HB 6103 2022
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to levying of fines by homeowners' 2
associations; amending s. 720.305, F.S.; removing the 3
authority of a homeowners' association to levy fines; 4
removing requirements relating to the levying of 5
fines; conforming provisions to changes made by the 6
act; amending ss. 720.306 and 720.311, F.S.; 7
conforming provisions to changes made by the act; 8
providing an effective date. 9
10
Be It Enacted by the Legis lature of the State of Florida: 11
12
Section 1. Subsections (2), (3), and (4) of section 13
720.305, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 14
720.305 Obligations of members; remedies at law or in 15
equity; levy of fines and suspension of use rights. — 16
(2) An association may levy reasonable fines. A fine may 17
not exceed $100 per violation against any member or any member's 18
tenant, guest, or invitee for the failure of the owner of the 19
parcel or its occupant, licensee, or invitee to comply with any 20
provision of the declaration, the association bylaws, or 21
reasonable rules of the association unless otherwise provided in 22
the governing documents. A fine may be levied by the board for 23
each day of a continuing violation, with a single notice and 24
opportunity for hearing, e xcept that the fine may not exceed 25
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
$1,000 in the aggregate unless otherwise provided in the 26
governing documents. A fine of less than $1,000 may not become a 27
lien against a parcel. In any action to recover a fine, the 28
prevailing party is entitled to reasona ble attorney fees and 29
costs from the nonprevailing party as determined by the court. 30
(a) An association may suspend, for a reasonable period of 31
time, the right of a member, or a member's tenant, guest, or 32
invitee, to use common areas and facilities for t he failure of 33
the owner of the parcel or its occupant, licensee, or invitee to 34
comply with any provision of the declaration, the association 35
bylaws, or reasonable rules of the association. This paragraph 36
does not apply to that portion of common areas used to provide 37
access or utility services to the parcel. A suspension may not 38
prohibit an owner or tenant of a parcel from having vehicular 39
and pedestrian ingress to and egress from the parcel, including, 40
but not limited to, the right to park. 41
(b) A fine or suspension levied by the board of 42
administration may not be imposed unless the board first 43
provides at least 14 days' notice to the parcel owner and, if 44
applicable, any occupant, licensee, or invitee of the parcel 45
owner, sought to be fined or suspended and an opportunity for a 46
hearing before a committee of at least three members appointed 47
by the board who are not officers, directors, or employees of 48
the association, or the spouse, parent, child, brother, or 49
sister of an officer, director, or employee. If th e committee, 50
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
by majority vote, does not approve a proposed fine or 51
suspension, the proposed fine or suspension may not be imposed. 52
The role of the committee is limited to determining whether to 53
confirm or reject the fine or suspension levied by the board. If 54
the proposed fine or suspension levied by the board is approved 55
by the committee, the fine payment is due 5 days after notice of 56
the approved fine is provided to the parcel owner and, if 57
applicable, to any occupant, licensee, or invitee of the parcel 58
owner. The association must provide written notice of such fine 59
or suspension by mail or hand delivery to the parcel owner and, 60
if applicable, to any occupant, licensee, or invitee of the 61
parcel owner. 62
(3) If a member is more than 90 days delinquent in pay ing 63
any fee, fine, or other monetary obligation due to the 64
association, the association may suspend the rights of the 65
member, or the member's tenant, guest, or invitee, to use common 66
areas and facilities until the fee , fine, or other monetary 67
obligation is paid in full. This subsection does not apply to 68
that portion of common areas used to provide access or utility 69
services to the parcel. A suspension may not prohibit an owner 70
or tenant of a parcel from having vehicular and pedestrian 71
ingress to and egress from the parcel, including, but not 72
limited to, the right to park. The notice and hearing 73
requirements under subsection (2) do not apply to a suspension 74
imposed under this subsection. 75
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(4) An association may suspend the voting rights of a 76
parcel or member for the nonpayment of any fee , fine, or other 77
monetary obligation due to the association that is more than 90 78
days delinquent. A voting interest or consent right allocated to 79
a parcel or member which has been suspended by the association 80
shall be subtracted from the total number of voting interests in 81
the association, which shall be reduced by the number of 82
suspended voting interests when calculating the total percentage 83
or number of all voting interests available to take or approve 84
any action, and the sus pended voting interests shall not be 85
considered for any purpose, including, but not limited to, the 86
percentage or number of voting interests necessary to constitute 87
a quorum, the percentage or number of voting interests required 88
to conduct an election, or the percentage or number of voting 89
interests required to approve an action under this chapter or 90
pursuant to the governing documents. The notice and hearing 91
requirements under subsection (2) do not apply to a suspension 92
