Fining in Florida

I wondered if anyone has created and used a workable fining process that is legal in Florida. Florida 720 says the Board must create “…opportunity for a hearing before a committee of at least three members appointed by the board who are not officers, directors, or employees of the association…”

So, after we have noticed people multiple times and they have not responded, we are required to offer them a hearing. Then, if all goes ‘well’, we can administer a fine. The end result of all the effort is that the owner will probably NOT pay the fine – for the same reason he committed the offense in the first place. They don’t care about the community.

Does this work for you? Have you done something better? We are stuck with a small number of problem residents who have no regard for the community. Is there anything we can do?

Peter,

Why wait until the member has recieved multiple notices b/4 offering a hearing; why not indicate the availability of a hearing with the first notice? Not being familiar with FL law, what happens if the member does not request a hearing? Surely the assn can issue a fine if the member does not request a hearing, can't they? Then, if the member does not pay the fine and the outstanding assessments, the assn can take the next step -- placing a lien on the property. On the other hand, if a fine is not permitted, go straight to the lien process.

Donna,

Thx, I noticed the part about no lien for fines after I posted my msg. Guess they can only file the lien for the delinquent assessments. In AZ the assn can only foreclose for delinquent assessments.

Donna - can Florida HOAs go to small claims court for unpaid fines?

Our HOA does not have the ability to assess fines, but we do have "Limited Assessments" to recover the costs of CC&R enforcement (certified letter fees, attorney fees, etc). We can then go to small claims (and the accompanying debtor's exam and garnishment if necessary) to collect those assessments.

Hi all:

Interesting question.
FS 720.305(2) states in part...."except that no such fine shall exceed $1000 in the aggregate UNLESS OTHERWISE PROVIDED IN THE GOVERNING DOCUMENTS". (My Caps)

We have a by-law change proposed for vote at the next annual meeting to change $1000 to $3000. We have VERY FEW violators.

You can collect the fine and legal costs as determined by the court.

Our attorney is handeling one as we speak. We think it will not go to court because here the court is not happy with people who cannot follow the rules. And people no that.

Have a good day.

Small claims court is inexpensive and can be done without an attorney but even if you are successful in small claims court you end up with a judgment which isn't worth much more than the paper it is written on. IF the violation(s) are covered in the city ordinances I'd suggest calling code enforcement and let them handle it.

Our HOA learned the hard way. We had a townhome in a terrible state of disrepair. After almost two years we are looking to recoup the repairs the association made plus mediation and attorney fees. ($20,000) Our old board decided since mediation didn't work they would hire attorneys. Our PM didn't advise the board that there was a less expensive and easier way to go. (They have been replaced). The board ended up with the attorneys getting us a final judgment which could not attach to the property (even tho the old board was told it would). We now have employed the best HOA law firm who will start foreclosure proceedings..we can only hope we see the return of our funds. My point is we learned that the old board could have gone to code enforcement (and I believe did after they hired the attorneys) and the city notified the owner that she would be fined $100 per day until the property was repaired. Of course, by the time we found that out the association had spent about $6,000 for repairs (so the owner was no longer violating the city codes). We shot ourselves in the foot. ALWAYS go the easy route..see if the city or county can handle these things.