws of the corporation. I am beginning to think the only way to get rights is to make ourselves a cooperative. I know this might be costly and I know that will be hard to convince everyone that is what we should be?

We are screwed if we continue to elect people that will not do the best thing for the membership and who have personal agenda. All the BOD has to do is convince everyone they are doing the best thing for the community and get the attorney to advise accordingly. Sheep that we are? A few of us are on a mission that might not be able to be accomplished easily or at all!

I do appreciate any advise. I have been looking again at state statutes 617, 719 and 720 to find any references. Actually it is a pretty good search engine. Anything at all I can use? Also been reading on 719 or cooperatives. We are a cooperative under everything that I have read. Damn state of Florida for removing 617.301 to 617.312. We sure could use those because we are a community of homeowners within a not for profit corporation!

Do you have any pull....Can you get that legislation back into Florida 617 for me? That was humor?

For either FS 720 or FS 719 apply, the organization has to meet the requirements given in these statutes. Your "club" does not come close.

It appears some minority may be screwed. It appears the majority is fine with the status quo. This is quite common in all manner of real estate developments.

By any chance is there a lease on each lot.

I suspect you all have more of a landlord-tenant arrangement. It is what it is.

If you think otherwise, exactly what does it take to dissolve one's membership? You cannot sell your membership, can you?

As I posted above, all your legal power likely comes from the bylaws and AoI. If the bylaws and AoI do not help, then oops on you all for choosing to put your mobile home in this particular community. The good news is I bet it is easy to move.

I understand that you do not want to share what is in the bylaws and AoI, to preserve anonymity. But I think this hamstrings you getting constructive assistance or even an opinion that says, yup, based on the bylaws and AoI you really do have no rights. Next time, renter beware.'

The above is not pressure to post the bylaws or AoI. It's just an observation that this forum cannot help a lot without knowing more facts.