imposed under this subsection. The s uspension ends upon full 93
payment of all obligations currently due or overdue to the 94
association. 95
Section 2. Paragraph (b) of subsection (9) of section 96
720.306, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 97
720.306 Meetings of members; voting and election 98
procedures; amendments. — 99
(9) ELECTIONS AND BOARD VACANCIES. — 100
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(b) A person who is delinquent in the payment of any fee , 101
fine, or other monetary obligation to the association on the day 102
that he or she could last nominate himself or herself or be 103
nominated for the board may not seek election to the board, and 104
his or her name shall not be listed on the ballot. A person 105
serving as a board member who becomes more than 90 days 106
delinquent in the payment of any fee , fine, or other monetary 107
obligation to the associa tion shall be deemed to have abandoned 108
his or her seat on the board, creating a vacancy on the board to 109
be filled according to law. For purposes of this paragraph, the 110
term "any fee, fine, or other monetary obligation" means any 111
delinquency to the associat ion with respect to any parcel. A 112
person who has been convicted of any felony in this state or in 113
a United States District or Territorial Court, or has been 114
convicted of any offense in another jurisdiction which would be 115
considered a felony if committed in this state, may not seek 116
election to the board and is not eligible for board membership 117
unless such felon's civil rights have been restored for at least 118
5 years as of the date on which such person seeks election to 119
the board. The validity of any action by the board is not 120
affected if it is later determined that a person was ineligible 121
to seek election to the board or that a member of the board is 122
ineligible for board membership. 123
Section 3. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section 124
720.311, Florida Sta tutes, is amended to read: 125
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720.311 Dispute resolution. — 126
(2)(a) Disputes between an association and a parcel owner 127
regarding use of or changes to the parcel or the common areas 128
and other covenant enforcement disputes, disputes regarding 129
amendments to the association documents, disputes regarding 130
meetings of the board and committees appointed by the board, 131
membership meetings not including election meetings, and access 132
to the official records of the association shall be the subject 133
of a demand for presu it mediation served by an aggrieved party 134
before the dispute is filed in court. Presuit mediation 135
proceedings must be conducted in accordance with the applicable 136
Florida Rules of Civil Procedure, and these proceedings are 137
privileged and confidential to the same extent as court -ordered 138
mediation. Disputes subject to presuit mediation under this 139
section shall not include the collection of any assessment , 140
fine, or other financial obligation, including attorney's fees 141
and costs, claimed to be due or any action to enforce a prior 142
mediation settlement agreement between the parties. Also, in any 143
dispute subject to presuit mediation under this section where 144
emergency relief is required, a motion for temporary injunctive 145
relief may be filed with the court without fir st complying with 146
the presuit mediation requirements of this section. After any 147
issues regarding emergency or temporary relief are resolved, the 148
court may either refer the parties to a mediation program 149
administered by the courts or require mediation under this 150
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
section. An arbitrator or judge may not consider any information 151
or evidence arising from the presuit mediation proceeding except 152
in a proceeding to impose sanctions for failure to attend a 153
presuit mediation session or to enforce a mediated settlemen t 154
agreement. Persons who are not parties to the dispute may not 155
attend the presuit mediation conference without the consent of 156
all parties, except for counsel for the parties and a corporate 157
representative designated by the association. When mediation is 158
attended by a quorum of the board, such mediation is not a board 159
meeting for purposes of notice and participation set forth in s. 160
720.303. An aggrieved party shall serve on the responding party 161
a written demand to participate in presuit mediation in 162
substantially the following form: 163
STATUTORY OFFER TO PARTICIPATE 164
IN PRESUIT MEDIATION 165
The alleged aggrieved party, ................, hereby demands 166
that ................, as the responding party, engage in 167
mandatory presuit mediation in connection with the follow ing 168
disputes, which by statute are of a type that are subject to 169
presuit mediation: 170
(List specific nature of the dispute or disputes to be mediated 171
and the authority supporting a finding of a violation as to each 172
dispute.) 173
Pursuant to section 720.311, Flor ida Statutes, this demand to 174
resolve the dispute through presuit mediation is required before 175
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
a lawsuit can be filed concerning the dispute. Pursuant to the 176
statute, the parties are required to engage in presuit mediation 177
with a neutral third -party mediator in order to attempt to 178
resolve this dispute without court action, and the aggrieved 179
party demands that you likewise agree to this process. If you 180
fail to participate in the mediation process, suit may be 181
brought against you without further warning. 182
