Florida HOA Lawyer Blog
The firm’s Michael L. Hyman authored an article that appeared as a “Board of Contributors” guest column in today’s edition of the Daily Business Review, South Florida’s exclusive business daily and official court newspaper. The article, which is titled “Associations Must Strictly Comply With Notice Requirements to Impose Fines, Liens,” focuses on a recent ruling by the state’s Fourth District Court of Appeal that illustrates how Florida’s courts are going to demand very strict adherence to the statutory notice requirements in order for associations to impose fines and liens against unit owners. Michael’s article reads:
A ruling last year by the Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal illustrates the severity of the consequences for community associations that do not follow the law to a tee in their notices to unit owners. In Dwork v. Executive Estates of Boynton Beach Homeowners Association, the appellate panel reversed the lower court’s award of fines because the HOA only provided 13 days’ notice of the fining committee hearing to the homeowner as opposed to the statutorily required 14 days.
The case arose over a dispute involving the stipulations in the HOA’s governing documents requiring all homeowners to keep their roofs and driveways clean and their fences in good condition. The association notified Jonathan Mitchell Dwork of violations of these requirements multiple times over several years, but he took no action.
