Bribery, Intimidation, Vote Rigging Now Outlawed At Florida Condo Associations
In the aftermath of the Surfside condo collapse, the Florida Legislature has made a number of changes to the state's condo law in 2024. This is one of the changes.
Condo board members are now prohibited from bribing, intimidating and rigging ballots of unit owners at associations in the Sunshine State under a series of 2024 revisions to the Florida Condo Law.
Association directors are also prohibited from forging election ballots, embezzling association funds and destroying - or refusing to make available for inspection - official condo records as part of the changes.
Board members who violate the newly revised Florida Condo Law face criminal charges and removal from office with their respective associations.
These new restrictions on board members were added to the Florida Condo Law as part of the 2024 revisions made during the recent legislative session in March. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed the bill in June, clearing the way for the law to take effect in July 2024.
The measures are part of an ongoing effort by the Florida legislature in the aftermath of the Champlain Towers South condo collapse in the barrier island town of Surfside on June 24, 2021, to bring more transparency to condo associations, which have a reputation for being shrouded in secrecy, intimidation and corruption.
Nearly 100 people died and a $1 billion settlement was reached with the families of the victims.
A federal investigation is currently underway but the preliminary reports suggest a flawed design coupled with a lack of upkeep by the condominium’s association contributed to the disaster.
The Florida legislature has taken a number of steps - prompted by insurance companies threatening to withdraw coverage in the state - to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again.
Up until now, the state’s measures were being implemented slowly but that all changes in 2025.
As part of the changes, condo boards are rushing to comply with a recently passed Florida law that goes into effect in January 2025. The law requires associations that were built before July 2022 to conduct and complete a Structural Integrity Report Study (SIRS) on their respective communities by the end of 2024.
Based on the SIRS results, condo associations are required to begin funding the necessary work in their 2025 budgets. Unlike previous years, associations can no longer defer the work and the cost under the law.
Watch and/or listen to the four-part narration of the 2024 revisions to the Florida Condo Law
People are dubbing this moment as the 2025 Condo Association Financial Cliff as it expected to result in significantly higher costs for unit owners.
Some industry watchers have compared it to an inflection point on par with the Category 5 Hurricane Andrew that devastated South Miami-Dade County in August 1992.
Since the 2021 collapse, older units are said to be tougher to sell, insurance prices are spiking year-over-year and association maintenance fees and special assessments are squeezing owners to the brink.
To read the rest of this report or to watch a video narration of this part of the law, you will have to be a member of the Miami Condo Market Investing Club™. As a Club member, you will have access to the rest of this report as well as all of our published reports, statistics and proprietary research.
Please note, we are not attorneys and only attempting to understand the Florida Condo Law. If you have any legal questions, please consult your attorney for legal advice.