The process of mediation involves a supervised negotiation 183
process in which a trained, neutral third -party mediator meets 184
with both parties and assists them in exploring possible 185
opportunities for resolving part or all of the dispute. By 186
agreeing to participate in presuit mediation, you are not bound 187
in any way to change your position. Furthermore, the mediator 188
has no authority to make any decisions in this matter or to 189
determine who is right or wrong and merely acts as a facilitator 190
to ensure that each party un derstands the position of the other 191
party and that all options for reasonable settlement are fully 192
explored. 193
If an agreement is reached, it shall be reduced to writing and 194
becomes a binding and enforceable commitment of the parties. A 195
resolution of one or more disputes in this fashion avoids the 196
need to litigate these issues in court. The failure to reach an 197
agreement, or the failure of a party to participate in the 198
process, results in the mediator declaring an impasse in the 199
mediation, after which the aggr ieved party may proceed to court 200
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
on all outstanding, unsettled disputes. If you have failed or 201
refused to participate in the entire mediation process, you will 202
not be entitled to recover attorney's fees, even if you prevail. 203
The aggrieved party has selecte d and hereby lists five certified 204
mediators who we believe to be neutral and qualified to mediate 205
the dispute. You have the right to select any one of these 206
mediators. The fact that one party may be familiar with one or 207
more of the listed mediators does no t mean that the mediator 208
cannot act as a neutral and impartial facilitator. Any mediator 209
who cannot act in this capacity is required ethically to decline 210
to accept engagement. The mediators that we suggest, and their 211
current hourly rates, are as follows: 212
(List the names, addresses, telephone numbers, and hourly rates 213
of the mediators. Other pertinent information about the 214
background of the mediators may be included as an attachment.) 215
You may contact the offices of these mediators to confirm that 216
the listed mediators will be neutral and will not show any 217
favoritism toward either party. The Florida Supreme Court can 218
provide you a list of certified mediators. 219
Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, section 720.311(2)(b), 220
Florida Statutes, requires that the part ies share the costs of 221
presuit mediation equally, including the fee charged by the 222
mediator. An average mediation may require three to four hours 223
of the mediator's time, including some preparation time, and the 224
parties would need to share equally the media tor's fees as well 225
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as their own attorney's fees if they choose to employ an 226
attorney in connection with the mediation. However, use of an 227
attorney is not required and is at the option of each party. The 228
mediators may require the advance payment of some or all of the 229
anticipated fees. The aggrieved party hereby agrees to pay or 230
prepay one-half of the mediator's estimated fees and to forward 231
this amount or such other reasonable advance deposits as the 232
mediator requires for this purpose. Any funds deposited wi ll be 233
returned to you if these are in excess of your share of the fees 234
incurred. 235
To begin your participation in presuit mediation to try to 236
resolve the dispute and avoid further legal action, please sign 237
below and clearly indicate which mediator is accepta ble to you. 238
We will then ask the mediator to schedule a mutually convenient 239
time and place for the mediation conference to be held. The 240
mediation conference must be held within ninety (90) days of 241
this date, unless extended by mutual written agreement. In the 242
event that you fail to respond within 20 days from the date of 243
this letter, or if you fail to agree to at least one of the 244
mediators that we have suggested or to pay or prepay to the 245
mediator one-half of the costs involved, the aggrieved party 246
will be authorized to proceed with the filing of a lawsuit 247
against you without further notice and may seek an award of 248
attorney's fees or costs incurred in attempting to obtain 249
mediation. 250
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
Therefore, please give this matter your immediate attention. By 251
law, your response must be mailed by certified mail, return 252
receipt requested, and by first -class mail to the address shown 253
on this demand. 254
........................ 255
........................ 256
RESPONDING PARTY: YOUR SIGNATURE INDICATES YOUR AGREEMENT TO 257
THAT CHOICE. 258
AGREEMENT TO MEDIATE 259
The undersigned hereby agrees to participate in presuit 260
mediation and agrees to attend a mediation conducted by the 261
following mediator or mediators who are listed above as someone 262
who would be acceptable to mediate this dispute: 263
(List acceptable mediator or mediators.) 264
I/we further agree to pay or prepay one -half of the mediator's 265
fees and to forward such advance deposits as the mediator may 266
require for this purpose. 267
........................ 268
Signature of responding party #1 269
........................ 270
Telephone contact information 271
........................ 272
Signature and telephone contact information of responding party 273
#2 (if applicable)(if property is owned by more than one person, 274
all owners must sign) 275
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022. 276